new to cnc, looking for general advice

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    Member QuinnSjoblom's Avatar
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    Default new to cnc, looking for general advice

    Hello everyone,
    new to this forum as well as machining. I have absolutely no experience with cnc's and decided its time to try it out. Im pretty deep in the RC heli hobby. I love to modify, design, and build. Cnc machining would really open up the possibilities for me. At this point i have started learning CAD (fusion 360) and have a pretty good handle on it already. I am now starting to learn the CAM portion of the software. Next comes choosing/building a machine and deciding which machine control software to use. My first thought was the stepcraft machine as it seems pretty plug and play, somewhat beginner oriented, but i was a bit put off by the seemingly lack of support. Posted in their forum, sent emails to support about general questions, no response. Might be for the better. Seems like you dont get alot for the money. My next idea was to build my own machine. Seems you can get alot more for your money. Im looking to have a machine that will be capable of cutting carbon fiber plate and maybe some aluminum parts. Not looking to produce or make money, just for personal use. Im looking at linear bearing/ ballscrew kits on ebay for a few hundred bucks and would like to combine with nema 23 steppers. I have some ideas for the rest of the machine that i would design and build myself using mdf, possibly laminating the more structural parts with carbon fiber plate for added rigidity. We have a large cnc in the cabinet shop i work in that can be used to cut the mdf parts with for good accuracy. Anyway, im completely confident building a machine, but bridging the gap between the fusion 360 cam and the stepper motors on my machine is the area i need help with. I really just dont know where to start. I know i need to choose a motion control software and a breakout board to bridge that gap, but i dont know whats gonna be easiest for me. I dont have a ton of computer experience and a few things seem pretty intimidating, like g code, modifying post processor to work with my machine, etc. After some research, mach3 seems pretty popular and maybe a good choice, i just dont know. I understand how to select the mach3 post processor in fusion 360 cam, but how complicated is it going to be to get it working with my home built machine? will i actually need to edit a post processor? or do you just pick the general mach3 post and then you adjust the specifics in mach3 software in a somewhat intuitive way? Is it just going to be too much to figure out for someone who knows nothing about cnc and not much about coding or computers? Am i better off getting a prebuilt setup like stepcraft? just seems like i can do so much better for the money (about 2500 for the stepcraft), but i dont know if it will be too much for me to figure out going the DIY route. I know thats alot of questions. Just looking for advice that would be good for a first time cnc user that is somewhat mechanically inclined but not so much in the computer end. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Re: new to cnc, looking for general advice

    If you have Fusion 360 figured out, your most of the way there.
    Most people with little computer experience seem to have the most trouble with the CAD/CAM part.
    The machine control part is not that difficult.

    I'd recommend UCCNC rather than Mach3, which is the control software that the Stepcraft comes with.

    Before jumping into a build, I would recommend spending at least 2-3 months, reading and learning as much as possible. It will save you money in the long run.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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    Member QuinnSjoblom's Avatar
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ger21 View Post
    If you have Fusion 360 figured out, your most of the way there.
    Most people with little computer experience seem to have the most trouble with the CAD/CAM part.
    The machine control part is not that difficult.

    I'd recommend UCCNC rather than Mach3, which is the control software that the Stepcraft comes with.

    Before jumping into a build, I would recommend spending at least 2-3 months, reading and learning as much as possible. It will save you money in the long run.
    Thanks for the response! I was under the impression that uccnc was a stepcraft specific thing but it sounds like it isn't. If you think it would be an easier setup to learn and configure for a homebuilt machine, I'll definitely consider it. I'll definitely keep doing research and make sure I fully understand the setup I choose before buying anything.
    One part that I'm specifically curious about is how to make the general post processor that I select in fusion (uccnc, mach3, etc.) Work with my specific machine. Do I actually need to go into the post file and edit g code? Or can the general post be left alone and the machine specifics can be configured somewhat easily in the machine control software? I watched a video about editing posts and it's just total Chinese to me and really intimindating. If I can leave that part alone, I think I can handle the control software after watching enough YouTubes. One thing I liked about mach3 is that it's been around forever and there are endless videos on it. Maybe uccnc has a lot of tutorials too, I just haven't looked yet. I'll do that today.
    Thanks!



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    Member awerby's Avatar
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    Default Re: new to cnc, looking for general advice

    The stock post-processor in Fusion (mach3, UCCNC, whatever) should be able to work without your having to modify it; you'd only do that if you found that some particular G-code routine didn't work the way it's supposed to. The post-processor isn't "general" - it's already specific to the particular G-code interpreter you decide to use.

    Cutting carbon-fiber plate is something your MDF machine might be able to do (I'm more skeptical about aluminum, but maybe with lots of reinforcement it could work) but the dust is really nasty stuff; you'll need to invest in a very powerful dust collection system to deal with it, and even then it's questionable if it would be safe. If it were me having to do this, I'd look into building a machine that could handle flood coolant, which would entrain the dust and keep it out of my lungs.

    [FONT=Verdana]Andrew Werby[/FONT]
    [URL="http://www.computersculpture.com/"]Website[/URL]


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    Member QuinnSjoblom's Avatar
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    Default Re: new to cnc, looking for general advice

    Great! That's what I was hoping to hear (not needing to edit the post). I watched some more videos today. It does seem that many guys prefer uccnc over mach3 and they are about the same price when figuring in the uc100 for uccnc. Only thing I don't like is there aren't many detailed setup videos for uccnc. Definitely not as much as mach3, although it seems setup is pretty similar between the 2. I watched some mach3 setup tutorials and I think I have a pretty good grasp on that so hopefully it's similar for uccnc if I go that direction. I do plan on buying a dedicated pc to run my machine. Looks like I need Xp with a parallel slot for mach3 and just about anything will work for uccnc. Is there anything else specific I should look for when buying my pc to control the machine?

    As for the cutting of carbon fiber, I'm definitely aware of the hazardous dust. I plan on having 2 levels of collection. I'll have the standard shop vac dust collection right over the spindle and I'll also be building my own plexiglass enclosure around the whole machine that I can pull air through with a filter on the exhaust for catching any remaining particles in the air. Also hoping it will cut down on noise since I'll be running this in my apartment.

    Thanks for the advice so far! I'm pretty confident at thus point that I should be able to handle this. I'm sure I'll have more questions as I keep reading and watching videos



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    Member ger21's Avatar
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    Default Re: new to cnc, looking for general advice

    Setting up a control like Mach3 or UCCNC is really a very simple process.

    All you really need to do is enter the pin numbers that go to each drives step and direction signals. These are usually pins 2-7. Then specify the velocity and acceleration settings, and you'll be up and running. A few minutes of fine tuning these settings and your all set.

    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html[/URL]

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    [URL]http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html[/URL]

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    [URL]http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html[/URL]

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)


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