operation cnc

[JAZZCNC]

Try a pencil first much cheaper. . . Lol

What your planning on cutting will determine which cutters and size you'll want to use.
If Aluminium/plastics then 6mm is a good all round size and single or twin flute are best, 3 flutes at the most. Carbide will cost more than HSS but last longer and allow higher feeds and DOC. HSS are good for learning has they are cheaper. I use Cutwel Limited | Cutting Tools & Machine Tool Accessories for my metal/plastics tooling.

If cutting MDF then ONLY use carbide has MDF dulls HSS in no time. Size will depend on what your doing and often wood cutters come in imperial shank sizes so 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" are common shanks also 8mm. Actual cutter sizes can be quit large with wood bits and 1/2" shanks can yield 50-60mm cutter widths.
I use Wealden Tool Company for wood/mdf bits.

Most spindles only come with 1 collet often 6mm so I'd Buy a set of Collets when you buy spindle and you'll be sorted for every shank size upto 13mm, Only need one set for both imperial and metric shanks.

[martin54]

The spindle i bought came with different sized collets as you have listed in your post but if you intend using smaller bits you will need to buy smaller collets. 4mm being the smallest it comes with.

Anyway stop changing the subject, lets here all about the breakout boards lol

[m_c]

Got to agree with Jon, sorry jazz! Computers are pretty good at assigning values to variables and then reading them again, they do rather a lot of that sort of thing millions of times a second... If your software can't handle that simple task you need some new programmers.

Computers are very good at dealing with numbers, but having two matched hardware outputs is better.
By using the software to mirror signals, you can end up with slight timing discrepencies, however most of the time it won't cause any issues.

[kingcreaky]

Evening Gents...

Right then... got a video for you at long last...

Past few days have been spent messing around with Mach3... and this evening ive been googling G-code... and even wrote my first bit

this is the 'house'
>>dont properly understand this bit copied it off internet
g0 g21 g90 g50 g80 f100
g0 z0 g0 x0 y0 set
m98 p1 l10
g0 x0
m30
%
o1

>> this is the bit i wrote!
z-30 >> drop the z down to where the pencil touches
g1 x0 y0 f3500
g1 x-200
g1 y-200
g1 x0
g1 y0
g1 y-200 x-200 f3200
g1 y0
g1 y-200 x0
g1 y0
g1 x100 y-100
g1 x0 y-200
g1 y0

and the circle... Really dont undestand this... found a wizard page on the net that made it...

G21 (mm)
G0
F3200.00
X0 Y0 Z0
Z-30
G1 X-99.5000Y0.0000
G2 X-99.5000Y0.0000 i99.5000j0
G0Z0.1000 (Retract)




thanks to Jazz and Jonathon for their help and patience with my repeated stupid questions

hope this inspires others.... (WILFY!!!!) to get started!!

[Jonathan]

Now draw it without overlapping any lines or retracting the pencil ;)

It sounds like the acceleration on your machine is set quite low, what value is it currently? You should be able to get at least 1m/s^2 comfortably.

In mach3 there is a list linked to from the main screen which explains what each G-code does, so it shouldn't be difficult to work out what the initial commands do and how the arc command has been used to construct a circle.

[wilfy]

awesome, love your ghetto pencil rig up as well.. i never realised the steppers made so much noise though, is this due to the spindle being much louder hence why you never hear them?

[JAZZCNC]

Little tip with G-code. G0 and G1, G2,G3 are whats called modal commands so you don't need to repeat the G0 or G1 after the first instance IE:
G1 x10 y10 f200
G1 y30 z-12
G1 x50 y20

could be written.

G1 x10 y10 F200
y30 z-12
x50 y20
The G1 linear command will stay in affect untill it's cancelled by either another Modal command Like G0, G2,G3 or a cycle command like G83 drill cycle.
Same goes for the F# this feed rate will stay in affect until changed by another F#

[GEOFFREY]

Its the stupid ones that don't ask questions. Video looks good, now lets see some cutting. I'm sure Wilfy is dead keen to get going now - and many others. G.

[wilfy]

Its the stupid ones that don't ask questions. Video looks good, now lets see some cutting. I'm sure Wilfy is dead keen to get going now - and many others. G.

i am, i'm just a bit distracted with other stuff at the minute and i dont wanna start my machine until i know i can go at it full throttle. i have the cash to go buy the steel whenever but that would be it, so i could have my machine free rolling on its rails then i'd have to stick it to one side till i could afford the steppers and drivers/psu.

so for now i'll keep pushing everyone else who is building to post videos up to keep inspiring me

[D.C.]

Computers are very good at dealing with numbers, but having two matched hardware outputs is better.
By using the software to mirror signals, you can end up with slight timing discrepencies, however most of the time it won't cause any issues.

Could you explain this in very, very great and technical detail? I really don't get it. I'm utterly clueless about CNC machines but me and computers go way back and I'm a bit confused about this concept.

There is no such thing as 'hardware' in this context because the pin assignment of a parallel port is always determined by 'software'. If you attach a printer to the parallel port the computer will use the pins differently compared to how the computer uses them when a scanner or for example a cnc machine uses them. 'Hardware' here is a meaningless concept, devices come, devices go, the signals that are sent down the wire are determined by software just as different ships come and go from a harbor and the ability of a ship to dock with a port is not dependent on the cargo that a ship carries or the people on board a ship, if you can physically fit into the harbour and attach one or more cables to one or more bollards you are officially 'docked' in 'port'. This analogy is why a parallel 'port' is called a 'port'.

Perhaps a different analogy is in order:

Scenario 1 - You are sitting in a room, I walk in to the room with two people that you do not know. I point to the first person and say this is Bob, I point to the second person and say this Fred, they will be working for you. You go away and spend the rest of your life calling Bob 'Bob' and Fred 'Fred'. All is good with the universe.

Scenario 2 - You are sitting in a room, I walk in to the room with two people that you do not know. I point to the first person and say this is Fred, I point to the second person and say this is Bob, they will be working for you. You go nuts and kill everyone in the building, shortly after the universe implodes. This is because everyone knows that it is an irrevocable law of phyiscs that people called Bob must always be introduced before people called Fred.

If you think this is getting a bit ridiculous now you are right...