MountainCrafts Router/Plasma Build Thread

[Mountaincraft]

So I've got the Z axis set to 400 ipm, the Y axis to 500 IPM, and the X axis to 650 IPM... velocity on all three set to 10...

Thing moves smooth as can be... Set the X to 800 IPM for a few, and it ran as smooth as butter, but Then set it back down.. once I get the heat sink fans running, I can see how fast she'll go...

[CarveOne]

Thinking about this, the directions should mirror those of the 3D view in any 3D app, correct?

If so, standing in front of the model;

X would move left to right, with left being the negative direction,

Y should move forward and back, with away from me being the positive direction,

and Z up and down, with up being the positive direction..

Does that all sound about right?

I normally sit on one long side or the other. I call the long axis X and the shorter gantry motor(s) Y. Z is vertical.

When you run gcode that you got from someone else you need to check that the directions are set up as you would expect. It may have been set up for one of the "wide routers". The material you are going to cut may be rectangular and oriented 90 degrees to the way the gcode is going to cut it. Not usually a disaster, but it depends on how expensive that AAAAA quilted maple guitar body blank was.

CarveOne

[Mountaincraft]

Looking to see where I can scrounge enough moola to get both apps today.. So I need to know if it's worth the trouble.. or if I have to wait anyways..

When I purchase the licenses for Mach 3 or Cut 2D, are license codes given to me instantly? Even on mom's day? Or will I have to wait till a business day to get them?

Anybody know?

[Mountaincraft]

Gerry,

I wanted to go back and explain the reason for all the holes, and how it should not be a problem..

The two 3" fans have an opening size of a little over 14 square inches.. they move a considerable amount of air.. There needs to be a place for that air 'to go'... otherwise, the fans won't really do anything except sit there and spin..

251 1/4" holes results in a little more that 12 square inches of exit space..

The eventual plan, as this thing gets moved out to the shop, is to build a little 'room' for the table.. probably about 18" of access space on three sides, and 36" of space on the operator side.. This room won't be anything fancy, just some minimal framing and plywood.. Eventually I'll throw some insulation in there and cement board on the inside when the plasma gets added.. In the middle of the operator side wall, there will be a little 'booth' built (probably about 5'x6' or so) that is insulated and has an electric heater and a tiny window A/C unit to keep it bearable.. that shop is freezing in the winter, and blazing hot in the summer..

There will be a 6' wide double door at the end of the table for loading material, and a 24"-30" door next to the booth for me to get in and out of the CNC room easily..

I plan to extend the motor cables a few feet, and mount the CNC control box in the booth with me, as well as a small electrical panel right next to it that will house the breakers for the CNC machine, the router, the Plasma, and so on..

That way, I can sit in there and watch the machine through a window in the wall, away from the noise and dust and fumes, on a nice comfy chair, talking to you guys on the net (on a second computer or iPad), playing my guitar, etc.. while the machine does it's thing..

I'll be comfy, but can still watch the machine.. and this should eliminate any problems from dust getting into the control box...

The great thing about a small room to house the machine, is that when it's time to add plasma, I can easily slope the ceiling to a central duct and hook up a big ole exhaust fan to suck those nasty burning metal fumes out of the building...

For now, I'll probably buy some scrubby pad material and cut it up and slide it over the exit holes with some z channel to hold it in place.. The other three round holes will soon be filled with a couple XLR jacks and a conduit fitting for misc cables...

[Mountaincraft]

Looking to see where I can scrounge enough moola to get both apps today.. So I need to know if it's worth the trouble.. or if I have to wait anyways..

When I purchase the licenses for Mach 3 or Cut 2D, are license codes given to me instantly? Even on mom's day? Or will I have to wait till a business day to get them?

Anybody know?

Found the info.. Cut 2D issues license instantly... Mach 3 might take a while...

[Mountaincraft]

Also figured out why the motors wouldn't run unless the BOB was taken out of "Software Good Enable" mode..

Had to turn on the Charge Pump Output in the Outputs config page, and then assign it to the proper pin of the D Sub connector..

Now I can have it on, and the machine will not move no matter what without Mach 3 running and sending a 12khz signal to the BOB...

Little by little...

[Mountaincraft]

Okay.. Just ordered and registered Cut 2D

Ordered Mach 3 and awaiting license code..

Won't be eating a lot this week... LOL

[Mountaincraft]

This is confusing as hell..LOL

How do I get the table orientation to match that of what is in the Mach 3 window?

I started off creating a pocket file in Cut 2D that would allow me to vacuum a 36" x 36" area with a 4" tool head overlapping just over 2"..

Generated the file.. been going crazy trying to keep the router from slamming into the X rails... I try moving it all over the place.. resetting zeros, recalculating, then run.. Tried reversing things in the config.. just get confused..

