Messages

1

Share Your GCode / Re: NEED A LOGO CUTOUT AND ENGRAVING

« on: October 08, 2018, 09:24:59 AM »

I use Corel Draw x5 for my main design program then load the vecor images in .dfx format into CamBam to produce my g-code. Corel Draw has a very powerful "trace bitmap" option. It definitely takes some experimenting to get good results and often some clean up to get smooth arcs & lines. There are also some online services that'll "convert to vector" for you, some are free, often expect to pay. I agree with many others, it's best to just put in the time and learn how to do this stuff. I personally have a lot to learn myself and often come to these forums for guidance. I've been a sign maker for 30 years and just now have gotten into CNC machining to add dimensional signs. I like my setup of doing my designs in Corel Draw, open files in CamBam to make g-code the run code in Mach3. I'll give one last suggestion - CamBam has a "height map generator" plugin. This is the coolest thing, it converts black & white images (halftone pictures) into tool paths. It takes the darkest shades and cuts them the deepest and the lightest tones and cuts them the least or not at all. So you can take a logo or photo and with one click have tool paths ready to cut! Have fun, good luck!

2

General Mach Discussion / Re: Cutting multiple circles instead of the G-Code I programmed

« on: October 02, 2018, 12:18:31 AM »

Thank you - the IJ setting worked, no more crop circles. I'm still having troubles with my scale. My "Y"Axis is way off, it's only running 60% length programmed, what could be causing that? I should probably post a new thread since my original problem has been resolved. ANYWAY, thank you for the help, I'm feeling very encouraged.

3

General Mach Discussion / Cutting multiple circles instead of the G-Code I programmed

« on: September 28, 2018, 03:08:02 PM »

I'm setting up my CNC (again) I've had some issues with it and my PC. Something has gone haywire and the G-Code is clustered with a bunch of circles over the file I've created. Is this a problem with configuration or my Lic & Software. I do the drawing in CamBam and run G-Code in Mach3. ALSO - My "Y" Axis is stretching the circles into ovals, how do I correct this? My CNC is a 4x8 BLACKFOOT. I just replaced a Microstepper & added UCCNC100 Ethernet interface. It seems to jog OK from the Keyboard, although I think my X & Y AXIS were switched in the PORTS & PINS. So I switched that, Now I'm not even sure how to ZERO the machine. Ugh...any help is greatly appreciated, thank you!

4

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

« on: September 28, 2018, 11:34:41 AM »

Hi, I'm Lee - I live in Venice FL and am fairly new to CNC machines. I've had mine for several years and had some issues with it, I got frustrated with it and let it collect some dust. I am now determined to get it running, I was hoping I could get some guidance here as it seems to be a software/set up issue I'm having now. So, where do I even begin to resolve my issues? It's cutting multiple circles (ovals) instead of the G-Code I sent to my machine. It also seems to stretch the images on the Y axis quite a bit. Anyway - this seems like a great forum, I'm excited to get involved.

5

General Mach Discussion / Re: One side of X axis not in sync with opposite side. Jerky movement

« on: July 18, 2017, 01:17:23 AM »

I'm having the same issues with my Y axis. I don't know much about my machine, but if I'm experimenting with my MOTOR TUNING to see if that helps. I wish i could be a better help, good luck!

6

FAQs / Re: Plugin DLL Defective - UC400ETH - HELP!!!

« on: July 08, 2017, 05:22:34 PM »

The UC400EthETH does have a blue LED when Mach3 is open. I no longer get any popups on opening Mach3. I can also use my arrow keys to communicate with Mach3, but the machine itself isn't responding. I get a high pitched sound from the CNC when I ran a sample test g-code. I just don't know what to try next. This is a used home build machine and I don't know what motors I have or what Ports & Pins to activate. Should I set my motor settings to the slowest velocity to see if that helps? Is there something I'm missing? It seems like I'm so close. Thank you!

7

FAQs / Re: Plugin DLL Defective - UC400ETH - HELP!!!

« on: July 06, 2017, 02:21:28 PM »

OK - I deleted the files from the PLUGIN folder, the re-installed the UC plugins and deleted the ones I know I don't need (UC100, UC200 & UC300) Now I can get Mach3 open without any popup warnings, but it's still not responsive. I have 2 shortcuts on my desktop. One opens Mach3 and I can't even turn off the flashing RESET button. The other shortcut opens and I can turn off/on the RESET & JOG buttons, but it's not responsive to the X,Y,Z arrows - everything just sits at 0. I think we're gaining on it, Please let me know if you have any more suggestions. Thank you!!!

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FAQs / Re: Plugin DLL Defective - UC400ETH - HELP!!!

« on: July 06, 2017, 12:19:05 PM »

Thank you for the reply! - I'll go give that a try right now and let you know if that worked

9

FAQs / Re: Plugin DLL Defective - UC400ETH - HELP!!!

« on: July 05, 2017, 01:03:49 PM »

I wrote a letter to UCCNC asking for help on this issue. I got a nice letter back talking about ".NET framework 2.0" He said if I have Windows 7, I shouldn't need to do anything. Well, I have Windows 7. Now what? Please help

10

FAQs / Plugin DLL Defective - UC400ETH - HELP!!!

« on: July 03, 2017, 01:43:02 PM »

I had my old PC die and I'm trying to get back up and running. My new computer Windows7 is 64bit with no printer port. So, I purchased a uC400eth and it seems to be hooked up correctly. I reloaded my Mach3 and dropped in my serial# file. When IO open Mach3 I get "Plugin DLL Defective. Reload." popup. If I click on it, it goes away. BUT - my Mach3 isn't communicating with my CNC. I'm a Newbie and I'm not well versed in computer language or all these abbreviations. I'm seriously lost! Can you find it in your heart to talk this old sign maker through this? thank you!