cnc custom machine

[kpk250]

Hi,
I am new to the forum so please bare with me. I am a mechanical engineer with very limited electrical/software engineering experience. I decided to join because I wanted to get some input on a project of mine. Let me explain.

I am looking to control 5 stepper motors/servo motors and some other associated switches and optical sensors. The machine will be completely custom and built by me. It would be beneficial to program and control the machine using a laptop computer. The machine would turn out parts modeled in 3D from SolidWorks and could be in native SW format, IGES, or STEP. Basically I need to fill in the gap between the 3D data file and the machine's motors and sensors.

After searching the web for "custom cnc controllers" I came across the Arcsoft site offering Mach3. I don't even know if this is what I need. Any help or guidance would be extremely appreciated. Thanks.

[awerby]

To get from a 3d surface, such as Solidworks produces, to a 3d carving, you need two types of program. One is a CAM program, the other is a CNC controller. The CAM program analyzes your 3d part file and, taking into account the stock you're starting with, the tool you want to use, the speed you want to cut at, etc. comes up with a toolpath program written in "G-code", a fairly universally-accepted standard for telling CNC machines what to do. Examples of CAM programs are MasterCAM, VisualMill, and DeskProto.

However, these programs don't actually run your milling machine. To do that, you either need a dedicated machine controller (which is how things used to be) or a program like Mach3, which tricks your PC (not necessarily that laptop, though) into sending out the step and direction pulses that tell your drives how to move the motors, and in which directions.

You also need to come up with a physical control box to interface between Mach3 and your CNC machine; this usually consists of a DC power supply, a breakout board, some drives (one for each axis) and associated circuitry (e-stop, spindle relays, etc.). Add cabling in between everything, and you're done...

Andrew Werby
www.computersculpture.com

[ironDigit]

mach3 will control 5motors but 5axes is a complete different story.

I can't tell much about the why's and how's but i'm sure someone will jump in.

you should atleast let us know if this a five-axis machine or you're using twindrives.

the switches shouldn't be prob i guess but then again are these on/off relays and endbrakes or opticalpositionfeedbacksensors ?

good luck.