Messages

1

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 23, 2015, 06:50:35 PM »

So, Tweakie - I was pretty happy to find out the "Feed Rate" is right on the main page on F-Engrave. Nice program.
Thanks again.
Frank

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 23, 2015, 05:10:24 PM »

I was wondering about that. Tweakie mentioned F********x a couple of times. I was about to call my therapist.

3

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 23, 2015, 10:35:04 AM »

By "cad/cam software" do you mean F-Engrave? Since I've tried that, I don't think I'll be using LC anymore.

4

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 22, 2015, 02:41:20 PM »

Those look good. I like the program, and I like how the options are in plain English... and, so far, the machine is doing what it's supposed to, and that's very good.
If I can pry a little more... my CNC machine (along with the initial "setup" provided in broken English) seems to be geared toward milling metal parts... so it's very slow. I've tried "overriding" the feed rate in Mach3 (main screen), but it doesn't seem to change how slowly the machine is moving. My spindle is manual, so I have an external On/Off switch, and a knob to regulate the speed. is there something in the "Config" menu that'll change the speed of the X/Y motors?
Also, my spindle motor has a 1/8" chuck. The only V-bit i can find is 1/4" dia at 90 degrees. I've seen chamfer bits that are 1/2", but they have the guide at the bottom so you can't use them for engraving. Are there any larger diameter V bits available... and also ones with a more shallow angle so it doesn't have to cut so deep to get a wider stroke?
i can't find any. I have some for my manual router, but they're 1/4" shank.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 21, 2015, 11:06:29 AM »

Tweakie... you rock! The F-Engrave software seems pretty straight forward. I'll let you know how I make out. Thanks again. Frank

6

General Mach Discussion / Defining material, 0/0 point, etc.

« on: November 20, 2015, 11:17:39 PM »

So, since my last series of questions, I've succeeded in getting Mach3 and LazyCam to communicate things to the CNC machine at the correct size... and that's good.
I'm creating DXF files in Corel. I open the DXF in LC. I post to Mach3. I hit the "Go" button and the machine does everything it should... I guess, but what I want doesn't seem to be the same thing.

For a brief review, all I want to do with this machine is put a "V-bit" in the spindle and engrave lettering in pieces of wood.
Here are some things I'm having trouble with:
1. On the DXF files I'm exporting from Corel, how do I define the material size? Say I've got a chunk on mahogany that's 6" X 12" and I want to engrave a couple of words on it, dead center. I've tried page size, converting the 6" X 12" rectangle into a "border", I've tried opening a "New" file in LC, defining the parameters for the material... but as soon as I try to open the DXF within that boundary, the new file disappears and the DXF opens without the boundary. If I define the boundary using a rectangle, the machine routs the rectangle.
2. Say I'm using a font like Times New Roman. i use the "Contour" menu in Corel to establish layers for engraving, which I understood to define the "steps" required for the machine to cut the thick and thin strokes of the lettering at different depths (maybe I'm wrong). I can see the outlines of the layers when I open the DXF files in LC, but when the code is posted to Mach3 and I run it, the router just cuts the boundary lines of the layers, and cuts them all at the same depth. It doesn't recognize the line as a boundary... it routs the line.
3. I've tried the "Text" function in LC, but, like the DXF files, the machine doesn't cut the center of the lettering, it cuts the outlines.

I'm using a profile cloned from the "Mill" for Mach3. "Turn" didn't make sense to me so... well, y'know.

I cant find any information in the manual for defining material size, setting a "home point", 0/0 point... even when I look at the screen and see that Mach3 is starting dead center on the graphic, and I manually move the spindle to dead center on my chunk of wood, bring the spindle down til the point touches the surface, hit the "Ref All Home" button so everything is at "0"... when I hit the start button the spindle moves to some strange and exotic location before it drops and starts the routing process... nowhere near where my mathematical, Type A mind thought it was going to go.

Thanks for your patience.
Frank

7

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, LazyCam, Corel X5. Help please?

« on: November 09, 2015, 11:42:07 AM »

Holy cow! Both links saved to favorites. Thank you Mr. Spark. Live long and prosper!

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General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, LazyCam, Corel X5. Help please?

« on: November 09, 2015, 10:26:44 AM »

As mentioned, Rob, I'm new at all this and I'm not familiar with the syntax... so, is that something I manually add to the beginning of the code after it's posted to Mach3... which is what it sounds like you're telling me? And thank you for that.

9

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, LazyCam, Corel X5. Help please?

« on: November 09, 2015, 08:01:07 AM »

Mach3 is set up in inches.  I did that when I configured it. It's the first thing on top of the "Config" flyout, right? When the box popped up the "Inches" button was selected by default. When I went through the remainder of setup, the sheet I had for the configuration was in mm, so I divided all the numbers for movement speed by 2.54... you know, 2000 becomes 787.
Do you think it would be a good idea to re-configure to mm?

10

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3, LazyCam, Corel X5. Help please?

« on: November 08, 2015, 11:37:42 PM »

well, here's what I figured out and what I did: My machine came with the Mach3 freeware version and LazyCam version 1. I bought the licence to Mach3 and downloaded the latest LC, so that's where I'm at. I can import DXF into LC, post G Code to Mach3, run the code, and the machine moves. So, the software is communicating with the machine. That's good.
I've read the manual for LC and Mach3 until I fell asleep. I searched terms like "start point", "tool", "parameters", "V tool", "V bit"... nothing but frustration.
Here's what I have, and what I want to do:
Small, 12" X 18" table, 3-axis CNC, 1/4" dia 45 deg "V" bit. All I want to do is V-carved lettering on small wood panels. I can find the dialog boxes for "tool", but I can't see any pictures of the tools and the parameters that need to be set for them... and I only need the parameters for one. As I read through the manual, I can see that the machine should be capable of doing what I want, but, when I think I've got it, it doesn't work.
I open a DXF that's roughly 3" X 8" in LC. I can see it and it's correct. I click the "Scale" button and I can see that it's the right size. I set the parameters for a tool (using those set for the example in the manual, diameter, speed, and whatever else...just to see if I can get some kind of result), and post the code to Mach3.
I switch to Mach3. I see the code. I click the "Run" button...
For these tests, which I've done a number of times, I don't have any stock loaded on the table, there's no bit in the chuck, and the spindle is not running. I just want to see if the machine moves the way I think it should.
So, when I hit the "Run" button, the machine moves: X, Y, and Z movements. I see the codes running top to bottom on the screen... but, when the code completes, my 3" X 8" graphic only moved the machine about 1/2" square.
I can't see anywhere in the manual how to set a "base point" or how to re-position the spindle motor in relation to the cross-hairs on the table screen.
In LC, I tried opening a "New" file to set a boundry rectangle, then open a DXF to plop in the middle of it, but the DXF button cancels out the other one.
All I want to do is carve little signs. Help?