What software do you use on these chinese machines

[JAZZCNC]

Hi Alan,

Ok well, basically there are 3 different pieces of software or steps required to get from material to finished part. Well, it's often narrowed to 2 pieces with one of them being combined depending on how you want to work and the complexity of parts.

The 1st step is to draw your design or model and this is done in CAD. Now for simple work this mostly just 2D lines and arcs which you use in the next step and would save in a file format that suits the next software, often this is DXF format. However for more complex work with curved surfaces etc then you'll require a 3D model which again gets saved in a different file format which the next software requires, often this format is STL but there are many others.

The 2nd step is CAM software. Here you load in the File you created in CAD and using the lines and Arcs or 3D surfaces you create the tool paths which are used to create a final file called G-CODE which is used in the 3rd step.
The CAM software provides various tools called cutting strategies or often called Toolpaths which provide various parameters that you select to suit the job.

For instance, let's say cutting a simple rectangular house sign with 4 holes in each corner and "V" carved house name in the center. In CAD you would draw the rectangle, place the text and a circle in each corner.

Now in CAM, you would use 3 Different cutting strategies to achieve this. So the first thing we'll do is drill the 4 holes by selecting the circles, for this, we'll use a Drilling toolpath. Here you set various things like Drill size, Cut speed, Spindle RPM, and other settings that relate to drilling holes, like peck drilling rather than plunging straight down.

Next, we'll create the Text by selecting all the lines of the text. Now for this, we are going to use a "V" shaped cutter using a dedicated toolpath for V carving. Again there are various parameters like cutter size, Speeds, etc along with other parameters that relate to V carving.

Finally, we'll cut the rectangle out. Again we use a different cutting strategy called a PROFILE toolpath. The theme is the same as the other tool-paths where we select tools and speeds etc. Now the level of CAM software will to some degree determine the options each toolpath provides, for instance, a common option in a PROFILE toolpath is to add TABS which helps to hold the part when cutting it out so it doesn't fly off the bed. However, lesser or cheaper CAM packages might not.? you get what you pay for.!

Now after we have created each toolpath we need to create the G-code for the 3rd step. This is a kind of 2.1 step process within CAM called POST PROCESSING. This basically means a file is created in a language that the 3rd step can understand because with the 3rd step there are many different types and all speak a different language.
In use, it's seamless to you but it is something you need to be aware of because if you have the wrong POST selected for the 3rd step they won't understand each other. Also if the 3rd piece of software isn't supported by the CAM software then it's useless to you.!

So creating the G-code file consists of selecting the tool-paths, now here we have a few choices. We can either create a separate G-code file for each tool-path or we can select all of them and create one large G-code file which cuts the part in one go using all 3 paths and tools. The order it does this depends on the order you select them.
When we have selected the tool-paths we send them to POST Processor which creates the G-code file for the 3rd step.

Now, Steps 1 and 2 or CAD and CAM can be combined in one package. This Combo software is ok but often limited on the CAD so many people find using a dedicated CAD package quicker or easier. Vectric products are a good example of CAD/CAM and very good.

Ok Now Step 3.
This is the Control software for the machine. Mach3, UCCNC, LinuxCNC, etc are all control software.
The control software does several jobs and it often scares people but it shouldn't really because from a USERS point of view it's actually very simple to use.

In a nutshell, it can be broken down into 2 groups. The 1st group is the settings the machine requires to work. Here is where it gets more complex and greater knowledge is required to get the machine working. However, if you are buying a machine often it comes pre-configured with the setting which it needs to work and you don't need to know anything about it. This all happens in the background.

The 2nd group is what the users care about and thankfully this is very simple.
You start the control software, you push a button on the screen which sets the HOME position for the machine. If the machine as them it will move until it trips a switch, this switch then sets the HOME position for you. The purpose of this is so if anything goes wrong while cutting you can easily get back into position.

Now you load the G-code file you created. In Cam, one of the options is to set a WORK ZERO position for the Job. Now you will move the machine axis to a point on your material that you want to cut the part from and will call this WORK ZERO by pushing buttons on the screen for each axis. ie Zero X, Zero Y, Zero Z.

Lastly, you push CYCLE START and off it pops and cuts the Job. If the machine is set up to do so it will start the spindle for you and control the speed, if not then you will need to do this your self before pushing CYCLE START.
If you created one Large file it will stop at each tool change and wait for you to change the tool and reset the Z-axis ZERO point.

I hope this helps and ask if you are not sure. The whole process of CAM and cutting parts quickly becomes second nature.