Hi all,

After lots and lots of asking questions and researching, I finally purchased my first CNC mill from Nick and Xylotex.

I began to set things up, but now I'm a bit overwelmed by Mach3 and how to even get the thing to do anything. I've hooked up the steppers to the controller and walked through the Mach3 setup tutorial. Now I'm wondering how do I see if the computer is talking to the controller; thereby, moving the steppers for x,y and z?

Is there anything on the net that has some simple gcode file I can load into Mach3 and hit a button to see what happens?

I have a million more questions as well...like; how do you even zero out all of the axis? My C02 laser just requires me to hit the calibrate X,Y,Z and that's it.

I'm thinking that the CNC Easy book my be a good investment right about now. :)


Thanks!
-Ed

Ed,
Here is the Mach3 manual:

http://www.artsoftcontrols.com/documentation/Using3Mill.pdf

Page 3-7 has some simple code to input to see what happens. Don't forget to zero all the azis before you run the code. Don't ask me how I learned this. :)

Go to the Mach3 homepage:

http://www.artsoftcontrols.com/artsoft/index/index.htm

and click on Tutorials and then Video Tutorials. Start at the top and work your way down. There is a wealth of information in there. You will learn how to zero the axis. :)

You will spend some time reading, searching, and studying to make any sense of this. I spent about a year researching CNC mills before I actually took the plunge and then it was only because to CNC my mill was only a few hundred dollars more than a DRO and powerfeed which I originally wanted. I am going to be MUCH happier with the CNC. I can already tell.

You *should* be able to start the motors by just pressing the arrow keys. That is if all the settings are correct in Mach3.

I am totally new at this too, but I'll tell you what I can and show you what I can based on my learning cycle.

Mike

Thanks for the info Mike. I totally forgot about reading the manual. :)

I just finished verifying everything works. I still need to do some more zero tweaking, but at least the steppers are running in the right direction.

I really don't want to do any milling until I figure out how to wire up an e-stop and some homing/limit switches. It scares me a bit without having any overrides other than the software.

I'll let you know if I run into any troubles, as I'm sure I will.

Thanks again
-Ed

Ed,
I would have told you how to zero ourright...but I could not remember.

I'm just wiring in an E-stop switch for right now to get my machine up and running. From what I see of Mach3, I can use the software limit switches for now. I only want to wire in what I absolutely need to run this machine. I'll go back and wire the limit switches later.

Mike

You will at some time overstoke it, so depending on the concequences this maybe a bad idea.

The time you most need a safety device is when you are least experienced. Should you fit learning stabilisers to your childs bicycle before or after they have an accident. Don't answer that.:)

Phil

Ed,
I'll go back and wire the limit switches later.
Mike

You will at some time overstoke it, so depending on the concequences this maybe a bad idea.

The time you most need a safety device is when you are least experienced. Should you fit learning stabilisers to your childs bicycle before or after they have an accident. Don't answer that.:)

Phil

Phil,
Good point. I am going to get them installed after I get the mill set up. The company that had the E-switch did not carry limit switches. I'm just waiting to see if I need to order anything else before ordering the limit switches alone.
Thanks
Mike

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