Hey all!

Ive been building my own cnc router and visiting here the last few years to get ideas and to read up.

Started 5 years ago I saw a cnc router on youtube and went wow....totally made buy a diy... I can do that. I had a background in fabrication and welding. Electronics not so much. So my first step was ordering a driverboard and 4 stepper motors, and a power supply. So after some fidgeting and a tutorial edition of mach 3 I got em running.

The following year we had a house built and started planning on the size machine I had room for. The house only has a 2 car garage and Had to get both cars in. So I managed to squeeze in a machine with a 2 foot, by 4 foot cutting area. The machine is built so a 4x8 piece of plywood can be run 2 feet at a time, if i were to move it to the middle of the garage. And in the future its only a partial rebuild to go 4x8 feet or 4x10.

So, its been 5 years getting only small 20 minute blocks of time, and at one time I was tempted to give up on it. But the last few months Ive gotten alot done on unemployment. So I got the limit switches to work and played with the machine.

Today I got the x and y axis zero'd I think. each time I tried to confirm within .002 it would jump off by .020" all going in x+ and y+. Those axis are roller number 25 roller chain drive. What kind of accuracy is expected from roller chain?

And started to work with the back lash, but then I had a thought that have me doin this all over again. I am only running a trial version of Mach 3. When I upgrade to the full version will it take on all my settings or am I wasting my time?

Well anyway my name is Tyler, and I know I will have more questions in the future.

Tyler ,
through a board on that bad boy and see what it will do ! once you see what it is capable of doing than adjust it to what you need it to do . You can't cut much with 500 lines maybe the road runner . you can go to the vectoring store and download 3D machinist for free and run the free samples , this will give you a good idea what your machine can do. I was doing the same thing you are ,a year ago,this week I carved the last supper . Spend the money and buy Mach3 you will need it to do anything . you will learn everything you need to know by running the machine, start cutting!!
Johnyank

Hi there,

Nice to be here.Having recently bought two mills complete with computers etc,I finally decided to put them to some use but I might as well be looking into the abyss because I've no idea about coding and the like.I had a look around the sight and it all seems very informative (if you know what you're talking about) but I'm absolutely lost.The guy who sold me the machines included a few files for me to experiment on.Took a while but I figured it all out in the end.Now I want to start doing my own thing but ain't got a clue where to start,which has landed me here.i'm hoping someone here will point me in the right direction.

Cheers

Vinny

Hi Vinny,

Welcome to the forum.

There are a few sample files in this thread http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,18345.0.html which may help to get you started alternately take a look at the various Wizards within Mach3.
Start out with something really simple and just work from there. As mentioned in the previous post 'hands-on' experience is probably the best way of learning.
Post any questions you may have, under a new topic, in the General section and help / suggestions will follow.

Tweakie.

help? just got a License & my stepper motors r not workin! thanx r neely!

Hi Neely,

Post details of your machine and controller and as many other details as are relevant together with your current profile .xml file (in Mach3 folder) as a new topic in the General section and suggestions to resolving your problem will follow.

Tweakie.

Hi, my name is Peter.
I'm in the Uk and am building my own cnc machine.

Having some issues with Configurations. Will post soon.
Would really appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Pete

NEED SOME HELP

MY NAME IS HARRY (gearhead1)  I HAVE A HOME MACHINE SHOP THAT I PLAY IN.  MY EQUIPMENT  CONSISTS OF A BRIDGEPORT KNEE MILL WITH DRO,  13X40 LATHE, SMALL SURFACE GRINDER, A HARDINGE TURRET LATHE,  BRIDGEPORT 412X VMC, AND WELDING EQUIPMENT.

I LOVE DESIGNING AND BUILDING MECHANICAL STUFF.  CURRENTLY I AM IN THE PROCESS OF CONVERTING THE TURRET LATHE TO A CNC TOOL.  I HAVE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE WITH CNC CONVERSIONS.  I AM HAVING PROBLEMS WITH THE DOWNLOAD OF MACH3.  I HAVE PURCHASED THE SOFTWARE HOWEVER I HAVE NOT INSTALLED IT ONTO MY SHOP COMPUTER YET BECAUSE I WANT TO RUN IT IN DEMO MODE ON MY LAP TOP JUST TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH MACH3.

