Thanks Mark

I joined a few weeks ago. I am new to cnc. I have a small mill and lathe that I use. I bought a small cnc to try. I hooked it up to my dell dimensions 3100, but could not get any movement from the motors. I was getting a signal because the motors become locked when the controller is turned on. I tread all sorts of solutions but to no avail. I did have a lot of extra softeware on the 3100 so I decided to buy a reconditioned dell OptiPlex 755 with windows 7 pro, 32 bit and nothing else as a dedicated pc. I hooked it up and still no action. I am out of ideas. I Hoping someone has a solution. I have been talking with another guy on the forum and he has been very helpful, but I think I might be the weak link. Stuck in Ohio!!

Hi Garand,

Welcome to the forum.

May I suggest you go back to the thread you started and post you .xml file (as requested by Rob). The guys there will get to the bottom of the problem and I am certain they will get your machine running.  ( http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,31042.msg215298.html#msg215298 )


Tweakie.

I am retired tool n die machinest but been using mach3 on a mini mill. I like the program so far don't quite understand tool offsets seems a lot differant then comercial machines. Tom

hello and warm greetings from liverpool, england. my name is mark, i am a TOTAL newb, to the world of cnc, and am and have been extremely excited to
to aquire my new, humble cnc set up. i am a self taught hobby jeweller, and until present have made everything by hand. i learned everything i know from watching you tube videos, and then practical trial and error. i am very proud to have acquired, fully licensed Mach3, a (small) wegstr cnc, with a 140x200 working area, and a max height under spindle of 38mm. spindle speed 6000. a new pc, OS win8.1 with more spec than needed, that was very expensive, and actually a lot more than needed, except parallel ports so duly bought a UC100  motion controller that, after much disappointment and tears before purchase, made everything whirr up, light up and i had communication to machine, and movement. this may sound simple to all reading, but for me to get to this stage was nearly a phd in effort. and appx 20 hrs watching tutorials on you tube, and took a few weeks..

i am milling wax billets, no bigger than 8cm x 8cm so im thinking i need to set up machine to these settings?!

 so after that introduction, im sure you understand, this new member is probably, going to need your kind help , pretty pretty please ! have read some great info in the forum, which has been really helpful, and will continue to search through for my answers, as im sure they are all in here. i am awaiting my design software and am using trial versions of artsoft artcam, at the moment. as well as practising with mach3 installed g-code files, (roadrunner)   any help or advice, would really be appreciated, and once again, many thanks and regards.

my first question would be, could somebody show me an easy to understand video tutorial or link here, of how to set up my work table area, soft limits, tool setting, home and zeroing!?! as i have been watching videos and following tutorials, but have yet to fully understand the navigation, as my machine is not set correctly, the little i have done on there has obviously not been able to fully function.  but it has been very satisfying just to see some action, i now actually want to get started producing lol  many thanks

Hi Mark,

Welcome to the forum.

The tutorial video's are here   http://www.machsupport.com/videos/

If you haven't done so already then have a read through Chris.Botha’s  threads - I think we have all learnt so much from him over the years.  http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,11446.0.html

Tweakie.

Hi Mark from another Mark

Welcome to the forum and well done on getting your machine running. I am much in the same boat having just bought my own first machine. Plug and play they are not, it's a steep learning curve to start. I've had a few difficulties getting everything up and running and I'm a Mech/Elect Engineering technician by trade. But persevere, your first stepper motor squeak is a milestone as is your first actual cutting of material. Its a bit scary when you hit cycle start for the first time with the cutter actually rotating and real material on the table.

Mine has just done it's first actual job and It did it superbly. I was jumping up and down when it came out even better than expected.

You say you are cutting wax what's that for lost wax casting ?

Regards Mark

greetings Tweakie and my namesake, mark. Many thanks for your response, yes i have watched many of the above tutorials, but actually learn and attain new knowledge on the re-runs, wether 2nd or 10th i may know some of them word for word soon, and who knows, maybe one day , i too will be able to make my machine play an old  musical classic have made great headway, in the short time on this knew found passion, and am wrangling with the terminology. i am quite confident, i soon will have grasped a greater understanding of the basics, but for now i am a happy eager student. i believe it wont be long till i too, will be jumping up and down,, ill check out Chris.bothas threads, and hopefully will be able to add to my minuscule knowledge of all the above.

yes i am casting gold and sometimes silver, all types of jewellery, centrifugally with the lost wax method, so generally my machine will be used for mainly Wax milling.  Many Thanks and Kind Regards, Mark.

My name is Valerie my husband and I live in Belgrade, Mt. I am starting my own business building custom acoustic guitars. I am retired from Gibson Acoustic guitars after 24 years. I built custom guitars at Gibson I also learned to program(mastercam) and operate the cnc machines(fadals).  My husband is an upholsterer and has used our Vortech router for various jobs(photo vcarve & furniture parts). I am using it now to make guitar parts and I am finding the x & y axis are off. I have been trying to cut fret slots in guitar fretboard. The farther it cuts down the fretboard the more each slot is not cut at the right distance. The g code is correct but the machine is not moving the correct distance. Can anybody help please:)

Hi Valerie,

Welcome to the forum.

To check your settings for each axis (Steps per Unit) go into the 'Settings' screen and click 'Set Steps per Unit' - follow the on-screen instructions for calibrating each axis. (the Mach3 manual also gives details  http://www.machsupport.com/help-learning/product-manuals/ )

Tweakie.