New to CnC building

[Syphonics]

hi guys. I am a newbie to this CnC building.
Yesterday I seen some used CnC router table for sale at very cheap prices at my local store.
The table inclusives of the X and Y axis stepper motor and all the necessary coupling.

I intend to build a Cnc machine with it. I am quite familiar with the hardware part, but I am a newbie to the software and controlling of the machine.
How do I link the machine to the PC and what available software of converting them to G codes.
Currently I am on AutoCad software.

Or is there any links which can guide me?

Thanks

[TOTALLYRC]

If you have, and can use Autocad, you have a good head start.

To get from the cnc table to the computer you will need a few things.
You will need to pick machine control software such as Mach3 or Desckcnc or one of the other dozen or so packages.

Using Mach3 as an example, you will need a 1ghz computer as a minimum with 512MB ram and a discrete video card. Then you will need a copy of Mach3. Up to 6 axis of motion.

www.machsupport.com

You will also need a Cam program to convert you drawings from Cad to G-code. Best advice is to figure how much you want to spend and then download some demo's and try them out. Se the Cam section here on the zone.

Once your drawings are converted to G-code, you will then need to connect the machine to the computer. You can use the parallel port and a breakout board to do this, but if the budget allows a motion control device like the smooth stepper or on the higher end a DSPMC/ip will go between the computer and the machine. The motion control device generates the step pulses on board and takes a lot of the load off of the pc. They will allow the use of a laptop also, will the pport does not. They are also tend to give smoother operation but that said there are a lot of people who use the pport and do so very sucessfully.

Using Deskcnc as an example, you can use any computer that will run win95 on up. I think the minimum computer specs are 100mhz pentium.Deskcnc is a machine controller and Cam package all in one and it works well, as I use it to drive my router with the Deskcnc controller card. The controller card also works as a breakout board and connects to the serial port. The software is available as a trial download so you can try it out and see if you like it before making a purchase. It allows the use of up to 4 axis.

www.deskcnc.com


Mike

[Crevice Reamer]

Hi! Maybe some of this will help:

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76865.#3

CR.

[TOTALLYRC]

Hey CR,
Next time I will say, just listen to CR. LOL

I think I need to save that link to your encyclopedic description of what is what.

Mike

[Crevice Reamer]

LOL! Everytime I look at it it grows about a foot longer. Someday it's going to need a website just for IT!

CR.