WHEN I OPEN MACH3 MILL UP EVERYTHING LOADS UP BUT THE RESET BUTTON IS FLASHING AND THERE IS A MESSAGE ON THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN ABOUT THE E-STOP.  WHEN I RESET THE RESET BUTTON IT JUST KEEPS BLINKING AND THE E-STOP MESSAGE WILL NOT GO AWAY.  WHAT CAN I DO TO GET PAST THIS ERROR SO I CAN PLAY.

THANK YOU

HARRY

HARRYL46@MSN.COM

Hi ,
I appreciate the invite . I have read through some of the introductions can tell there are many hundreds of years of experience in many various industries on this forum . That to me makes this an invaluable resource of information and knowledge . Knowledge that in some cases we as a society are losing .
I am brand new to this forum . So I look forward to obtaining much needed knowledge in the area of CNC .
My background in quick order is . Trade school from 1973 - 1976 for general metalworking . Sheet Metal , Machining and Welding . When I graduated from high school in 1977 I started my own welding shop . And had it open until 1980 when I had the opportunity to take a job with the power co.  I started as a helper ( basically an entry level position ) in one of their Nuclear Power Stations . Shortly after that I bid into Mechanical Maintenance Dept and went through an Apprenticeship to become a journeyman power plant mechanic . I also became a certified Pipe Welder . I worked at my home plant as well as traveling to other plants in our fleet until 1989 . I was offered since I had some prior machining exp . To Apprentice in our Machine Shop under the instruction of a Tool and Die Maker from Belgium . I spent 4 years with him and in 1993 he retired and I was given his position as Day Shift Machinist . I currently still hold that position . Other than the welding certs which I gave up in 2008 . I in 2008 was offered to an Apprentice Instructor Position in addition to my Machinist position . Our Apprentice Program is finally bringing some youth into our industry . The co. I work , our union the IBEW and our local State College partnered up and started working on it in 2006 and in 2008 started our first classes . Since then we have  successfully been turning out new journeyman Mechanics , Electricians and Instrument and Control Specs . As of this year we have hired right at 100 new personnel  who have advanced to the journeyman status .
I have always had my own machines and welding equipment at my home as well . I am somewhat of a hoarder so I wont bother to list what all I have actually what I don't have would probably be shorter  lol .
In a power plant as a machinist our need for CNC is very limited . Most of what we do is repair work , design and fabrication of a specialized tool , fabrication of an obsolete part . I also do a great deal of in place machining or what could be referred to as field machining . In some case I have to design and build my own field machine to do a specific job  . I actually have had only one CNC machine at our plant and that is an EZ Trac Bridgeport . I had it retrofitted with a Prototrac System in 2006 . I'm sure most of you know that this is mostly a conversational type machine , with mostly canned cycles .
Where I teach at is the College Campus . There they happen to have a Haas Mini Mill and Mini Lathe 07 models with about 20 hrs on them . Mainly because no one there knows how to operate them .
Hence my new interest in CNC . Over the past year I have started retrofitting one of my home mills plus picked up an older Bosto Matic and I am currently building a CNC Plasma Table . So I have purchased a CAD program Alibre . And am struggling trying to learn to use it .  I have followed Mach as a machine controller for a few years now . And decided to use it on my machines . Much of that decision was based on what I saw as far as support from forums like this one for it .
Although in what I do as a Power Plant or manual Machinist I have a great deal of knowledge , thanks to many diligent and patient individuals who over the past thirty years have given me something priceless .That would be their knowledge .
In the area of CNC I truly only know enough to be dangerous lol . I do good to be able to use my android cell phone
So please bear with my stupid questions which I will probably have to ask multiple times . My Goal is before I die ( Which hopefully will be awhile longer ) I will become able to use CAD and CAM and the machines I am building somewhat proficiently .

Ken Hall  

Hi Ken,

Welcome to the forum.

I have a sneaky feeling that we may be learning more from you than you will learn from us. 

Tweakie.