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Author Topic: Mach3 and CAM  (Read 2987 times)

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Offline croy

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Mach3 and CAM
« on: July 03, 2011, 07:59:35 AM »
Hi, i have been using google sketchup pro, and would like to know if anyong has succesfully created Gcode from sketchup. from what i have read is it a bit hit and miss.

alternativly what would the users recommend for an absolute novice for turning. i have it in my mind to CNC my Myford ML7

Offline Tweakie.CNC

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Re: Mach3 and CAM
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2011, 08:32:17 AM »
Croy,

The guys on the Phlatforum http://www.phlatforum.com/ use sketchup almost exclusively to produce GCode with their own Plugins etc but there are many easier and more accurate CAD/CAM solutions available. I know nothing about lathes so cannot offer any advice on the choice but there are many members of this forum who are lathe experts and they will know.

Tweakie.
PEACE

Offline Hood

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Re: Mach3 and CAM
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2011, 01:57:39 PM »
I use Dolphin for my lathe, I had to do a lot of modifications to the post processor but that was because my lathe has front and rear turrets. If using a normal lathe the standard  post processor for Mach that comes with Dolphin should be fairly good.
I am not a huge fan of the CAD side of Dolphin, its a bit clunky when you have been used to other CAD but it does work well once you get used to it.
Dolphin do hobby pricing so are usually quite competitive and as there are not a lot of options out there for lathes you cant really get much more for the same price. I think I was around £250 for my Turn module and a Dongle. You dont need to go with a dongle which would chop about £50 to 75 off the cost  but it means you can only use on one computer if you dont and it needs internet connection, with the dongle I can have Dolphin on any computer  and as long  as I have the dongle plugged in it will produce code.

I was searching for a long time and had tried all sorts for the lathe, I really liked FeatureCAM but at the £2500 I got quoted  it was too expensive for me.

I tried the Demo of BOBCAD but couldnt get the hang of it as there was no manual and when I asked them they showed me a screenshot of the part done but no explanation of how to do it was forthcoming so I gave that a miss. Other thing about them was I got pestered for about a year with phone calls all the way from America, they just wouldnt take no for an answer, eventually they gave up though ;D

Hood

Offline croy

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Re: Mach3 and CAM
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2011, 03:13:53 PM »
Thanks both for the advice and guidance.