Messages

1

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Totally lost. New guy needs help

« on: March 13, 2014, 08:58:38 PM »

I already have all that stuff from learning how to cast and anodize aluminum so I must be set!

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G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Totally lost. New guy needs help

« on: March 13, 2014, 04:42:24 PM »

I have the bigger shop, built one five years ago next to my house, it sits empty! No time to move!

3

FAQs / Re: Soft Limits Questions

« on: March 12, 2014, 07:21:06 PM »

I'm curious about this as well. My machine has home switches, is there a way to set up mach3 so it can never travel to far even if the code tells it to keep going? Does soft limits do this? I watched the video but maybe I'm missing something?

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G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Totally lost. New guy needs help

« on: March 12, 2014, 07:05:41 PM »

I spent some time this morning cutting (term?) some designs that came in the Cut2d trial software, I got everything to work perfectly, it was cutting very nicely then stopped at 500 lines of code, thought I did something wrong until I realized I didn't have a liscenced copy of Mach3, only the damn demo! I guess my first software purchase will be Mach3. I also realized both the trial cam and cad programs won't save anything I draw. I'll try out a couple of the above suggestions next. I'm glad I got my machine cheap! I didn't realize or even consider buying software, bits, an articulated arm for my monitor (setting it on a shelf wouldn't look cool enough!) material to build a stand, hooking it to my dust system, etc. I'm sure I'll find a bunch more expenses but man is it fun! What other stuff will I eventually need?

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G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Totally lost. New guy needs help

« on: March 10, 2014, 10:00:43 PM »

Thanks guys! I got some time last night and tried "cadstd " and "cut2d", had great success with them and was actually able to cut a part. Felt great but I hope I can remember what I did and do it again! I took notes, that may help. I will keep in mind the software suggested but I'm going to play with these for a bit and try to learn.
       Do most software programs use the same icons, terminology, etc.? I'm kinda hoping I can transition to better software later without having to re learn everything.
              Thanks again for the great advice!

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G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Totally lost. New guy needs help

« on: March 09, 2014, 07:02:25 PM »

I recently got a great deal on a Thom Carr Artrouter, it came with Mach3 but no CAD software. The computer runs on xp. I have searched and searched for some Free CAD software to play with so i can understand the basics before buying software. I cant seem to find what i need. I want to make some simple items to gain some experience, if I could produce a simple name sign i would be elated!
                             Can anyone suggest free, easy to learn CAD software and maybe point me in the direction of a good tutorial to get me from start to cutting? I had the machine set up by Thom Carr who has been very helpful even though I bought the machine second hand, I dont want to take advantage and keep calling him with every question. I wish I had someone near me to give me some lessons but I live in a tiny town up in the mountains and dont know of anyone in my area with such experience.
         I have a great deal of wood working experience and a full shop of wood and metal working tools but ZERO computer design knowledge and just a little above basic computer skills so I need easy!  Anyway if any of you can suggest some free CAD software and some type of online training I would be greatly appreciative!