Mach turn & Lcam

[jhowelb]

It is a daunting prospect to run down enough info to actually be able to use Lcam to produce g code for a lathe running Mach turn.

I've watched all the videos, read every thing I can find here and on the Artsoft boards but cant get beyond importing a drawing as applies to Turn. Can't produce tool paths, every attempt to produce code results in something that would be a horrendous crash!

I'm a long time very satisfied user of Mach and would love to purchase Lcam but can't find a way to unravel it.

Would anyone out there be interested in starting a conversation on this subject? Surly there is someone else like me out there and maybe some kind soul who can shed light on the subject.

[ger21]

I've seen Art tell someone to look at the example lathe .dxf's included with LazyCAM to get an idea of how they work. Maybe that will help?

[jhowelb]

Gerry,

Looked in all the folders in Mach3, found a folder named Lcam samples but still nothing relating to turn.

Any other suggestions?

[JDsto]

I can share your frustration, every file I've loaded into lazy cam and tried to generate code for has distorted my part something horrible. I have the paid series of L cam too. The tool paths criss cross all over the place and did cause a crash when I ran the code it generated. I though it was just my newby stupidity. And mabey it truely is, I'm a little suprized that there is so little help out there for us turn guys. Most all the tutorials are mill based. I see a definate niche market for someone who can produce a help DVD on the subject. The wizards in mach 3 are very effective and so far it's the only thing I have run on my new CNC syil C-6 lathe. I bought BOB-Cad Lathe and so far haven't been able to post code even though I can generate beautiful toolpaths ect. I'm hoping to work out the bugs in it soon as I really want to start turning real parts on my lathe.

[jhowelb]

Originally Posted by JDsto bought BOB-Cad Lathe and so far haven't been able to post code even though I can generate beautiful toolpaths ect. I'm hoping to work out the bugs in it soon as I really want to start turning real parts on my lathe.

The lathe wizards are indeed great. I've been turning precision and cutting threads with them. For mechanical parts, one probably can make all he needs with just them.

It is the "artistically" shaped things that I would like to play with now.

What version of Bobcad do you have?

I think I'm on the verge of cracking the code subject on my version 17 Bcad. Perhaps we can compare notes if our versions are similar enough.

[JDsto]

Bob-Cad v22 lathe, I'm trying to run it on a laptop that has Vista home premium. I'm getting the idea that it's buggy on the vista OS. I have xp pro at the shop, but i'm only there part of the time. I will be there tomarrow, hope things come together then. If not I guess I will try the suport at bob_cad.

[jhowelb]

Originally Posted by JDsto Bob-Cad v22 lathe, I'm trying to run it on a laptop that has Vista home premium. I'm getting the idea that it's buggy on the vista OS. I have xp pro at the shop, but i'm only there part of the time. I will be there tomarrow, hope things come together then. If not I guess I will try the suport at bob_cad.

Good luck on the support deal, I've heard of mixed success there!

Your version is too distant from mine for me to help you.

There are issues with Vista. Ultimately you may be able to install a dual OS (either / or at boot up) but I would suggest not using a laptop especially as a machine controller. There are differences in the way laptops handle port processes and even screen display in some cases.

Never the less, good luck!

jb

[ger21]

Stumbled across this today.
http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...ic,5394.0.html

which referenced this

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...ic,2968.0.html


Might be of some help.

[jhowelb]

Discovered them myself Gerry, good source! If there is enough interest here we could begin to build a pretty good thread. I've been exploring Lcam Turn pretty heavily.

[JDsto]

JHowelb, so any luck cutting parts yet with LCAM??? It looks from other posts that your making progress.

[jhowelb]

Originally Posted by JDsto JHowelb, so any luck cutting parts yet with LCAM??? It looks from other posts that your making progress.

My health is a bit touchy (advanced COPD) so my time in my shop is limited and only in good weather. I spend much of the off time reading and researching the net for things of interest. Kind of cocooned.

I did finally find the sample files referenced above, they aren't named in a way that speaks to turn. aInnerProfile1.dxf and AOuterProfile1.dxf

after some success (mixed) with them I decided to take the plunge and purchase Lcam Turn Pro. As quickly as I put the license file in the folder all the anomalies in Lcam disappeared.

I've been working on the codes for a chess set to produce on the lathe. Attached is the original drawing in Design Cad, the Lcam screen at code production and a capture showing the wat Mach Turn interpreted and presented it.

Sure hope this spawns lots of activity in this thread. Lots to learn and fun sharing!

[ger21]

Art's looking into developing LazyTurn to pull the lathe features out of LazyCAM.

http://www.machsupport.com/forum/ind...topic=5767.new