Help this Newbie Please!

[Guy Smiley]

Hi, I just recieved my 4-Axis controller box and have run the test in TurboCNC. All the motors are spinning and so I run one automated (TRIM4) and the jog modes. I went as far as attaching the x-axis motor in place of a dot-matrix printer's motor to run the printhead carriage. I ran jog by typing in values for x (0.347 and -0.347) and it worked great.

What I'd like to do is use 2 of these belt drive printhead assemblies, in x-y configuration, for starters just to get the hang of CNCing. I will be setting the x-axis carriage on my bench mills bed and rig up a mount for the y carriage to attach to the mill's spindle housing. The whole y carriage will be Z'd down by the mill's Z in manual mode. A Dremel mount will be attached to the y-carriage's ex-printhead holder. I downloaded Master5 and would like to try it out since I'm using WinME.

Here's the dilemma. 1) In TurboCnc, the 15 inches of travel needed only the value 0.347 to cover the distance. Is this because I'm using a belt drive that translate 1:1? What do I need to configure to travel 1 inch when I type 1 inch? 2) In Master5, I encountered the pin configuration window and entered the Pins2-9 config and the AUX pin designations as specified by Xylotex. What do I input in the "Motor Configuration" values?

Although I mustered enough to dive into this head on, including building my own CNC router table, I must say I've reached the point where I'm going to need some hand holding. What's next? I just would like to draw some simple figures first (square, triangle and circle) and be able to cut them using the above temporary machine set-up. I really am just trying to get the hang of this very new to me world of CNC before I complete my router set-up.
EC

[ger21]

Originally Posted by Guy Smiley Here's the dilemma. 1) In TurboCnc, the 15 inches of travel needed only the value 0.347 to cover the distance. Is this because I'm using a belt drive that translate 1:1? What do I need to configure to travel 1 inch when I type 1 inch? 2) In Master5, I encountered the pin configuration window and entered the Pins2-9 config and the AUX pin designations as specified by Xylotex. What do I input in the "Motor Configuration" values?

What version of TurboCNC. If version 4, under configure axis, in the scale box, the value is 1/ (steps per rev, usually 200, times microstepping, 8 if set at 1/8, times screw lead(turns per inch)).

If it's belt drive you need to use the distance traveled per motor revolution in stead of screw lead.

[Guy Smiley]

Thanks Gerry, that is it! I remember telling Jeff that I plan to use a 10tpi lead screw! The 4-Axis box set-up is great and newbie friendly. I strongly suggest that the newbie try to learn as much about it from these forums before firing up. People here are very helpful but I must admit though that, after seeing that my plea was viewed 18 times and no response yet, I did scramble around clueless to look for the answers. Anyway, here's a photo of what I'm playing with right now and pretty soon I can post some pics of the router table that I've been working on.

Another question is. I'm quite used to using Adobe Illustrator and have noticed that there is an export as .dxf file there. What should be my next step so that I can use that in TurboCNC to start cutting? Thank you for helping out this newbie!
EC

[Bubba]

Guy,
The process of making the part(s) is to:
1) draw the part (which it sounds like you have done)
2) Code the part into a G-code listing. (see below)
3) Transfer this file into your controler computer and in this case, you will be using TurboCNC as the controler.

Now for the fun part (Item 2). You need to get from the drawing to the coding and a good place to start is with the manual that you have for Turbocnc. It lists the various codes accepted and what they do. I suggest you START learning by doing hand coding so you will become familiar with the process before you go off and use a Cam program that will take your dxf and output a g-code file that can be used in TurboCNC. I say this as you need to be able to have the skills to look at the code and "tweak it" at times or to add or subtract certain line to obtain the desired results.

It won't take long to get the hang of things and then you can consider which Cam program you would like to use. There are several threads on the board concerning what each user thinks is best. And as with control programs, there are all sorts of price ranges and capabilities.

Good luck and keep asking questions.

Bubba

[ger21]

Originally Posted by Guy Smiley Another question is. I'm quite used to using Adobe Illustrator and have noticed that there is an export as .dxf file there. What should be my next step so that I can use that in TurboCNC to start cutting? Thank you for helping out this newbie! EC

Download ACE from http://www.dakeng.com This will convert .dxf's to g-code. You'll probably have to play around a bit with illustrator to get good results. If given a .dxf version option, try v12 to start. It usually gives the best results.

Like Bubba says, learning G-code can be a big help. It will let you understand the code that ACE gives you, which will make it easier to fix if it's not working right. And by fix I don't mean hand editing the code, but figuring out what you need to do in illustrator to get the results you want.

[Guy Smiley]

Thanks guys. I finally got my new computer, with the Xp Os, and loaded my Mach2. Am going through the manual, printing the 160 pages took a while, and really learning a lot. Gcode programming is easier to understand now with the tutorials in the Mach2 manual and I highly recommend going through it.

So, I have my Xylotex 4-axis box, my Mach2, my CAD and now it's back to putting more time in working on my CNC Router. Suceeding posts will be in "Hoping it works" in the DIY Project forum now.

Thank you,
EC