Mac CAD/CAM Finally!!!???? .....PLEASE HELP

[Imacman]

So... is MadCam... the mac software, that will complie or produce the Gcode.. that yourun through a windows machine?.... Soif I have it straight... design/ creat in Rhino... open that finished file in MadCam,,,, then output gcode from that... and put the gcode on a windows machine?... what program will I be using on the windows machine..or ( windows using Parrallesls?) Sorry for all the question... I'll get there eventually. I hop.
Imac

[Jason3]

No problem, I should have explained better!

Yes, MadCAM is what will produce the G-code from your 3D model. It is a plugin for Rhino, so cannot run alone. So far it is only available for the windows version of Rhino, however once the software development kit for the Mac version of Rhino is available it should be possible to port it over. When I asked about this a while back, Joakim (MadCAM's developer) indicated that he would be interested in doing so.

Meantime we hurry up and wait, and use the windows version of Rhino with MadCAM to produce the G-code

Regards,

Jason

[Imacman]

Uhmmm... Where do I Find Madcam? I'd like to take a look at it.

thanks

Imac

[Imacman]

Ahhh Ok I got it... that answers my last post, thanks... so we actully only design On the Mac end.... then do the Madcam under windows... and mad cam sends directly to the CNC? I was thinking there was a step between the Madcam and the CNC? so you're running the windows version of Rhino with the windows Madcam plugin on your mac?...or are you using a seperate PC in the end mix?.... if you are doing it all in parrelles on a mac...what are you using to plug the Computer into the controller?..USB?

Imac

[Pandinus]

Here I go "THINKING" again...

I'm not a MAC person but just wondered...
Has anyone tried installing Ubuntu/EMC2 on an Intel-MAC ???

[Imacman]

Ok.. I'm slowly getting educated to the CNC process... I have downloaded several programs for my mac... Turbo, Rhino, sketchup etc.... I have extensive Illustrator & photoshop experience ( I'm a Graphics person using CS4 ) but I'm still finding a learning curve. I know that photoshop & illustrator both allow me to export or save DXF files... so my question is can this help me out?.. can I design 2D in these programs, then use these files in another program?. I guess what I really want to know is... for someone with my background / skill set... what is the easiest & best route for me to take for producing workable models ( start to finish ) to cut on a CNC?... I've given up hope of plugging a CNC into my MAC..even with bootcamp or parallels....I have a PC around I will strip down & use for that. So what advice is there for me, and does anyone know what the latest news is on the MAC-CNC front ( BTW I have several macs from older G3 & G4's to the latest 24" Imac intel...if that helps or matters )...

Thanks In Advance.


Imacman

[twocik]

Imacman,
Welcome to CNCzone. You're in for a long ride... Most see it as easy to pick up CNC machining (I did), but the rabbit hole goes way further than learning software, then pushing a red shinny button. I was in your shoes 4 years ago trying to figure this thing out, with tons of products to be made, now 3 machines later waist deep 30k in, I'm still learning new things everyday.

You find that using CAD software is pretty much advanced drawing, but very precise. The CAM part is where it can get hard for a beginner (learning speeds, feeds, material, tooling, fixtures, etc.. ). I own a film company, and design camera products (well mostly R&D stuff right now) and coming from a 3D Maya background I picked the CAD part up pretty quick, the CAM part is where it gets tricky. I'd say start off learning a CAD program, then learn CAM, last is the controller as far as software goes. Then you're off to learning how to "safely" operate a CNC machine properly. Next tooling, fixtures/jigs, material, tramming, etc..



As for a Mac running a CNC machine, it's been done, but on a small scale. You'll drive yourself nuts looking for one, and waste time while you could be making parts/money.








Rhino bring on the Mac CAM software !!!

