Hi,
A redo of single block was a MAJOR part of this new version that
will be released in the coming week. We have some Tangential bugs
with single block that we are looking for now but all in all it
seems to be great for Mill and turn. if you would like to see how
it works we do have some test versions on the FTP server.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
|
|
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Thank you, that sounds great.?
After three years I will need to do some refreshing before I get back into the set up. ? I will contact you after I get back in town and I ?take a look at what I ? currently have completed ?with the set up.?
Thanks again, Chuck
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Aug 3, 2022, at 11:12 AM, Brian Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
Funny we had talked about working on the tools to do that today.
We have an XML converter tool but it will not setup the motion
controller .
We have a spreadsheet that we use to put all the data into and a
tool to read the XML's.
I can have you work with one of the guys if you like that use the
tools everyday.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 11:55 AM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
Brian,
Are there any new “wizards“, guidelines or whatever for
converting from 3 to 4?
I believe it was in 2019 when I started to configure 4 and
then set it aside.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 3, 2022, at 7:00 AM, Brian
Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
I want you to enjoy all the work we have put in :) We
have some really cool features coming out in this next
release. The Diagnostics tool is really fun to use
graphing data from the core of mach4 and anything else you
may want to test.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 1:47 AM, Chuck
Kahler wrote:
Hi Brian,
I appreciate your reaching out to assist in
switching to 4.?
I have three machines running 3 and
everything is working well currently.?
A while back I was having an issue on one
of my machines running 3 and decided to switch??to 4.?
I got??most
of the parameters set up on 4 and then my issue went
way on that machine and I never got around to
finishing up putting 4 on it.?
based on all the good things I hear about
4, I would??really?like
to get??it
up and running but I can’t seem to find the time to do
it.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 2, 2022, at 12:37 PM,
Brian Barker <brianb@...>
wrote:
?
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure
you contact us so we can help you with how the
settings differ from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM,
Chuck Kahler wrote:
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with
Mach3, haven’t installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is
working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my
phone number and we can talk about what you’re
looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello
All. I’m new to using a CNC system and new
to using the Mach4 software. I have a
LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think
there are several things preventing my
setup from working correctly. I have
several questions that require more than
posting within this User Group. Is there
anyone in this groups that lives in the
North Seattle / Everett Washington State
area? ?I’m
looking for someone that knows how to
troubleshoot Mach4 Hobby Edition and how
to make adjustment suggestions for a bench
top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Funny we had talked about working on the tools to do that today.
We have an XML converter tool but it will not setup the motion
controller .
We have a spreadsheet that we use to put all the data into and a
tool to read the XML's.
I can have you work with one of the guys if you like that use the
tools everyday.
Thanks
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 11:55 AM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Brian,
Are there any new “wizards“, guidelines or whatever for
converting from 3 to 4?
I believe it was in 2019 when I started to configure 4 and
then set it aside.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 3, 2022, at 7:00 AM, Brian
Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
I want you to enjoy all the work we have put in :) We
have some really cool features coming out in this next
release. The Diagnostics tool is really fun to use
graphing data from the core of mach4 and anything else you
may want to test.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 1:47 AM, Chuck
Kahler wrote:
Hi Brian,
I appreciate your reaching out to assist in
switching to 4.?
I have three machines running 3 and
everything is working well currently.?
A while back I was having an issue on one
of my machines running 3 and decided to switch??to 4.?
I got??most
of the parameters set up on 4 and then my issue went
way on that machine and I never got around to
finishing up putting 4 on it.?
based on all the good things I hear about
4, I would??really?like
to get??it
up and running but I can’t seem to find the time to do
it.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 2, 2022, at 12:37 PM,
Brian Barker <brianb@...>
wrote:
?
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure
you contact us so we can help you with how the
settings differ from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM,
Chuck Kahler wrote:
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with
Mach3, haven’t installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is
working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my
phone number and we can talk about what you’re
looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello
All. I’m new to using a CNC system and new
to using the Mach4 software. I have a
LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think
there are several things preventing my
setup from working correctly. I have
several questions that require more than
posting within this User Group. Is there
anyone in this groups that lives in the
North Seattle / Everett Washington State
area? ?I’m
looking for someone that knows how to
troubleshoot Mach4 Hobby Edition and how
to make adjustment suggestions for a bench
top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Brian, Are there any new “wizards“, guidelines or whatever for converting from 3 to 4?
I believe it was in 2019 when I started to configure 4 and then set it aside.?
