Raised Letter Name Plates

[RobtL]

Holy Moly am I confused.

I’ve been reading for days and the more I read the more

confused I become.


I’m thinking the best way to start is by stating what my end

goal is.


I want to make raised letter name plates out of ½”

aluminum plate stock.


The name plates will be oval in shape , Approx 6” wide by

4” tall .


There will be a border of approx 3/16”


With the name in the middle. I would like the letters to be

about 3/16” tall


I started out by visiting the Sherline factory in Vista Ca. ( I

live in Temecula )


I was fairly sold on the 8020A system

http://www.sherline.com/CNCprices.htm


And then I started researching various desk top Mills on the

net….. That’s were the trouble started .



I have looked at the Taig 2019 CR


The X3? Grizzly and about 2.4 million other mills that are

available.


Some of these require a ton of retro fitting which may be

fun and all but I’m not at the level where I would know one

stepper from another, barely have a grasp on what a

controller does and would probably plug my 110 power

supply into 220 ( just kidding)


Is there anyone doing something similar to what I am trying

to accomplish that could possibly lend some input?


I am also looking for recommendations as to software.

There seems to be about a bazzilian programs out there.

Some real scary web sites that won’t even give you the price

of their software, which leads me to believe I can’t afford

it!

I would like to be able to create the art work in Corel then export to a BMP. or DXF? file. then possibly find a good converter to g-code?


Like to spend in the $3-4K range for the whole set up

( including pc which will be dedicated solely to the mill )

Software etc.


I must say this site is a wealth of information, I could just

use a little help applying that information to the task at

hand.


Thanks!!

[ger21]

As far as software is concerned, the most affordable way to do what you want would be to get this Corel plugin. http://www.candcnc.com/DXFToolDetails.htm

and SheetCAM, www.sheetcam.com

[cartertool]

You could do this on the Taig or the Sherline.
Here's one I did for my father in law on the Taig.
http://www.cartertools.com/jmail01.jpg
http://www.cartertools.com/jmail02.jpg

There is some faceting on the zeros, because of poor toolpaths I generated in Bobcad as I was learning the program, doesn't have anything to do with the machine...I now make nice smooth zeros.

You could do this with Bobcad, Sheetcam, etc. Use any CAD program that will convert text to vectors, and any 2-1/2 axis CAM program...

So put this way, what you want to do can be done pretty easily on any CNC mill, but you'll have to figure out what software will allow you to do the design and toolpath work. Corel>DXF>Sheetcam (Or maybe Lazycam in Mach3) seems like it will work fine for you.

[RobtL]

Thanks for the reply's I really appreciate the help.

My concern with the Sherline is that it has a 2500rpm motor

Will that be enough to accomplish what I'm after?

Also, it seems the Taig is a bit more reasonable money wise

but kind of hard to figure out as I can't seem to find a complete kit for the taig comparible to the

8020A http://www.sherline.com/CNCprices.htm

Sherline.

[cartertool]

Originally Posted by RobtL Thanks for the reply's I really appreciate the help. My concern with the Sherline is that it has a 2500rpm motor Will that be enough to accomplish what I'm after? Also, it seems the Taig is a bit more reasonable money wise but kind of hard to figure out as I can't seem to find a complete kit for the taig comparible to the 8020A http://www.sherline.com/CNCprices.htm Sherline.

Well, I sell Taigs, so I'm a bit biased. I like the 10k rpm the Taig spindle can go...but Sherline does have a high speed option.

First thing, is how comfortable are you with machining and machines? You will need to adjust, fixture, and generally learn to be a machinist to run either machine.

Taig doesn't sell a turnkey system, you have to supply your own PC to run the thing. Sherline runs in Linux which depending on you, can be a bad or good thing.

If you decide to look at the Taig, get the ER spindle option.

[RobtL]

Nick,


That would be the 2027ER correct?



And that comes with the stepper motors and control system?

One other thing about the sherline is that they have just come out with a 18" ( upgrade) x travel would that upgrade be available with the Taig?

[RobtL]

One other thing,

The Sherline has handwheels on the steppers for manual use

Does the Taig come with this ? Do you feel these are important?

And yes I wil need to figure the machining part out, but I'm a pretty quick learner, and I am willing to lock myself in a room for months if necessary to learn something when I put my mind to it. ( not at all taking away from those on this board that have years of knowledge ) but my goal is to start with this project and then progress.


