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Messages - gpraceman

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1
General Mach Discussion / Re: Auto Tool Zero for XY&Z?
« on: July 09, 2010, 02:00:31 AM »
Here's a thread from another forum that I found helpful, including a probing section for the Offsets screen.
http://www.hossmachine.info/forum/yaf_postst7_Automatic-Tool-Probe.aspx

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I got these recently and they definitely made soldering up the wires easier and setting the resistance.  I took Jeff's suggestion (via email) and put a dab of fingernail polish on the top of the trim pot to make sure that they would not get out of adjustment in the future.

The only quibble that I have on these, and it is a minor one, is that they come with the back shells.  The Gecko G540 already comes with the back shells, so I have a bunch of extras now.  I'd have rather saved a bit of money and not had the excess parts.

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Tangent Corner / Re: Lousy service from Modular CNC (New Mexico)
« on: June 15, 2010, 01:33:02 AM »
Badmouthing or slandering a vendor is not going to help your cause.

Modular CNC has over 900 positive feedback.

If it was up to me I would never refund your money.

Well, I guess I'm glad that it is not up to you.  Andy did not dispute any of my reasons for requesting a refund and promised on several occasions to provide it. So, I expect that he'd live up to his promises.  Don't you expect merchants that you buy from to be honest with you and live up to their promises?  I don't see how I am being unreasonable in that expectation.

While he has had good feedback in the past, he seems to have dropped the ball in recent months.  If you hadn't noticed while you were on the CNC Zone forum, that I am not the only one to be having issues with this company.  Another guy is waiting on a refund for product he never received and the other is still waiting and waiting for an order.  I did not start posting negative feedback until it got to the point that I thought it unlikely that I would ever get my money back.  Do you really think that I would do so if I felt that I was going to get my money back???

This is my honest experience with this company, so there is no slander as you try to suggest.  I certainly do not run my business in that manner and feel that Andy should have done more to keep things from getting to this point.

I'm not going to comment any further.  I'll wait and see if Andy will really provide the promised return.  I hope so, but i am not holding my breath.

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Thanks for the DXF files guys.  I'm not sure that this would be a good project to cut my teeth on my new CNC machine or not, but I hope to do it at some point.

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That is really cool!  Where do you find the DXF or GCode files to do something like that?

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FAQs / Wiring Limit, Home and E-Stop Switches
« on: June 13, 2010, 06:26:47 PM »
I just bought my first CNC machine, a Zenbot 1216, and was wondering about how I should setup limit, home and E-Stop switches, since the machine did not come with any.  I found the diagram below which seemed like a good starting point.

From doing some initial setup with Mach3 and watching the tutorials, I know that one switch per axis can also be a home switch.  Someone on the CNC Zone forum indicated that I should just wire all 6 switches up in series and Mach3 would be able to sort out the home position.  I would think that those home switches would need to be separate parallel port inputs.

Also, can I get the +5V off of one of the other parallel port pins?


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Hello All,

My name is Randy and I just recently dove into the CNC world.  I run a small business that makes software and other products for Pinewood Derby type racing.  My motivation for purchasing a CNC machine was to reduce the amount of time to make up batches of the products that I produce and have in development.  I have a HF Mini Mill that I have been using up until this point, but it seemed a daunting task to convert that into a CNC mill.

I first tried to purchase a CNC mill from Modular CNC.  That was a huge mistake and I have been waiting over a month for a promised refund that I likely will never see.  You can read the full story at http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,15104.0.html, if you wish.

I just received a Zenbot 1216 and started setting it up with Mach3.  I'll likely be making a bunch of posts here as I learn how to use this machine along with Mach3.

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General Mach Discussion / Re: Parralel port communucation
« on: June 12, 2010, 07:24:41 PM »
Is there a way to positively identify the address ?
If using Win7, click on your Windows Start button.  Type "Device Manager" into the search box.  That should show up in the search results under programs.  Open that up and go down to where it says "Ports (COM & LPT)". Click on the + sign next to that. Do a right mouse click over your LPT port and select Properties.  If you go to the Resources tab, look for the I/O Range.  The first number is the one that you want.

You might want to also check the Parallel Port card manufacturer's website and see if they have an updated driver.

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Tangent Corner / Lousy service from Modular CNC (New Mexico)
« on: June 12, 2010, 01:40:00 PM »
I hope this it the right forum for this.  Unfortunately, I had a very bad experience with Modular CNC.  They also go by the seller name of "cnc-empire" on eBay.  I thought I had found a good company to get an inexpensive CNC mill from.  After doing some research, I could not find any negative feedback about them or their machines.  Unfortunately, every step of trying to get the mill from them was a hassle.

First, it took awhile for Andy, the owner, to provide me a quote.  I tried to be patient, since he indicated that his wife was in the hospital.  Email responses from him were too often slow and I had to send emails to at least two of his email addresses to make sure they got to him.  I finally did get a quote on a partially assembled mill with a controller unit.  The price seemed good, so I ordered one.  I paid via PayPal, which turned out to be a mistake.  It took nearly 6 weeks before the mill shipped, almost a week longer than promised.  There was no communication that there would be any delay.  Instead, Andy indicated that it had shipped on 4/28.  However, the shipping label indicated that it really shipped on 4/30.  That didn't sit well with me.  What also didn't sit well was that he shipped it via USPS Parcel Post of all things.  The tracking info for the machine was non-existent.  It took an inordinate amount of time to arrive (was only going from NM to CO) and I had no idea where it was along the way.  It took 10 days to arrive.  By that time, I was absolutely fed up.  I had no confidence in a product made by a company that is not able to run their business in a professional and honorable manner.  Also, the shipping box looked Frankensteined together, which is not what I expect for a product costing $775.

I shipped the mill right back to him unopened and requested a refund.  That was May 11.  Here it is June 12 and he has yet to refund my money.  First he claimed that he was having PayPal account problems and then later he said he was having cash flow issues.  He promised to provide the refund by June 11, but has failed to live up to that promise.  I have tried to be patient, but now I feel that I have been shafted.  I am out over $825, when you factor in shipping costs.  PayPal will not do anything, since it is past their 45 days to file a dispute.  I was past that even before the machine shipped.  I run a small company and because of this loss, I will likely have to cancel a planned business trip.  I hope that my feedback will keep someone from making the same mistakes that I did.



Well, I still had the need for a CNC machine for my business, so I ordered a Zenbot 1216.  That was on May 29.  I received it on June 10 and started setting it up with Mach3.  Part of the gantry did suffer some shipping damage, but that company immediately shipped out a whole replacement gantry.  Email responses have been prompt. Shipping was via UPS, so tracking info was readily available.  It has been a night and day experience between the two companies.  Zenbot has been much more professional, with good customer service and I feel far better that their machine will meet my needs.

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