Regards, Chuck
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Aug 3, 2022, at 7:00 AM, Brian Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
I want you to enjoy all the work we have put in :) We have some
really cool features coming out in this next release. The
Diagnostics tool is really fun to use graphing data from the core
of mach4 and anything else you may want to test.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 1:47 AM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
Hi Brian,
I appreciate your reaching out to assist in
switching to 4.?
I have three machines running 3 and everything is
working well currently.?
A while back I was having an issue on one of my
machines running 3 and decided to switch??to 4.?
I got??most
of the parameters set up on 4 and then my issue went way on
that machine and I never got around to finishing up putting 4
on it.?
based on all the good things I hear about 4, I
would??really?like
to get??it up and
running but I can’t seem to find the time to do it.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 2, 2022, at 12:37 PM, Brian
Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure you
contact us so we can help you with how the settings differ
from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with Mach3,
haven’t installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my phone
number and we can talk about what you’re looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC
system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have
a LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are
several things preventing my setup from working
correctly. I have several questions that require
more than posting within this User Group. Is there
anyone in this groups that lives in the North
Seattle / Everett Washington State area? ?I’m looking
for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4
Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment
suggestions for a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
I want you to enjoy all the work we have put in :) We have some
really cool features coming out in this next release. The
Diagnostics tool is really fun to use graphing data from the core
of mach4 and anything else you may want to test.
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/3/2022 1:47 AM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Hi Brian,
I appreciate your reaching out to assist in
switching to 4.?
I have three machines running 3 and everything is
working well currently.?
A while back I was having an issue on one of my
machines running 3 and decided to switch??to 4.?
I got??most
of the parameters set up on 4 and then my issue went way on
that machine and I never got around to finishing up putting 4
on it.?
based on all the good things I hear about 4, I
would??really?like
to get??it up and
running but I can’t seem to find the time to do it.?
Regards,
Chuck
On Aug 2, 2022, at 12:37 PM, Brian
Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure you
contact us so we can help you with how the settings differ
from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with Mach3,
haven’t installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my phone
number and we can talk about what you’re looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC
system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have
a LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are
several things preventing my setup from working
correctly. I have several questions that require
more than posting within this User Group. Is there
anyone in this groups that lives in the North
Seattle / Everett Washington State area? ?I’m looking
for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4
Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment
suggestions for a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Hi Brian, I appreciate your reaching out to assist in switching to 4.?
I have three machines running 3 and everything is working well currently.?
A while back I was having an issue on one of my machines running 3 and decided to switch??to 4.?
I got??most of the parameters set up on 4 and then my issue went way on that machine and I never got around to finishing up putting 4 on it.?
based on all the good things I hear about 4, I would??really?like to get??it up and running but I can’t seem to find the time to do it.?
Regards, Chuck
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Aug 2, 2022, at 12:37 PM, Brian Barker <brianb@...> wrote:
?
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure you contact us
so we can help you with how the settings differ from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with Mach3, haven’t
installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my phone number
and we can talk about what you’re looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC
system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have a
LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are several
things preventing my setup from working correctly. I
have several questions that require more than posting
within this User Group. Is there anyone in this groups
that lives in the North Seattle / Everett Washington
State area? ?I’m
looking for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4
Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment suggestions for
a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Chuck if you have issues with 4 Please make sure you contact us
so we can help you with how the settings differ from Mach3 to 4.
Thank you for assisting!
Brian
______________________________
Brian Barker
Engineering / Development
ArtSoft | Newfangled Solutions
Livermore Falls, Maine (USA)
Webpage:
On 8/2/2022 3:01 PM, Chuck Kahler
wrote:
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
Walt,
I live north of Everett and I am familiar with Mach3, haven’t
installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my phone number
and we can talk about what you’re looking for.?
Chuck?
?
Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC
system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have a
LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are several
things preventing my setup from working correctly. I
have several questions that require more than posting
within this User Group. Is there anyone in this groups
that lives in the North Seattle / Everett Washington
State area? ?I’m
looking for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4
Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment suggestions for
a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Walt, I live north of Everett and I am familiar with Mach3, haven’t installed Mach4 yet since Mach3 is working fine.?
I’ve also done some retrofitting to CNC
If you want to email me then I can give you my phone number and we can talk about what you’re looking for.?