So I tried an 18" by 18" version of the file so that I know if I zero the router in the middle of the table.. at least I won't run into the sides..

Success at that.. but I'm still confused as hell where home is.. Which way is north?

Also, is there a way to set the machine 'home' if I don't have limit switches?

[CarveOne]

Okay.. Just ordered and registered Cut 2D

Ordered Mach 3 and awaiting license code..

Won't be eating a lot this week... LOL

I know that routine.

Good move on buying Mach3. Cut 2D should hold you for a while.

I learned gcode generation with CamBam then bought VcarvePro later.

Mach3 license should arrive in a few hours. Not sure about on a holiday though. Back up the license code info on both CD and paper print.

CarveOne

[Mountaincraft]

Okay.. starting to figure things out little by little..

One problem that is occurring, is that it's moving far more in reality than Mach 3 is showing... (It's moving about 18" for 12" shown in Mach 3), except for the Z axis, where there is a lot less movement than what Mach 3 shows (about 1" travel for every 2" shown in Mach 3).... So there is obviously some sort of calibrating that needs to occur.. How is this done?

Also, the machine view in the window is a square.. but my machine is a rectangle.. So obviously, this 'too' needs to be calibrated... How?

Finally, I know this is a long shot.. but is there any way to 'rotate' the table in the view window? Would be nice if you could just rotate the window to match the table orientation of the room and where you're sitting in it, so that the window marches how you are looking at the table from where you sit.. Is this by any chance 'possible?'

[CarveOne]

This is confusing as hell..LOL

How do I get the table orientation to match that of what is in the Mach 3 window?

I started off creating a pocket file in Cut 2D that would allow me to vacuum a 36" x 36" area with a 4" tool head overlapping just over 2"..

Generated the file.. been going crazy trying to keep the router from slamming into the X rails... I try moving it all over the place.. resetting zeros, recalculating, then run.. Tried reversing things in the config.. just get confused..

So I tried an 18" by 18" version of the file so that I know if I zero the router in the middle of the table.. at least I won't run into the sides..

Success at that.. but I'm still confused as hell where home is.. Which way is north?

Also, is there a way to set the machine 'home' if I don't have limit switches?

If you are at the end of the table looking directly at the front of the router, X- is toward you, X+ is away from you. Y- is toward your right, Y+ is toward your left. Z- is down, Z+ is up. It takes some getting used to it mentally if your computer monitor is oriented 90 degrees to the end of the table.

You define the home position of the project during gcode setup. At any corner, or in the center of the material. For most things I make I use "centered" because I can find the center of square and rectangle material with straight lines from opposite corners. For round material I use a center finder for circles. I move the router bit over the center mark, then zero the X/Y/Z DROs. If you move the router to anywhere on the table and start the gcode, the router should raise, then go to where you zeroed the DROs and then plunge to begin the cuts.

Others use the lower left or right corner of the material. Homing switches allow using some VB scripts for ease of setup.

You can set 0,0,0 at any point on the table. If you click on the "REF HOME" button on TAB1 it will automatically send the machine to where you previously defined 0,0,0 to be at any time you want to do that. If it does not go back to exactly where 0,0,0 was set, there are missing steps due to binding or other problems.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

Okay.. starting to figure things out little by little..

One problem that is occurring, is that it's moving far more in reality than Mach 3 is showing... So there is obviously some sort of calibrating that needs to occur.. How is this done?

Go to the ALT-6 screen and click the "Calibrate Axis" link right above the big red RESET button. It will walk you through the calibration of each axis. You will select an axis, tell it how far to move, and then measure how far it actually moved. Put reference marks on the table top or stick a piece of printer paper on the table top. Use an accurate measuring instrument. Alternatively, you can calculate the proper numbers that go in the General Config settings, but this will do the same and enter the numbers in the General Config settings for you automagically.

Also, the machine view in the window is a square.. but my machine is a rectangle.. So obviously, this 'too' needs to be calibrated... How?

In the Mach3 display I just see the polylines from the DXF file and the X,Y,Z pointers. I have no soft limits or switch limits defined.

Finally, I know this is a long shot.. but is there any way to 'rotate' the table in the view window? Would be nice if you could just rotate the window to match the table orientation of the room and where you're sitting in it, so that the window marches how you are looking at the table from where you sit.. Is this by any chance 'possible?'

You can zoom in/out, and rotate the display as you wish to. Mouse buttons and a keyboard press is the usual method used, and it sort of depends on your mouse driver setup.

CarveOne

[Mountaincraft]

BY view window, I wasn't referring to the whole computer desktop window.. but 'just' the Mach 3 view window in the upper right hand corner of Mach 3...

Or is this what you're talking about? If so, I'm not understanding what to do..

