Multicam designer

[nautcases]

Hi I'm new here and new to cnc routing, I've purchased a Multicam designer machine 4x4 it's about 12 yrs old, i use autocad 2000 and corel draw9 and toolpath on windows 98. Just wondering if anybody has a similar machine and the problems with importing other peoples files (.dxf ) even .dxf r14 files?

[gavinmetzler]

The trouble with using such old software, is most software vendors don't support those old formats anymore, so you're likely to run into problems all over the place. I found Rhino to be excellent at translating files, as well as a good design program overall. The trouble with the Multicams is that you're tied to that awful controller of theirs, and Toolpath for Windows which I think Noah used to cut the Ark. My advice is to retrofit a decent controller onto the machine, or even just a PC-based Mach3 system - then you're free to use any modern CAM program.

[diyengineer]

"The trouble with the Multicams is that you're tied to that awful controller of theirs, and Toolpath for Windows which I think Noah used to cut the Ark."



HAHAHHAHAHA That made my day!

[nautcases]

thanks I'll have a look into rinho, You mentioned thinking about retrofitting another controller , I love that idea but have no clue about where to start.
Would I use any part of the original system ie: drive cards, steppers,motherboard?

[diyengineer]

thanks I'll have a look into rinho, You mentioned thinking about retrofitting another controller , I love that idea but have no clue about where to start.
Would I use any part of the original system ie: drive cards, steppers,motherboard?

You could easily update to new electronics. One driver card per axis, all tied to a breakout board.

www.CNC4PC.com Has everything you will need for the breakout board and accessories.

I would look into Gecko drives for the drivers.
http://www.geckodrive.com/

Keling has everything you need for steppers
http://www.kelinginc.net/