PLEASE HELP _ I"M LOST WHAT TO DO.

[broker360]

Ss I have constructed my cnc frame (650kgs of Aluminium) 25mm HIWIN rails and Gear rack from CNC router parts and Nema34 motors but I need Help and real help please.

We run Soldiworks and adobe illustrator currently to control our 4 laser cutters, no one in the shop is anything close to a machinist as our lasers operate very easily using a plugin within illustrator.

My Problem is 2 parts, firstly we need a workflow with as minimal different pieces of software and easy to use as possible i.e We would like to draw our shapes in Illustrator and get them to run on the cnc with as few operations as possible, if this is not possible it would be great if there is an option of software that can act as the CAD CAM and controller all in one.

Secondly to achieve the above I do not know what controller/ computer or hardware to use.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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[ger21]

You're going to need one program (and hardware) to control the machine, and a separate CAM program.

What types of things will you be making?

If you are mostly cutting out things from Illustrator, I'd recommend Vectric's V-Carve Pro.

[broker360]

Mainly basic 2D shapes from Aluminium composite panel.

Is there any option which integrates a simple CAM CAD and Controller in one? What would be the workflow i.e Illustrator> Vcarve > then is it a controller or does V carve also act as a controller? I have heard some things about EnRoute, is this similar?

Thank you

[ger21]

You'd save you're file from Illustrator (CAD), and bring it into V-Carve (CAM). Then create toolpaths and export G-code, and load that into the control software.
Enroute is much more powerful than V Carve, but also much more expensive. I think there are different levels or modules, at different price points.

There's a large variety of control software, each with it's own specific hardware. Here are the most popular.

LinuxCNC
Centroid
UCCNC
PlanetCNC
EdingCNC
Mach4

[broker360]

Thanks, So is the control software installed on onto the circuit board on the router or onto the PC? What setup do you use with V carve?

[ger21]

The control software is usually installed on a dedicated PC at the machine, and in most cases comes with a hardware "motion control" board which sends signals to your motor drives.

I use UCCNC with their UC300ETH controller on a UB1 breakout board. https://www.cncroom.com/interface-cards/uc300eth-ub1