Chuck?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Aug 2, 2022, at 11:53 AM, Walt White <w3Leon@...> wrote:
? Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have a LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are several things preventing my setup from working correctly. I have several questions that require more than posting within this User Group. Is there anyone in this groups that lives in the North Seattle / Everett Washington State area? ?I’m looking for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4 Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment suggestions for a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Need help with Mach4 Hobby Edition and Setup Verification
#file-notice
Hello All. I’m new to using a CNC system and new to using the Mach4 software. I have a LMS3990 converted to CNC, but I think there are several things preventing my setup from working correctly. I have several questions that require more than posting within this User Group. Is there anyone in this groups that lives in the North Seattle / Everett Washington State area? ?I’m looking for someone that knows how to troubleshoot Mach4 Hobby Edition and how to make adjustment suggestions for a bench top mill.
Thanks, Walt W.
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Martin,
I’m all for the simplest way to get to the desired result. I will not be tapping or thread milling on the cnc, ultimately I’m a manual machinist so will use the other tools at my disposal for that. I really want the Boxford cnc for a small number of specific tasks that are laborious to do manually.
I have a PC, it’s a reasonably powerful Dell that I can dedicate to the software alone.
I think ill go for the licence just to have the full functionality and should I decide to sell the mill, the conversion with the software on the laptop should increase the return on the investment.
As to spare parts you may have, if its ok, when I know where I am with what I need, I will drop you a PM if that’s ok with you?
That’s an extremely kind offer and I would happily cover all postage costs.
Paul.?
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Hi John,
?500 budget is flexible, can go over. I have a spare computer I can use so that does not need to be covered in the budget.
If I can leave the original motors in place I will do so but need to figure out if they are compatible with the new hardware I have to install.
A used Boxford VMC costs between ?500 and ?2000 due to the obsolete software/hardware and their proprietary systems. The company does not like dealing outside of educational establishments thus the ?21K price tag for a new machine. I paid under a grand for mine in near mint condition.
I’ve been searching around for conversions of the Boxford online but coming up short. Most people in the UK convert the Denford mills as there is more info about them, and Denford are a more open company. I contacted Boxford for a quote on an upgrade and they came back with ?5K. Way over my budget.?
Paul
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Hi Chuck,
Many thanks for the link, great site, will give it a proper read. Looks amazing what you have done.
Yes, the Boxford is a very small machine indeed and in a significantly lower class of machine tool to the shixuoka. Boxford CNCs are a UK made mill designed for educational settings to teach kids, they are small and very low powered but ideal for my needs on occasional parts that are between 0.500” and 3” in length and width and generally no thicker than .250”.
Paul
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
John,? I didn’t realize how small the Boxford VMC was, Thanks for posting the link.
It’s obvious my conversion is in a different size ?class than the ?Boxford mill Plus I really didn’t pay attention to the budget restraint.?
Chuck?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Jul 14, 2022, at 5:15 PM, John Dammeyer <johnd@...> wrote:
? Impressive conversion! Let's see.? The OP stated ?500 In US $ that is about $592. One ESS is $199. One C62 Mult-function board is $176 One MACH license is $159 ? That leaves $52 for 3 stepper motors, drivers, power supply and quadrature encoder for the spindle to be able to power tap. ? Not quite sure fits his budget. ? Searching for the Boxford:? ? Listed at ?21,500 ? So somewhere between ?500 and less than ?21,500 should be the real budget. ? There are a few forum threads on converting this mill to CNC.? I'd suggest first look around to see what size motors are being used.? On the commercial unit mentioned above and the home conversions. ?Consider that a fixed price regardless of the control system and software. ? John ? ? Paul, I converted my Shizoka mill to Cnc.? Let me know if you have any questions. ? ?Hi All,?
Warning///CLUELESS///Warning
I own a Boxford VMC 190 which I would like to convert to Mach 3 or 4. I am a complete CNC novice so please be patient!! I have been a manual machinist for many years but completely new to CNC.?
Could someone please point me In the right direction of a good instructional guide or blog post etc about building a CNC machine? Id like to use Mach 3/4 as this seems to be the software with the most info out there.?
I'm getting my head wrapped around the basics, such as? motion controllers, breakout boards, drivers etc etc but I'm struggling to navigate the minefield and am at the bottom of the steep learning curve.?
If anyone could offer any advice or links to a 'how to' guide that could help me convert my Mill that would be great.?
I'm not sure which version of the software would be best for my needs. I'll be mostly doing fairly basic '2D' curved shapes from steel plate that are complex to do on my manual machines. I may use it for more complex 3D parts as my skills improve.?
