Messages

8851

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

« on: June 13, 2008, 06:54:47 AM »

This is one of the sample tool paths from the 'Vectric Cut2D'. It makes a very nice job but there are so many unnecessary and time consuming Z moves on such a simple plaque that I really wonder how well it will cope with a complicated design.

8852

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

« on: June 12, 2008, 04:10:02 AM »

Another plaque for Art's stairwell perhaps ?. Neptune and Gemme / Gemme and Neptune, well maybe not.

This plaque is approx 150 mm x 190 mm and was cut in teak to 7 mm maximum depth. The cutter was a 3 mm diameter ball nose running at 3000 rpm and with a feed rate of F300 it took approx. 3 hours to complete. (The finished plaque has been gloss varnished and it was difficult to get a reasonable picture because of the reflections.)

The image is called 'Gemme', and this can be downloaded from Martin De Roode's website at http://engraving.majosoft.com/html/perfect_pictures.html.

I have posted my G-Code for this project if anyone is interested in cutting this plaque themselves. (If you use a high speed spindle then the feed rates can be increased considerably but to avoid overloading the cutter, reduce the feed rate by 50% or so for the first cut then reset to the full rate for the remainder. The X and Y zero is dead centre of the blank and Z zero is with the cutter just touching the work).

Happy routing.

8853

Show"N"Tell ( What you have made with your CNC machine.) / Re: 1st attempt at a Vectric created Lithoplane

« on: June 10, 2008, 09:31:14 AM »

Brilliant work.

8854

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

« on: June 08, 2008, 07:28:29 AM »

This relief was routed in oak 2.5 mm deep using a 3 mm diameter single flute cutter. The width of the sign is 350 mm which is the maximum size I can handle with the X - Axis. Longer signs have to be mounted sideways ( Y - Axis ) and cut in stages. This is the nameplate for a 'Beach Hut', which is a very appropriate name, don't you think ?.

8855

General Mach Discussion / Re: Post Processor

« on: May 08, 2008, 08:55:48 AM »

What is the 'file type' output from EnRoute ?

8856

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is there a simple 3-D program I can use

« on: April 19, 2008, 08:43:24 AM »

I haven't tried it myself but the program 'gmax' is available free of charge. The forum cnc4free gives massive support on this software.

http://cnc4free.org/

Has anyone tried it, is it any good ?.

8857

General Mach Discussion / Re: Importing BMP or JPG files? - No option in my menu.....

« on: April 15, 2008, 04:53:49 AM »

It is Mach3 version R1.84.000 that will allow the direct import of HPGL,BMB,JPG and DXFs

8858

General Mach Discussion / Re: big problem mach3 cnc

« on: April 15, 2008, 04:45:33 AM »

Just a thought,
 
Here is a clip taken from the SideStep setup instructions:-

Control Software Setup

The SideStep is negative logic. The STEP, DIRECTION, and ENABLE lines should be inverted in your software. Please contact us if you need help configuring your software.

8859

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is there a simple 3-D program I can use

« on: April 11, 2008, 10:35:34 AM »

Hi Brian,

Another possibility is CamBam. This is still under development and it's 3D support is still limited but with a very active forum and support team it is getting there fast. (It is not that simple to understand - I have been learning for some time now).

http://www.cambam.co.uk/

Tweakie.

8860

General Mach Discussion / Re: Is there a simple 3-D program I can use

« on: April 11, 2008, 01:52:40 AM »

Sorry Brian,

I misunderstood your question re- simple parts. What exactly do you want to be able to produce ?.

For 3D surfacing, a program such as 'Bmp2cnc' will do the job but it will not profile cut well so it is important to know what you want to do.