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Messages - rickw

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1
General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool change
« on: March 03, 2011, 04:41:42 PM »
Sweet, thanks Hood!

2
General Mach Discussion / Re: Tool change
« on: March 03, 2011, 03:39:53 PM »
I changed the option in Gen Config to manual, now how will this effect my change? Will I move the spindle to a different location and change the tool, then zero the the cutter on the surface of the material? If so, what is my next step? How will the cutter get back to where I left off? 

3
General Mach Discussion / Tool change
« on: March 03, 2011, 01:05:18 PM »
I have a question relating to changing tools (cutting bits). So far, I have been using the same cutter for all of my jobs so there was no need to worry about a tool change. Now I want to add some different textures to projects and I do not have a tool changer. How does one ensure Mach is aware to pause and change locations for a manual tool change and then move back to the next cut?

4
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 23, 2011, 11:30:50 AM »
That's true for sure. I don't think CamBam has the flexibility like AutoCad. I tried to correct the drawing in CamBam but I couldn't get it to do what I wanted. I probably don't know it well enough yet.

5
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 22, 2011, 09:36:00 PM »
The coordinates get off when you change the original drawing and reload into Mach. But what Steve said also makes sense because I tried it today. I completely changed a drawing and the coordinates. Then I zeroed on a hole location both times and it lined up perfectly without having to move the stock material. The actual drawing coordinates were not the same until I moved the entire drawing to the 0,0 in Bamcam.

I am in the process of building a new machine and have it almost finished. I am going to evaluate the VCarve program for the next few weeks. Tony (from Vcarve) said that the evaluation copy will not save tool path codes for your own DXF files. But this should still allow a good evaluation. from what I have seen of it, it is a quality program. It's still somewhat pricey. However, I am not against paying for quality. I am a firm believer of you get what you pay for.

6
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 22, 2011, 09:48:37 AM »
I think I get it now! What I have been doing is importing to the upper right of 0,0 so the lower left corner is 0,0. Instead, have the cross hairs of the x,y coordinates dissect a hole or specific location on the drawing, before importing into Mach, correct?

7
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 21, 2011, 08:16:37 PM »
That's what I have been doing but what if you have a piece of wood that is not normal or oval and you want to cut something in the middle. How would you locate the 0,0 on an application like this? The reason I ask this is I wanted to finish a cut that I had started previously. I had to change the DXF and import it back in CamBam. When I imported the changed code, the coordinates were not at the same location. I was about .065 off when started cutting. I let it go because there were other parts to be cut on the same piece of material. I just had to cut the one that was messed up. Also, I have seen the zeroing tools that some have made and wonder what they use them for. I can get pretty accurate with placing the cutter on the lower corner of a piece of material and zeroing all axis'. I thought they used these to locate a certain spot in the middle of a piece of material instead of a corner. Of course, I am not saying it is not good for finding the corner, I just thought they were used for other things besides this.     

8
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 21, 2011, 07:11:29 PM »
Since there are some very savvy CNC operators here I have another question relating to Mach. I asked the same question in another post but I can't seem to get into to read it. When I click on the link, nothing happens. I have never been able to line up a project when importing code into Mach. I always make sure I have plenty of material and cut so that it cuts correctly but I know this is not the proper way. For example, if I was making a book shelf and wanted to drill all of the holes for adjustable shelving, how would I start? When I import the code, the image is showing with all the information but I don't get how you line up the material and get the exact cut one's trying to achieve. Can someone offer some clarity please?

9
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 21, 2011, 06:49:06 PM »
So it looks as if there are two, VCarve and Meshcam, that I should evaluate. I have looked at the meshcam web site and the meshcam art looks promising.

10
General Mach Discussion / Re: CAM recommendation, other than CamBam
« on: February 20, 2011, 07:45:42 AM »
The problem was exactly as Jeff mentioned. I had some open loops and didn't know it. I failed to see if the display was a "true" closure when using CamBam. I do have to ask, since many are mentioning 3D applications, how much 3D effect can you cut with just a 3 axis machine? I would like to progress into some of awesome works shown on the forums. Of course this will be as I learn more and progress.

I looked at the link to the AutoCad macro and it is cool. I am going to download and play with it on some scrap material.

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