My extremely basic understanding so far is I need to source a control board that works with Mach 3/4, Stepper motors (if i decide to replace the old ones), drivers, breakout board and/or control board, power supplies and Mach software. I'm struggling to understand what components are necessary and what works with what. Some of the wiring diagrams I have seen show controllers while other show breakout boards. Am I right in thinking that the control board essentially takes over from the PC and sends the signals to the stepper Drivers?
The mechanical side of the build is second nature to me but the electrical and software side is very confusing. I use Fusion 360 on a regular basis for design work so I'm focusing on the next steps of setting up the mill with the correct hardware and learning the Mach Software and would like to avoid making mistakes by purchasing the incorrect components.?
Any guidance whatsoever on a starting point for a clueless cnc noob would be greatly received.?
My budget is ?500
Many thanks in advance and all the best,
Paul.?
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
You can get cheaper motion controllers than the Ethernet Smooth Stepper (ESS). Since there is no need for lathe style tapping the index detection and subsequent motion initiation that is required for this process (that you get with Smooth Steppers) can be avoided. This means a general purpose motion controller will work for a milling machine/gantry router. A USB driven one will work unless you have a particularly electrically noisy environment or need the controller to be a long way away from the computer. A spindle encoder will not be required if thread milling is used to create threads. I am not sure if Mach3 can be made to do power tapping.
One omission from the price list is a PC to run Mach3 (unless you already have a spare). I use cheap, used but refurbished, Win10 touchscreen laptops from Ebay. Just set them up to never sleep when external power is connected.
Another point is that the licence for Mach3 may not be necessary if you can do what you want in a few lines of code, the licence is only required if you go over the limitation in the number of lines. If you can break the required code into small sections you can load it in pieces to do a larger total path. This means you can get going without the license then get the license later when/if you actually need it.
I have some spare bits and pieces that may be of use to you to cut your costs and all I would ask is UK postage being paid. I have some spare stepper motors and, if I can find it, a spare motion controller board that I used on my lathe until I required the need to tap when I replaced it with a Smooth Stepper.
Martin
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Impressive conversion! Let's see.? The OP stated ?500 In US $ that is about $592. One ESS is $199. One C62 Mult-function board is $176 One MACH license is $159 ? That leaves $52 for 3 stepper motors, drivers, power supply and quadrature encoder for the spindle to be able to power tap. ? Not quite sure fits his budget. ? Searching for the Boxford:? ? Listed at ?21,500 ? So somewhere between ?500 and less than ?21,500 should be the real budget. ? There are a few forum threads on converting this mill to CNC.? I'd suggest first look around to see what size motors are being used.? On the commercial unit mentioned above and the home conversions. ?Consider that a fixed price regardless of the control system and software. ? John ?
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Chuck Kahler
Sent: July-14-22 4:49 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [MachCNC] Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion? Paul, I converted my Shizoka mill to Cnc.? Let me know if you have any questions. ? ?Hi All,?
Warning///CLUELESS///Warning
I own a Boxford VMC 190 which I would like to convert to Mach 3 or 4. I am a complete CNC novice so please be patient!! I have been a manual machinist for many years but completely new to CNC.?
Could someone please point me In the right direction of a good instructional guide or blog post etc about building a CNC machine? Id like to use Mach 3/4 as this seems to be the software with the most info out there.?
I'm getting my head wrapped around the basics, such as? motion controllers, breakout boards, drivers etc etc but I'm struggling to navigate the minefield and am at the bottom of the steep learning curve.?
If anyone could offer any advice or links to a 'how to' guide that could help me convert my Mill that would be great.?
I'm not sure which version of the software would be best for my needs. I'll be mostly doing fairly basic '2D' curved shapes from steel plate that are complex to do on my manual machines. I may use it for more complex 3D parts as my skills improve.?
My extremely basic understanding so far is I need to source a control board that works with Mach 3/4, Stepper motors (if i decide to replace the old ones), drivers, breakout board and/or control board, power supplies and Mach software. I'm struggling to understand what components are necessary and what works with what. Some of the wiring diagrams I have seen show controllers while other show breakout boards. Am I right in thinking that the control board essentially takes over from the PC and sends the signals to the stepper Drivers?
The mechanical side of the build is second nature to me but the electrical and software side is very confusing. I use Fusion 360 on a regular basis for design work so I'm focusing on the next steps of setting up the mill with the correct hardware and learning the Mach Software and would like to avoid making mistakes by purchasing the incorrect components.?
