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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
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