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Author Topic: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)  (Read 8888 times)

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Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)
« Reply #40 on: September 07, 2017, 07:26:29 PM »
Well, I calibrated the X, Y and Z motors. BUT I've managed to break my first bit, when Calibrating the Z axis the figure I put in was too great and oops it broke the bit before I could hit the stop. Anyway I haven't yet tried to calibrate the A axis and I need to find out how to set the travel limits of X, Y and Z so that they stay within their working range and don't crash.So my machine has metric leadscrews, 400 is the exact motor setting. The antbacklash ballscrews are pretty good and the accuracy on repeated cycles is very close.Just guide me please as to where in the manuals I'l find infoon setting ABSOLUTE limits without using limit switches.
BTW just as an afterthought, have you seen the latest vernier calliper from (I won't say) it has Metric, imperial AND Fractions on its digital display; Pretty smart I thought..

Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)
« Reply #41 on: September 07, 2017, 08:28:09 PM »
Hi Basil,
you need limit switches if you want to use limits at all. You could use 'soft limits' where you tell the machine
where abouts the boudaries are from some defined home point. It works OK but hardwired limit switches are preferred.

Was it an expensive bit?

I know your're in the UK and I'm in New Zealand but you must have heard me shout and swear when I broke my diamond
coated 0.5mm endmill, $250 NZ....I bloody near cried and yelled loud enuf for you to hear!

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'
Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)
« Reply #42 on: September 07, 2017, 10:14:25 PM »
Hi Craig, no it wasn't a bit expensive !! I thought I heard some sound emanating from the antipode of Coton-in-the-Elms but no, it was the better half (Pat) playing 'Kiri Te Kanawa' a bit of a diamond in her own right..
Now tell me what is the most economical but effective program to convert text (any font) to G-Code please? and is there also an economical way of converting jpg or tiff to G-Code ?
I have the complete Adobe suite in my MacPro and also Microsoft Office..AND Parallels Desktop so I can run PC programs in the Mac; plan is to not overload the PC and keep it completely clean except for Mach3, that the only program on it except for Windoze XP resident ones..
Regarding soft limits and limit switches, my intention is to just do engraving on 16 and 19mm copper discs and some very light milling of small shapes in 1/16" aluminium Just the outline shape of 1/16” x 1-5/16 x 2-3/16” Plate
The engraving on the copperdiscs is using an outlined version of Apple Chancery Italic (Postcript Font)
« Last Edit: September 07, 2017, 10:18:50 PM by basilhenriques »
Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)
« Reply #43 on: September 08, 2017, 12:20:56 AM »
Hi Basil,
I'm not into engraving so I can't help you with software that converts an image into Gcode. There are many
hundreds of users who can help.

Names which I've heard are Vectric and VCarve.

Might also pay to do a bit of reading on the CAD/CAM Gcode board of the forum, must be thousands of posts on
such matters.

Craig
'I enjoy sex at 73.....I live at 71 so its not too far to walk.'

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Re: All the Gear and No Idea (as to why nothing happens)
« Reply #44 on: September 08, 2017, 01:40:42 AM »
Quote
Now tell me what is the most economical but effective program to convert text (any font) to G-Code please?

Hi Basil,

Try 'F-Engrave' - pretty cost effective as it's free. This thread refers ; http://www.machsupport.com/forum/index.php/topic,33947.0.html

Tweakie.
PEACE