Any guidance whatsoever on a starting point for a clueless cnc noob would be greatly received.?
My budget is ?500
Many thanks in advance and all the best,
Paul.?
|
Re: Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Paul, I converted my Shizoka mill to Cnc.?
Take a look at this.
Let me know if you have any questions. Chuck
toggle quoted message
Show quoted text
-sent from my iphone --
On Jul 14, 2022, at 9:02 AM, Wes Weston <luapnotsew@...> wrote:
?Hi All,?
Warning///CLUELESS///Warning
I own a Boxford VMC 190 which I would like to convert to Mach 3 or 4. I am a complete CNC novice so please be patient!! I have been a manual machinist for many years but completely new to CNC.?
Could someone please point me In the right direction of a good instructional guide or blog post etc about building a CNC machine? Id like to use Mach 3/4 as this seems to be the software with the most info out there.?
I'm getting my head wrapped around the basics, such as? motion controllers, breakout boards, drivers etc etc but I'm struggling to navigate the minefield and am at the bottom of the steep learning curve.?
If anyone could offer any advice or links to a 'how to' guide that could help me convert my Mill that would be great.?
I'm not sure which version of the software would be best for my needs. I'll be mostly doing fairly basic '2D' curved shapes from steel plate that are complex to do on my manual machines. I may use it for more complex 3D parts as my skills improve.?
My extremely basic understanding so far is I need to source a control board that works with Mach 3/4, Stepper motors (if i decide to replace the old ones), drivers, breakout board and/or control board, power supplies and Mach software. I'm struggling to understand what components are necessary and what works with what. Some of the wiring diagrams I have seen show controllers while other show breakout boards. Am I right in thinking that the control board essentially takes over from the PC and sends the signals to the stepper Drivers?
The mechanical side of the build is second nature to me but the electrical and software side is very confusing. I use Fusion 360 on a regular basis for design work so I'm focusing on the next steps of setting up the mill with the correct hardware and learning the Mach Software and would like to avoid making mistakes by purchasing the incorrect components.?
Any guidance whatsoever on a starting point for a clueless cnc noob would be greatly received.?
My budget is ?500
Many thanks in advance and all the best,
Paul.?
|
Help needed. Boxford VMC 190 Conversion
Hi All,?
Warning///CLUELESS///Warning
I own a Boxford VMC 190 which I would like to convert to Mach 3 or 4. I am a complete CNC novice so please be patient!! I have been a manual machinist for many years but completely new to CNC.?
Could someone please point me In the right direction of a good instructional guide or blog post etc about building a CNC machine? Id like to use Mach 3/4 as this seems to be the software with the most info out there.?
I'm getting my head wrapped around the basics, such as? motion controllers, breakout boards, drivers etc etc but I'm struggling to navigate the minefield and am at the bottom of the steep learning curve.?
If anyone could offer any advice or links to a 'how to' guide that could help me convert my Mill that would be great.?
I'm not sure which version of the software would be best for my needs. I'll be mostly doing fairly basic '2D' curved shapes from steel plate that are complex to do on my manual machines. I may use it for more complex 3D parts as my skills improve.?
My extremely basic understanding so far is I need to source a control board that works with Mach 3/4, Stepper motors (if i decide to replace the old ones), drivers, breakout board and/or control board, power supplies and Mach software. I'm struggling to understand what components are necessary and what works with what. Some of the wiring diagrams I have seen show controllers while other show breakout boards. Am I right in thinking that the control board essentially takes over from the PC and sends the signals to the stepper Drivers?
The mechanical side of the build is second nature to me but the electrical and software side is very confusing. I use Fusion 360 on a regular basis for design work so I'm focusing on the next steps of setting up the mill with the correct hardware and learning the Mach Software and would like to avoid making mistakes by purchasing the incorrect components.?
Any guidance whatsoever on a starting point for a clueless cnc noob would be greatly received.?
My budget is ?500
Many thanks in advance and all the best,
Paul.?
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A simple thing with tools on CNC machines is when we change the insert from a .2 mm radius tip to a .8 mm radius tip. When you do that nothing is changed except the tip. When you do this the tool offset changes, so instead of changing to a different tool number and slot we simple change the Tool offset number, and this offset number has the right settings.
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You may have a limited number of tools on a tool changer so different lines in the tool table allow the same tool to be used in different ways. Wear offsets are used in the tool table and so you avoid having to modify the CNC code every time you use it.
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