Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Pausing while cutting

« on: February 26, 2009, 10:03:27 PM »

Thanks guys, all good info.

We did discover one thing, and I feel a little embarassed about it, after the software was re-loaded the plunge speed was not reset so it was at 0.00.  Adjusted that and it was good for that part.  It is still raising up and down after the chain though.  I won't be near the machine for a few days so at my first chance I will get the G-code and lazycam file and post it.

Thanks
Kevin

2

General Mach Discussion / Pausing while cutting

« on: February 26, 2009, 01:02:58 PM »

We have a 5' X 10' table CNC with a router that we are using to cut plexi.  We are using Lazycam as our conversion program to Mach3.  I ran a small cut this morning that involved 5 chains.  The first time we ran through the program it cut properly.  We made a couple of adjustments on the sizes and re-loaded it into Lazycam and Mach3 and ran it again.  This time, the tool plunged to the correct cutting depth and paused for about 5 seconds before completing the chain.  It then raised, went to the next chain and paused for about 5 seconds and then completed the chain.  It repeated this until it had completed all of the chains.  I ran three more and it did the same thing for all of them.

Has anyone experienced this before and what have you done to solve it?

Note:  We were having similar problems before and yesterday the machine supplier installed a new CPU and re-loaded the software.

Thanks
Kevin

3

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Quirks with Lazycam

« on: February 22, 2009, 07:01:12 PM »

That makes sense, never thought of that.  Now, how does one solve that problem?

Kevin

4

LazyCam (Beta) / Quirks with Lazycam

« on: February 21, 2009, 08:04:59 PM »

I have not been able to determine if the problem we are having is in Lazycam or Mach3.  We are using a router on a 5' X 10' table to cut plexi.  All of our work is 2D and we are using ViaCAD 2D software for design. 

After opening a DXF file in Lazycam and tweeking it I send it to MACH3.  I then run the program and it cuts fine the first time I run the program.  Sometimes it runs fine 3 or 4 times.  Then it starts to PAUSE during a cut.  It almost seems as if it thinks it's moving because the y-axis is showing moving in MACH3 but the machine is not moving (router is still on). 

We have found that one way to remedy this is to completely shut down the machine and re-boot the computer.  This seems to clean things up for the first cut but then same old.

Anyone else ever heard of this and any ideas on fixing?

Thanks
Kevin

5

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Clean and Optimize

« on: February 15, 2009, 03:34:36 AM »

Thanks Aaron, I'll give it a try.

6

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Clean and Optimize

« on: February 13, 2009, 04:06:21 PM »

Hi Aaron, thanks for the response.  You did answer part of my question so that is a start.  We do have the pro versions for Lazy Can and Mach3.  We'll just keep picking away and by trial and error we'll get there.

Thanks
Kevin

7

LazyCam (Beta) / Clean and Optimize

« on: February 10, 2009, 01:02:24 AM »

I am new to CNC and I'm looking for some answers to some questions regarding Lazy Cam.  I am using a router to mill Plexiglas on 5" X 10" table.  I have been trying to cut out a 7" X 8" rectangular pattern that is repeated to fill an entire 4' X 8' sheet of plexi.  The first time I ran the program it cut perfectly.  The second time I ran it, it got about half way though and then started leaving extra space between cuts and chose an odd random pattern.

I did try and Clean and Optimize but this did not seem to cure the problem. 

- Does it matter in which order you Clean and Optimize?
- What happens if I move chains around, do you then stay away from Clean and/or Optimize?
- Does it matter if this is done before choosing a tool and setting layers?

As you can tell I am a newbie and will be posting more questions as I go.  I have read numerous posts that have helped me out a lot so I thank you all in advance.

Kevin

8

Mach4 General Discussion / Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!

« on: February 08, 2009, 02:14:57 PM »

Hi everyone,

My name is Kevin and I work in a plexi fabrication shop and we have just purchased a 5' X 10' table and router CNC machine.  We are just learning how to use it as none of us have ever used one before.  So far we are picking things up fairly well but we have lots of questions and have been doing a lot of head scratching over some of the things that have been happening.

Can someone point me to a board that has pertinent information for our type of work.  We are using Mach3 with Lazy Cam and our CADD program is Punch! ViaCAD 2D.  If I can read through some troubleshooting then I will start posting some specific questions if I haven't already found the answers.

Look forward to contributions.
Thanks
Kevin