Just a Little Intro

[Cabbie]

Hi there I just signed up to this forum and wanted to introduce myself. I am a cabinetmaker and have been around CNC machines for the better part of 10 yrs with only being able to start using them in the past 2 yrs. I currently program and run locally built machine called a Tekcel CNC router. It is a nesting machine capable of cutting sheets at 3600x1800. It also doesn't use stops to hold the material in place but a vacuum pump capable of making suction go through MDF up to 50mm thick so whatever you put on the MDF gets sucked to the table providing its a smooth flat even surface. I have had to basically teach myself how to use it program it and run it. I have had a fair bit of experience with computers and programming and it took me a good 6 months before I was comfortable with doing things right. At the moment I do a lot of drawings ect in autocad 2005 and import them into another program called Profile Lab which interfaces with our CNC. I can basically apply all the tool paths andinformation the machine needs to run in Profile Lab. I haven't gotten too much into the coding and language it uses but I have done a little bit. It uses HGPL language to tell it what to do and I can do a small amount in there when I edit a program. Basically a lot of work I have done has been on a trial and error basis and more and more often people are asking me to do custom type work which I'm fine with but sometimes Profile Lab doesnt wanna work the way you want and it can screw you around. I don't know how many of you out there are familiar with the type of machine I use or the program that I use to interface with it but I am glad to have found somewhere that may help when I have a bit of a drama cheers
Tristan

[artform]

Hi cabbie, Im from Perth and I have a tekcel machine with profilelab as well, I draw all my parts in profilelab, but i understand where youre coming from in regards to its use, for example, if i try to create a circular array in profilelab its not as accurate as in autocad, maybe beacuse its native units is imperial, anyway good to see a feloow tekcel operator, stay in touch