NEW MEMBER: Greetings from Keith

Hi, My name is Keith. I’m originally from the East Midlands but I presently live in Edinburgh. I’ve been thinking about making a CNC machine for over 10 years and finally got round to it - now there is more help and information about it on the WWW.

I’m planning to build a 3-axis gantry machine to work hard-woods. At the moment I’m undecided whether to have a fixed or moving gantry so I’m considering a gantry subassembly and I’ll add bearings or feet to the sides when I make my mind up.

I’ve taught myself G-code, CAD and CAM and researched machines and stepper-motors etc. I haven’t started building yet but that’s next. I don’t have a workshop so I’ll need to get some subassemblies built for me. But before that I want to prove to myself that I can make g-code programs that work how I want them.

I use GNU/Linux only on my computers. I have QCAD by Ribbonsoft and that is fine but it’s only 2D so I’ll need to edit the G-code a little so it works as 3D (this is something to do next as well). I use EMC2 machine control software which has a machine simulator for me to test the G-code programs.

At the moment the programs produced by the CAD-CAM package cut in a strange order so this is also something to sort out next. I started on that and improved them but something else cropped up. So many things to sort out. If I’d known at the beginning I might not have got started but I am making progress. At the moment, the learning curve feels vertical.

I’m pleased to find a UK site geared to UK needs.