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Author Topic: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!  (Read 4516420 times)

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Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #320 on: October 07, 2008, 11:59:52 AM »
Hi, I'm Mike and I've converted a Sieg X3 Mill to 3 axis CNC with ballscrews and stepping motors. The mill's spindle drive was also converted to poly-V belt drive and PWM motor control, in place of the tooth belt, gears and SCR motor control, which makes the mill run very smooth and quiet. Current spindle speed range is 0 to 1750 and 0 to 3500 RPM, by changing the motor pulley and belt, not very convenient to do but it's a small price to pay for the quietness!

I converted the machine over a period of a year and it's working well, and I'm now in the process of learning to use Turbocad Pro to create machine drawings to convert to G code, (using lazyCam). However, I normally I code by hand in G-code, just for simple parts, eg engraving Hand Wheels, but I'm quite surprised how easy it is to create, use and modify G-code with Mach 3. I am doing this for interest not a living. The original idea was use the machine to create parts for hot air engines but I appear to have been diverted more to CNC operation than anything else and it's opened up a whole new world for me. I also have a 4th Axis which is a Vertex BSO dividing head driven with a stepping motor, which makes the whole CNC set up very versatile.

Very pleased to be making some progress in the CNC space, and very pleased to discover how much interest there is for CNC for both amateur and professional use.


Regards to all,

Mike
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #321 on: October 07, 2008, 12:04:44 PM »
Howdy !

Everyone calls me Johnboy. I recently retired working with the U.S. Air Force after almost 30years as an aircraft machinist and welder.
I've recently purchased an 86 Bridgeport Interact I with an intermittently working Heidenhain 150B controller. I've purchased Mach 3, but have not installed yet ???  Too many question and options to go with yet. I really wanted a closed loop system! I need analogue output for my Bosch drives. + - 10 Volts. Still looking for the hardware.  I'm not sure if I want the Vital Systems #7451 MOTENC-Lite Board or The new USB CNC Brain. I'm looking forward to learning alot more about the electronic hardware end of the CNC arena.
Enjoyed the forum and many future chats.

Thanks, Johnboy
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #322 on: October 07, 2008, 12:05:09 PM »
Hello to all,  I am just starting to use mach 3 and as would be obvious am sort of lost. I will start with the tutorials and go from there. Little to no experience but all must start somewhere, Right? Thanks, In advance to all who would take their time to answer any simple questions that I may have. Thanks Again, R
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #323 on: October 07, 2008, 12:10:58 PM »
Hi. 
I hope I am in the right spot to reply.  My name is Terry and I have been accumulating bits and pieces of cnc hardware and software against the day I will have time to play with it.  I graduated in 1990 (at the age of 40) with a degree in electrical engineering.  I got an overseas job as an automation engineer working on Johnston Island in the Pacific, destroying chemical weapons. The project finished in 2003 and I returned to my home in eastern Tennessee to see what I could get going.  I ended up getting married in 2005 and my wife and I have 2 children now, a two year old daughter and a two month old son.  I own a mini storage and maintain 10 acres of property and donate quite a bit of time to church work. 

I managed to get a shop built and I have an old barn to accumulate interesting pieces of wood.  I am interested in doing artsy/craft type projects in 2d, 3d and relief if I ever find the time and get the right combination of software and hardware.

 I have a small 3 Axis table from Isel that my Mach computer is hooked up to.  I also have a Multicam 44 (4' x 4') which runs HPGL files from an old CASmate pro program used for engraving.  The software isn't supported anymore and the 3d options aren't enabled.   I also have an old  Dalgren engraver with card problems that I though I would convert with new stepper drivers and run in under Mach 3.   I own Visual Mill 5.0 but have never used it.

I'm not much of an artist so I hope to find the right software to turn bitmap raster images into  machinable reliefs.  I would like to find someone who might be experienced with the new Rhino art pluggin from Mecsoft and Delcam's Artcam express.  Also interested to know of peoples experience with the raster to vector conversion in these two programs vs. VectorMagic. 

Please don't drop me from your list.  My lack of participation is due to lack of time not lack of interest.
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #324 on: October 07, 2008, 12:14:16 PM »
I have been around a while I have built an engraver that i learned Mach2 on I need to get my self off of mach2 and go on to Mach3.  I am building a plasma cutting table that willl cut a 6'x12' sheet of metal.
I will be using a four axis controller built by campbell  designs.  I will be using rack and pinion drive using a slave on the long axis.  I has also purchased sheet cam to work with Mach3.
Thanks Clint
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #325 on: October 07, 2008, 12:30:53 PM »
We are using MACH 3 to make non-circular gears on a Fellows 6A type gear shaper. It's a fantastic program, much better than anything I could have written
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #326 on: October 07, 2008, 12:32:51 PM »
I've been a BobCad and Mach user for several years now and must confess I spend more time running my plastic injection molding machines to pay the bills then I do using Mach or BC. I need both programs to make plastic injection molds and barely know how to run either. To busy to sit down and learn them well ,much to my loss. Anyway , please don't delete me cause I don't post much. I need these resources usually at a moments notice and I kinda fly by the seat of my pants cause of my lack of knowing the programs to get through the job . I've converted a Taiwan BP size mill to run with Mach 3. I'm in Walla Walla, WA and have a 1 man Machine shop/ plastic injection molding business for my livelyhood. Anyone else out there making molds with BC and Mach? Take care, Rob
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #327 on: October 07, 2008, 01:20:08 PM »
Hi my name is Simon
I'm from Portugal
I'm not very good in English I am better to read that to write therefore I participate very little
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #328 on: October 07, 2008, 01:36:30 PM »
Hello all,
My name is Paul and I'm fairly new to CNC. My current project is a Denford ORAC retrofit. So far I have fitted all the new hardware (C11G breakout board, Mitsubishi D720S inverter and MSD980 stepper drives from Motion control products.  The other night I managed to calibrate the X and Z axis  :) a real sense of achievement!! Now all that's left is to sort out the spindle control and find the reason for pesky, false, limit switch errors.
Re: New people welcome !! Come in here and introduce your self!
« Reply #329 on: October 07, 2008, 02:11:23 PM »
I'm a Mach 3 owner in the process of setting up a ShopTask with CNC.  Please don't delete me from the forum, even though I don't make any posts.