[Imacman]

HAHAHA thanks twocik.... Oh I have no illusions trust me, but when I put my mind to something i'm interested in I usually get there ( a year ago I knew nothing about building a web page... today I design, develop and host websites on my own server for over a dozen companies...lol.. now there was a learning curve..lol ) Finding this forum pretty much sealed the deal for getting a CNC, everyone I've met on here have been great... everything I need i'm sure I can find on here. But you're right, I haven't even thought about the finer points... run speeds, cutting... all that stuff...lol.. I'm at the learning to crawl, before I walk then run...plenty of bumps & scrapes I'm sure. The good thing it's a hobby for me... and I'm really looking forward to building my own machine I'm sure it's pretty satisfying, and should give me a better understanding of the finer points. For now... I'm trying to learn come CAD software.. still haven't decide which package to jump on...but I have to decide soon, as I'm playing with three different programs at the same time right now... and I'm beginning to get very confused...ie...I spend 10 minutes looking for a feature I've seen or used.... only to discover,,,,that it was in one of the "Other" cad packages I've been playing with... I kinda wish someone would say... Look.. forget all of that... and just learn this pkg... but... opinions are kind of all over the map.... I already have the feeling that this CNC hobby.... is not about the destination ( probably never will be ) but all about the road to getting there. Any advice you may have is certainly appreciated. I'm having Zenbot do a custom build for me with a bed to cut 48", I should have my hobby shed up and running by the middle to the end of june.... It's my hope that I have a decent understand of the cad program by then ( what ever that may be)...lol

Imacman

[slideter]

Hello,
I was pointed to this forum and found this thread while trying to learn about Desk Top CNC options and interfacing with a Mac. I'm a long time Vectorworks user and for others looking there is a g-code add-on that may work with the aforementioned free Macdnc option. Has anyone tried this option lately?

A couple previous post suggested that one needed to import g-code to Mach3 which sounds unnecessary:

* Converts a standard PC to a fully featured, 6-axis CNC controller
* Allows direct import of DXF, BMP, JPG, and HPGL files through LazyCam
* Visual Gcode display
* Generates Gcode via LazyCam or Wizards
* Fully customizable interface
* Customizable M-Codes and Macros using VBscript

These are common export formats and this sounds pretty direct from a CAD/CAM application to Mach3.

While I'm on my huge learning curve looking for small CNC options, I have not determined the typical cabling. Are CNCs usually connected to a computer with a parallel connector?

TIA & best regards,
Terry
(great forum, BTW)

[ncmeinc]

I use VMware which does a flawless pc emulation and can run any version of windows without any problem. I would not do bootcamp because you have to reboot but with VMware or Parallel you treat windows as an Icon. No hardware issues that I could see to do serial data for DNC just use a USB to serial adapter.

NCMEINC

Hello,

This morning the Dell laptop that I was using for all of my CAD/CAM programming COMPLETELY CRASHED..... not to mention all of the personal photos and documents that are completely lost. I've had it a few years, and it worked OK during that time. However the ONLY reason I went with a PC in the first place was that all the CAD / CAM software I could find at that time (and even now for that matter) is PC based. Is this still the case?

Why is it that basically ALL the Pros in media / arts use Mac, yet when it comes to manufacturing, there seems to be nothing? You name it...all of the top Movie, Photo, and Audio editing are all done with Macs.

Then at the end of a long day of calling and looking for a new computer, a friend of mine who is vaguely familiar with Macs said that with the new Leopard OS that Mac uses you can ACTUALLY run Windows XP AND/OR Mac's OS!! Hence allowing you to run any PC / Windows based software! They even have an Intel Processor.

Is anyone out there familar with the compatability of this somewhat new possibility as it relates to CAD / CAM mfg?? If at all possible I would MUCH rather buy a Mac this time instead of another PC (Piece of Crap) that the new Vista only bogs down with a bunch of stuff thats not even being used. Currently I'm running OneCNC, but am looking to upgrade possibly to MasterCAM, or most likly FeatureCAM soon.

Any input in this area is greatly appreciated as I am currently without a design computer. Feel free to call with any discussion, or I can even return your call right away so the dime is on me. I have unlimited Long Distance.

Best Regards,
Nardis
270-576-7030

[a_wieneke]

hallo,

i'm running MacCN and MaquetteVolume on an older mac with Macos9

it works for the things i have to do, very good since 10 years.

Andreas

[scudzuki]

I use VMware which does a flawless pc emulation and can run any version of windows without any problem. I would not do bootcamp because you have to reboot but with VMware or Parallel you treat windows as an Icon. No hardware issues that I could see to do serial data for DNC just use a USB to serial adapter.

NCMEINC

Unfortunately VMs do not support video hardware acceleration making that strategy a poor choice for running anything requiring good 3d rendering performance.

Joe