and a shelf.... a caution, I welded it on, but they left this open because you may need to level the table due to uneven surfaces.... now it should stay square, however, leveling is a bit more difficult
still have to fab a drain and figure out how to hold the pan where it belongs,
Normally I love watching you work on stuff but the cnc stuff seemed so complicated for a electronics and computer novice .But I was bored so I took a look , after 5 months . The cnc video(s) on the cnc etch sucked me in because I loved the impossible challenge of making pictures with the thing .And in thought how similar it would be to a plasma table . Sorry your experiment didn't work to your satisfaction but hey for your expense I at the minimum know what a stepper motor is and it was a nice relaxing way to spend 3 hours on youtube .
I am really impressed with your use of laser cut components for your machine. My hat is off to you!
You have probably been asked this before, but have you considered designing a real Z axis and beefing up the machine so it can do 3 axis work in soft materials such as wood, plastic, and aluminum? I can envision version II which could do both plasma cutting, which is low force, but also do machining with a high speed router head that could be swapped out for a plasma torch and vice versa. Machine would require larger motors, stiffer frame, and larger linear slides because of the much higher forces involved. Alternately, design/build a second machine with metal machining capabilities in mind.
BTY, since DraftSight is no longer free I snooped around and found an open source 2D CAD package for cheap. It seems to have all the features of AutoCAD or Draftsight and at $54 with DVD disc it seems to be a bargain. The company is called QCAD and it is Swedish. There are no fees or annual renewals required. The program belongs to the user for life. I should have it in a week or so.
I am really impressed with your use of laser cut components for your machine. My hat is off to you!
You have probably been asked this before, but have you considered designing a real Z axis and beefing up the machine so it can do 3 axis work in soft materials such as wood, plastic, and aluminum? I can envision version II which could do both plasma cutting, which is low force, but also do machining with a high speed router head that could be swapped out for a plasma torch and vice versa. Machine would require larger motors, stiffer frame, and larger linear slides because of the much higher forces involved. Alternately, design/build a second machine with metal machining capabilities in mind.
BTY, since DraftSight is no longer free I snooped around and found an open source 2D CAD package for cheap. It seems to have all the features of AutoCAD or Draftsight and at $54 with DVD disc it seems to be a bargain. The company is called QCAD and it is Swedish. There are no fees or annual renewals required. The program belongs to the user for life. I should have it in a week or so.
Randy in Everett
I don't think this machine would be strong enough for a router. As for Z axis - I don't think it's necessary (and it adds weight in the wrong place). Coming soon is an update to the X axis.
As for routing, I've never had the need for it... that said, you can buy linear gear tracks for cheap - so building something that follows the later designs shouldn't be terribly difficult.
Software, my opinion is pay others for the stuff I don't like to do, I don't like programming - so paying someone $200 for software that works without headache is worth it....
Son was relating a convo with an ex-buddy... Inflating himself. "I'm buying a CNC machine"
My kid, "Oh...what kind?"
He, "CCCNNNCCC, You know!"
My kid, "What is the CNC running?"
Blank face.
for some reason the trigger only works 95% of the time - had it not left the torch on and cut a bone in half - that'd be a cute little skull and cross bones
I know some will say "duh" but because there are people who have never done this before nor have any idea what it takes... even Langmuir doesn't point out that you need some program where you actually draw the design - it seems stupid unless you have no idea....
So your workflow would be:
Design in Inkscape --> Insert SVG into Fusion, create Toolpaths, Generate G-Code --> Open .tap file in Mach3 & cut.
Or swap Sheetcam for Fusion. But you need Design, Toolpath definition, G-Code generation and machine control. Inkscape can do design, Mach3 can do machine control but you need another application to do the bits in between.
Inkscape = free drawing program
SVG = a type of file that can be read by Fusion or SheetCam (also can use DXF files - to further explain, say you've created a skull. You'd name the file skull.dxf or skull.svg)
Toolpaths = how the machine head travels (much like following a maze)
G-Code = machine language that tells the machine the toolpath
.tap file = the file that you send to Mach3 ... in the case above, its file name is now named skull.tap
there's another free cad program, but, it's a cloud program, so all of your drawings are available to the world. For me, that's no big deal, for others it is. also, it's only available online, which can be a bit of a buzzkill.
"I am not what you so glibly call to be a civilized man. I have broken with society for reasons which I alone am able to appreciate. I am therefore not subject to it's stupid laws, and I ask you to never allude to them in my presence again."
nice... I'll have to try it. I was dinking around last night and saw that Fusion is capable of CAD... I'm going to play with it this morning.... we will see
where I live, I have really slow internet (less then 1 MB) - so online stuff usually doesn't work because I don't have the patience....
Last edited by SuperBuickGuy; October 27, 2019, 08:25 AM.
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