Messages

1

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Rc Helicopter "BIG RC HELICOPTER"

« on: January 24, 2011, 02:58:21 AM »

Hi Guys,
 I just wanted to jump in and say Great work on the heli.
I too,fly small rc helis and also make and sell some carbon fiber and delrin parts.
 www.micro-heli-concepts.com
 Regards Jason

2

SmoothStepper USB / Re: Smoothstepper and USOVO UNI 1500

« on: February 17, 2010, 07:58:47 PM »

 Hi Jeff,
 Just a quick update.
 I got the machine working now.
 The problem was the ribbon cable going from the Smoothstepper to the UNI 1500 board.
 The owner of the machine made the ribbon shorter and fitted a lower profile end on there too.
There must be a bad connection there because I fitted the ribbon from my machine and it all works well.
 So if it will help anyone else reading,
The symptoms were Proxxon MF70 with USOVO UNI 1500 and smoothstepper.
 The machine was working while using the printer cable,but once I installed the Smoothstepper,Nothing was working on the machine.The DRO was moving in Mach3.
 I fitted another ribbon cable and problem gone.
 Thanks again Jeff.
 Regards Jason
   

3

SmoothStepper USB / Re: Smoothstepper and USOVO UNI 1500

« on: February 17, 2010, 01:52:06 PM »

 Thanks Jeff,
 Iam fairly sure I did click smoothstepper when I tried it,But it was late,so I will try again the way you have said.
 Thanks again, I will let you know how I go with it.
 Regards Jason

4

SmoothStepper USB / Smoothstepper and USOVO UNI 1500

« on: February 17, 2010, 07:33:40 AM »

 Hi Guys,
 I have been trying to get a new maching working for a friend
 It is a Proxxon MF70 running USOVO uni 1500 board and a smoothstepper.
 I can get the motors moving fine using the printer port and cable.
But now when I install the smoothstepper and run through the smoothstepper manual.I get the DRO moving on Mach3,but there is no movement at the motors at all.Not even the slightest change in noise.
 I cant find any info at all on the USOVO UNI 1500 besides the pins
 Is anyone able to shed any light on what Iam missing here please?
 Regards Jason

5

SmoothStepper USB / Re: E-Stop issue

« on: December 13, 2009, 05:48:24 AM »

 Hi Guys,
 Iam not sure if this is similar to my issue,but I use mach3 and smoothstepper.
 When I set it up and let it run,I normally go off and do something else.
What happens is nearly every time I switch an appliance on or off in the house,Mach3 just hangs.I don't know if that is the correct wording.
Anyway,all the steppers stop moving,No messages are shown on Mach3,but when I move the mouse then,I see the curser is an hourglass and won't clear itself until I pull the USB cable out.Then the curser returns,But I still need to restart Mach3.It doesn't do this everytime I switch an appliance on or off either.Just at the worst times normally.
 Is this enough clues?
 Regards Jason

6

FAQs / Re: Adding a 4th axis to Proxxon MF70???

« on: June 28, 2009, 08:24:02 PM »

 Thanks for the reply Hood,
 Can you recommend a cost effective CAM program to use for this?
 At the moment Iam only using Cut2d,Which works well for the parts I have been making up to now.
Thanks again.
Regards Jason

7

FAQs / Adding a 4th axis to Proxxon MF70???

« on: June 27, 2009, 12:21:52 AM »

 Hi and sorry if this is already answered somewhere else here.
 Iam an untrained CNC user only self taught and doing ok with Mach3,Cut2d and my 3 axis cnc Proxxon MF70.
 I have been asked if I can make some helicopter parts which Iam sure I will need a 4th axis. I assume anyway.
 I understand I need the mechanical side of the 4th axis (Stepper,chuck,worm drive all in one)
Also I think I will need a tailstock which I have found to suit.
Iam upgrading the Hobbycnc board to 4 axis too.
 The part I am having trouble with is what software upgrades should I use to make it all work in harmony?
 Thanks in advance
 Jason

8

General Mach Discussion / Re: Which CAD/CAM software for newbie

« on: May 31, 2009, 07:17:08 AM »

 Hi Jay,
 Sorry to hear you got laid off from work.
 Iam not sure if it has already been asked,but what type of machine is it that you have set up and what is it that you want to make with your machine?
 I have set my little Proxxon MF70 up for making really small R/C helicopter parts and now I have been making and selling the parts to people around the world from a helicopter forum.
 Don't get me wrong,Iam not making a fortune,but after about 2 months now. I have made enough money to cover the price of Mach3 and Cut2d.
 It has taken a lot of time and patience,but if you intend on making something where you can sell for a few dollars,It might be another way to help with the costs involved.
 I see every hour at the machine is an investment in experience too.
All the best.
Regards Jason

9

SmoothStepper USB / Re: SmoothStepper now available in Australia

« on: May 19, 2009, 07:44:08 AM »

I received my new cable today for my smoothstepper and gave the unit a test run.
 Perfect!
 My clunking noise from the steppers has gone.Iam not losing steps any more.It just seams like a whole new machine now.
 I couldn't resist speeding things up,so I bumped the speed of the steppers from 200mm minute up to 1000mm minute just to see what it would do.Everything went well at that speed,but I dropped it back to 500mm minute to be a little safer.
 Tonight I have cut out several little helicopter parts from carbon fiber and others from Acetal with perfect results every time.
 Thanks Peter for a great product and thank you to the other guys who gave me good advice too.
 Jason

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: Which CAD/CAM software for newbie

« on: May 16, 2009, 09:00:15 AM »

 Hi Jay,
 Iam a bit of a newb with CNC.
 I tried several CAM programs and even followed some of the instructions.I could never get it.
 Then as I was looking,I was refered to Cut2d. I downloaded the trial version and watched the video.
 It is because of the 10 minute video that I succeeded with cut2d and bought the program without a second thought. The video will run you through the process and it really is easy when you see it work.
 For my CAD program,I have just downloaded a free CAD program CADstd which is all I really need until I learn more.
 I hope this helps.
 Now go make the lawn mower CNC to cut the grass.
 Regards Jason