Messages

31

LazyCam (Beta) / LazyCam connects unconnected elements

« on: August 21, 2009, 01:12:28 PM »

A clock wheel drawn in Microstation and converted to DXF (12 or 2008 - doesn't seem to make a difference) and imported into LazyCam Pro has the six cutouts connected into 3 pairs. There should be 8 chains but LC shows only 5. clicking on any one of the chains shows it's connected to an adjacent one.

The problem started out as one connected pair. I went back to the CAD program, deleted the pair and copy/rotated another section. Now I've got 3 connected pairs. There's absolutely no lines in the CAD drawing that would justify connecting pairs of sections unless Microstation does not convert to DXF the way LC wants. And where does LC get the additional entities? I should get 4 for each of the 6 sections plus the inner circle and perimeter for 26. Instead I get 48. Check the DXF in LC and see the extra line connecting one of the sections to the O> icon. Why?

I'm curious about the O> icons I see after cleaning. I assume these signify that the part is composed of connected entities. Unfortunately, these seem to be part of the problem - they're connected to the chains. In addition two straddle a line in two sets of chains, another is outside the chain. LC is a great program but often frustrating.

Any suggestions?

32

General Mach Discussion / Re: Linking DXF origin with tool table

« on: August 11, 2009, 06:32:28 PM »

Thanks for the replies - and Rich, you seem to be everywhere. I'm getting there bit by bit and will play around with setting everything to zero. BTW, the spokes of the wheel vary between .132 and .176 instead of the true .125 so I've got some debugginhg to do - probably hardware related. CNC isn't rocket science in that there isn't a tremendous learning curve ahead, just a collection of them: CAD, CAM, electronics, LAzyCam, Mach3 and general machining.

33

General Mach Discussion / Linking DXF origin with tool table

« on: August 10, 2009, 04:59:43 PM »

With the help of Rich with a LazyCam question, I've cut a clock gear in plywood as a precursor to cutting brass. No teeth yet, just the cutouts for 6 spokes, the inner hole and the perimeter.

The problem is that I haven't figured out how to set the Taig mill's tool table coordinates to match up exactly with the drawing. The Mach3 chapter on Coordinates goes into great detail but I haven't figured out a fast way to make sure the cuts based on the drawing are in the right place on the table. What is the suggested origin for a CAD drawing, lower left corner, center? Given that, where is the Taig jogged to?

34

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Lazycam offsets off the wall

« on: August 07, 2009, 07:14:23 PM »

Got it today on the third try. The DL process stops for a while and probably caused some sort of corruption yesterday. BTW, thank you very much for the PDF steps to create a toolpath - and doing it overnight!

I was brought up in the DOS world where it was easier to learn software by using it. Docs were often poor, especially with shareware and freeware for running a BBS. Years ago, we would buy an Asian-made piece of furniture that had instructions in Japanglish so it was easier to figure out how it went together from the parts. Can't do that with CNC.

35

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Re: Lazycam offsets off the wall

« on: August 06, 2009, 07:25:17 PM »

Thanks for the replies. I can DL the manual without trouble but get an error trying to open the PDF in Acrobat (or Reader) 9. Opening "Homing_A_Lathe" as a test is no problem. I'll have to play with Lcam more.

36

G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions / Lazycam offsets off the wall

« on: August 05, 2009, 08:40:40 PM »

With the licensed version of Lazycam Pro & Mach3, I'm trying to get offsets with a 1/8 in diameter tool for a clock wheel where there are 6 sections to cut out. When I click on offsets, I get crazy blue straight lines and curved green lines, not lines parallel to the lines in the drawing. The attached PDF has 5 pages: (1) the original DXF, (2) the Lazycam image of the imported DXF, (3) one of the cutouts highlighted, (4) the result of clicking the offset button for the one section and (5) the result of setting offsets for all 6 sections. An offset starts as a dark blue line within the section but extends beyond it with faint green round lines. The last page shows some of the faint green lines actually appear to be an offset but most are way off.

What am I doing wrong?

37

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Lazy Cam doesn't create true arcs - makes straight lines

« on: July 18, 2009, 07:34:06 PM »

This is one of a number of drawings I did in Coreldraw 12 and exported to DXF. I can tell if the lines are closed in Coreldraw but don't know how this is done in Autocad.

38

LazyCam (Beta) / Lazy Cam doesn't create true arcs - makes straight lines

« on: July 18, 2009, 04:13:14 PM »

Lazy Cam (demo) is somehow improperly importing a DXF drawing of 6 sections to cut out of a disk to create 6 spokes for a wheel. The outer and inner parts of the sections are circular but LCam draws the outer border as three straight lines per section. I thought  this was just the resolution of the tool path window in Mach but running the G Code shows the spindle actually does follow the straight lines rather than a proper arc of a circle. According to someone who loaded the drawing in Autocad, it looked OK.

Is the  licensed version required to do this? If not, how can I increase the number of steps in the G Code to create a true arc of a circle?

39

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 error: No Shuttle of type selected

« on: July 11, 2009, 10:00:12 PM »

That's right - the pin settings were off and Dir settings were all wrong. It's been a long day and I was uncertain just what I had to set in Mach. A person could make a career out of setting up Mach. Anyway, thanks for the tip!

40

General Mach Discussion / Re: Mach3 error: No Shuttle of type selected

« on: July 11, 2009, 04:17:49 PM »

Spoke too soon. The motors work but only in one direction, they will not reverse using the jog buttons. In addition, the Z axis doesn't work but if I switch the cable for the Z axis motor from the Z to the Y axis connector on the Gecko 540, it works. I've gone through Mach3's settings numerous times but nothing about reversing the motors. The non-working Z axis might be a Gecko problem.