Topics

1

General Mach Discussion / Go To Z but ignore A

« on: February 11, 2013, 04:04:44 PM »

Hey everyone,

I modded my router to double as a 3D printer.  I'm using Mach3 and often have prints that fail and I have to restart.  The extruder is on the A axis and as it runs, it builds up distance in the DRO.  When I want to go back to Z (0 on X,Y,Z),  it also reverses the extruder gear to try to bring it back to 0 as well.  Is there any way to disable the A axis as being part of the Go To Z routine?  Or alternatively auto 0 it whenever I stop Mach?  I can't seem to find a setting for it, but then again, I'm not sure what I am looking for.

Thx

2

General Mach Discussion / Noob question: Changing cutting start location

« on: September 23, 2012, 07:17:15 AM »

Hey all,

Not sure if this is a Mach or CamBam question, but I figured this would be the best place to start.  I have a part modeled in CamBam that I want to leave where it is (see picture).  As expected, the g-code will generate the start location as the stock 0,0 location and the head has to move all the way over to the part.  I don't want to cut the part where it is, I want the part to start cutting close to 0,0 in the stock piece to save material.  How do I tell the machine that I want to do this?  Is is something I do in Mach?  

Edit: note, I realize I can quickly move the part I want cut down to 0,0 in CamBam, but I want to leave it where it is as it's reference to the larger outline part needs to be maintained.  Moving it back-and-forth (using undo for example) is something I'd prefer not to do.   Also note that the part I am cutting is only the part with the 3 holes in it. The outer part is for reference purposes. 

3

General Mach Discussion / Scaling issue with milled product

« on: July 25, 2012, 03:20:15 PM »

Hi Folks,

I'm new to this forum and (very) new to CNC.  I've spent approx 2 months researching and trying to find all the info I can on the process for CNC..  I've got a MyDIYCNC for starters and am using CamBam / Mach3 to product the end product.  I have an issue with my first milling exercise.  Got an item in CamBam and it has all the measurements I expect.  However, when I cut it in the mill, the entire unit is being cut at a smaller scale.  However, I don't recall setting anything that would change the scaling of the milled product.   Can someone direct me as to what I should look for to determine why this is happening.  I figure the output product is approx 60% the size of what it should be.    I'll also add that I created another part (a box)in CamBam with a specific dimension 11mm x 13mm to profile and it came out to about 6.5mm x 7.5mm.  Any ideas?