Originally Posted by
Dropout
I've played with Artcam and a 408 a little. Try setting the acceleration on the machine since there is no way to do so in Artcam. I think I read somewhere that Artcam will default to the lowest feedrate. I use IPM, acceleration on Auto and don't have a problem. I use the .ger (no ATC) post processor.
For 3D work I make sure that the Z axis feedrate is as high as I can get away with. The Z seems to be the limiting factor, for instance X,Y 150 IPM, Z 100 IPM is faster than X,Y 200 IPM, Z 50 IPM.
I've also had issues with the Y axis. The previous idiot, uh, I mean owner, used white grease as a lube. It took about 6 months to figure out why I was getting occasionaly Y-Axis errors but I tracked it down to the white grease and the dust and dirt it picked up. A couple of cans of non-chlorinated brake cleaner (especially by the drive nut) and the issues have gone away.
I do all my maching (except 3D) with Gerber ArtPath. It also has it's issues, but they're manageable.
My biggest frustration with the machine is the Z axis zeroing. I am having a dial gauge fixture built to be able to set each tool to within 0.001.