Thanks for you help...
Mark

[CarveOne]

BY view window, I wasn't referring to the whole computer desktop window.. but 'just' the Mach 3 view window in the upper right hand corner of Mach 3...

Or is this what you're talking about? If so, I'm not understanding what to do..

Thanks for you help...
Mark

Yes, that's the view window I was talking about. The ALT-4 tab has a larger version of that view window. It shows the tool paths for your project.

CarveOne

[Mountaincraft]

Okay.. that works kinda.. but is not what I had in mind... as once I rotate it and fuss with it long enough, I can't quite get it flat and square like the unaffected window at load up, and the cross hairs are behind the tool path...

But if this ends up being the only way it can be done.. Is there a way to save this rotated view so it is the default when the program loads up..

What I'm trying to do, is to orient the view so that the axis arrows in the lower left are oriented with the green 'y' arrow pointing to the left, the red 'x' arrow pointing down, and the blue 'z' arrow pointing directly away (into the screen)...

Then the router moves on screen in the same way I view it when sitting next to the table at the computer...

[louieatienza]

Glad to hear you r up and running, congrats! It's a great feeling; I spent a half day jogging the axes the first and second times!

As for setting the workpiece zero: In Cut2D, when you define your work material you can define 0,0 as any of the four corners of the workpiece or the center. Usually I set it at bottom left, but sometimes center. Cut2D will return your router to 0,0 at you safe z height at the end of a job.

So once you have your gcode loaded, you merely move the router to where you want 0,0 to be (the same as where you set it in Cut2D) and set both to zero. You then zero out the bit to the work surface... goes pretty fast once you got a routine... I use a 60 degree drill mill to locate 0,0...

[CarveOne]

Okay.. that works kinda.. but is not what I had in mind... as once I rotate it and fuss with it long enough, I can't quite get it flat and square like the unaffected window at load up, and the cross hairs are behind the tool path...

Click on the Regen Toolpath button below the view window to reset it back to the default.

But if this ends up being the only way it can be done.. Is there a way to save this rotated view so it is the default when the program loads up..

Don't know. Never looked for a way to do it.

What I'm trying to do, is to orient the view so that the axis arrows in the lower left are oriented with the green 'y' arrow pointing to the left, the red 'x' arrow pointing down, and the blue 'z' arrow pointing directly away (into the screen)...

Never tried that either.

Then the router moves on screen in the same way I view it when sitting next to the table at the computer...

CarveOne

[Mountaincraft]

Glad to hear you r up and running, congrats! It's a great feeling; I spent a half day jogging the axes the first and second times!

As for setting the workpiece zero: In Cut2D, when you define your work material you can define 0,0 as any of the four corners of the workpiece or the center. Usually I set it at bottom left, but sometimes center. Cut2D will return your router to 0,0 at you safe z height at the end of a job.

So once you have your gcode loaded, you merely move the router to where you want 0,0 to be (the same as where you set it in Cut2D) and set both to zero. You then zero out the bit to the work surface... goes pretty fast once you got a routine... I use a 60 degree drill mill to locate 0,0...

My problem right now, is getting the view in the tool path window, to match the orientation of my machine.. so that movements I'm seeing in the toolpath window, are going in the same direction as what I'm seeing on the table..

Unless I flip the and rotate the 3D view all over the place, nothing matches..

[Mountaincraft]

I just realized something.. That the way the table will be oriented when it is moved into the shop, will be a 'perfect' match for the orientation of the Mach 3 tool path window...

More incentive to get that done ASAP..

For now, I guess I just have to imagine myself sitting on the other side of the table from where I am now, and facing it instead of sitting facing along (same direction as) the X axis....

I'll restore the hot keys to match Mach 3, and then just get used to imagining myself sitting somewhere else, facing a different direction..

[Mountaincraft]

Glad to hear you r up and running, congrats! It's a great feeling; I spent a half day jogging the axes the first and second times!

As for setting the workpiece zero: In Cut2D, when you define your work material you can define 0,0 as any of the four corners of the workpiece or the center. Usually I set it at bottom left, but sometimes center. Cut2D will return your router to 0,0 at you safe z height at the end of a job.

So once you have your gcode loaded, you merely move the router to where you want 0,0 to be (the same as where you set it in Cut2D) and set both to zero. You then zero out the bit to the work surface... goes pretty fast once you got a routine... I use a 60 degree drill mill to locate 0,0...

It's a wonderful thing.. I gave out quite the hoot when I pushed the button and it moved...


I'm practicing vacuuming the table (tie wrapped the vacuum hose to the router mount).. but even that is kinda frustrating right now.. Now that I semi guessed the steps per inch into the right range, at least I'm not jamming the thing against it's hard stops anymore.... for the most part..