Messages

5321

General Mach Discussion / Re: Lazy Cam and this cnc

« on: April 06, 2012, 11:19:47 AM »

Hi Mads,

The machine supplier says it runs from GCode and LazyCam outputs GCode so there should be no problem using this machine with Mach3 for routing PCB's.

Tweakie.

5322

General Mach Discussion / Re: Strange shift in Z-axis during machining

« on: April 05, 2012, 08:18:17 AM »

Hi Chet,

Just a thought, but ambient temperature plays it's part in determining the maximum speed at which rapids can achieve without loss of steps.

I live in the south east of England and we never really get cold weather here (unlike Hood in Scotland   ) but I have just started using aircraft oil (Arctic grade) as a lubricant and this has made a tremendous difference to my router's reliable rapid speeds.

Tweakie.

5323

General Mach Discussion / Re: File loaded from Cut3D, now what?

« on: April 04, 2012, 07:06:53 AM »

Hi Tony,

The initial problem is not to get swamped in information but this is a good place to obtain the basics (and more) http://cnccookbook.com/CCCNCGCodeCourse.htm

Hope this helps.

Tweakie.

5324

Share Your GCode / Re: OWL mach 3 Engrave toolpath Gcode

« on: April 03, 2012, 04:53:51 AM »

Hi agguilar,

Sounds like an excellent way to make money provided the potential for the sales of GCode do actually exist.

It only takes a couple of minutes to Google for a free image then create a suitable toolpath using V-CarvePro but it would be well to check the licensing terms because many images are only free for non-commercial purposes.

Tweakie.

5325

*****VIDEOS***** / Re: Vinyl cutting.

« on: April 03, 2012, 02:27:46 AM »

Hi Vogavt,

Just a suggestion...

The Roland type blade holders and replacement blade are readily available on ebay.
A small ball bearing drawer runner / slide would be ideal - mount vertically to the Z axis, fit the blade holder to the moving part, use a self-tap screw as a bottom end stop and either a weight or spring to provide the contact pressure.

Tweakie.

5326

Show"N"Tell ( Your Machines) / Re: Z axis motor mount........

« on: April 01, 2012, 08:33:22 AM »

Hi CNCexplorer,

No matter what you do, there will always be something better and so everything has to be a compromise. However, I would suggest that you go for 'fully supported' rails on the X axis (if not both X and Z) - there is not that much difference in price.

Although wood is easy machining if you start V-Carving then 'chatter' or tool vibration can spoil the work so rigidity is an important consideration here and unsupported rails (less than about 25mm dia.) can flex a lot more than you would think.

Tweakie.

5327

General Mach Discussion / Re: Timer not counting

« on: April 01, 2012, 01:56:31 AM »

Looks like a swap with the wife will be the best solution (a swap of the wife would have even more benefits, but not on the cards at the moment!  )

 

Tweakie.

5328

General Mach Discussion / Re: Timer not counting

« on: March 31, 2012, 02:30:39 AM »

Hi Daniel,

You could try the WinXP optimization procedure (pretty much the same as 2k) linked on this page http://www.machsupport.com/downloads.php
It may save you having to steal the boss's notebook. 

Tweakie.

5329

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Routing Wood

« on: March 30, 2012, 08:06:41 AM »

Hi Russ,

Sorry, I use the Google Chrome browser which incorporates Google Translate and although it makes a pretty poor job with Hungarian I just get by (well almost). Incidentally, there is a lot of useful stuff on their main website http://hobbycncart.com/ and I am doing my best to populate the English speaking section.

There is not yet any help file for F-Engrave but this is a US product and most, if not all of the functions are described in the video's on this page http://home.comcast.net/~sskroch/Fengrave/fengrave.html  

The .dxf import function will enable routing of designs but it does not clear all the areas of the relief down to base level so a little hand finishing may be necessary to make a perfect job. It does, however, work very well and for a free software, I am not complaining. 

Tweakie.

5330

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: Routing Wood

« on: March 30, 2012, 04:25:03 AM »

Hi Guys,

I must admit that I have never tried 'relief routing' before but seeing Russ's excellent work I just had to give it a try.

This is 270mm x 50mm and made from Old English Oak (using GCode produced with the free program 'F-Engrave' mentioned earlier). The tool path geometry is just excellent and the program is truly a credit to it's author.

Tweakie.