Of course if you have any customers in my neck of the woods I'd love to see their set ups.

Seems like most of the members here are from the midwest.

[snakebit95]

If you are cutting letters in aluminum plate, you are going to need something much faster than 2500 RPM. 2500 RPM with an 1/8" or 1/4" cutter will be PAINFULLY SLOW!! I would try and find a small machine that will turn at least 10K RPM's and has feedrates to support the maximum spindle speed. Small machines make small cuts with small tools, so they need to spin and move fast to make parts somewhat fast. Hope this helps!!

[RobtL]

Originally Posted by ger21 As far as software is concerned, the most affordable way to do what you want would be to get this Corel plugin. http://www.candcnc.com/DXFToolDetails.htm and SheetCAM, www.sheetcam.com

Thanks forthe reply unfortunately my Corel is ver 8 and you need ver 12 or later. ( hey its done everything I've needed it to till now )

looked at upgrading , And I guess Corel has gone to an X3 version?

geez, hard to keep up sometimes,

anyway the good news is the X3 ver is only 159.00

I think the ver 8 was alot more expensive than that.

unless I'm missing something.

The X3 ver is supposed to have bit map to vector tracing which should be good for what I am trying to do .... no?

Check it out http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satelli...81051301&lc=en

Will I still need this plug in if I use this version of Corel?

Or should I be looking at another program which is perhaps easier?

I would like to be able to do a raised logo type jpg. on these plates as well, am I crazy??

[ger21]

Originally Posted by RobtL Will I still need this plug in if I use this version of Corel?

You'll need to try it and see. I'd guess yes, but haven't tried it.The reason the plugin was created was to make exporting from corel easier and more functional.

If you're already familiar with Corel, I doubt you'll find anything easier, without spending a LOT more.

A lot of people use the trace function in Corel, but I personally don't like any raster to vector converters. Ymmv.

[philbur]

I have been doing some engraving recently (not raised letters though) and have identified the following key issues.

Lettering 3/16" high will need some very small cutters for finishing. The normal ratio of letter height to cutter diameter is about 7.5 to 1 (for single line fonts) so you are looking at 0.025" diameter cutters or smaller. This is down at engraving cutter level so 15,000 + rpm would not go amiss. 2500 rpm would be useless. Also at such small sizes letter distortion due to backlash may also be an issue you should consider.

To keep machining time down you may have to compromise on font type. Single line fonts are easiest and quickest. Something like Times New Roman is going to take much longer and will need even a smaller cutter in order to pick out the detail.

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by RobtL Thanks forthe reply unfortunately my Corel is ver 8 and you need ver 12 or later. ( hey its done everything I've needed it to till now ) looked at upgrading , And I guess Corel has gone to an X3 version? geez, hard to keep up sometimes, anyway the good news is the X3 ver is only 159.00 I think the ver 8 was alot more expensive than that. unless I'm missing something. The X3 ver is supposed to have bit map to vector tracing which should be good for what I am trying to do .... no? Check it out http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satelli...81051301&lc=en Will I still need this plug in if I use this version of Corel? Or should I be looking at another program which is perhaps easier? I would like to be able to do a raised logo type jpg. on these plates as well, am I crazy??

[philbur]

I don't think you need CorelDraw for something as simple as nameplates. There are programs out there for free that will go all the way from text to gcode for you in one easy step. Or you could use the text wizard in the Mach controller. Alternatively you can buy more sophisticated software specifically designed for turning text into gcode.

Coreldraw to DXF to gcode just increases the steepness of the learning curve.

Regards
Phil

Originally Posted by RobtL Thanks forthe reply unfortunately my Corel is ver 8 and you need ver 12 or later. ( hey its done everything I've needed it to till now ) looked at upgrading , And I guess Corel has gone to an X3 version? geez, hard to keep up sometimes, anyway the good news is the X3 ver is only 159.00 I think the ver 8 was alot more expensive than that. unless I'm missing something. The X3 ver is supposed to have bit map to vector tracing which should be good for what I am trying to do .... no? Check it out http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satelli...81051301&lc=en Will I still need this plug in if I use this version of Corel? Or should I be looking at another program which is perhaps easier? I would like to be able to do a raised logo type jpg. on these plates as well, am I crazy??