[pete from TN]

I have been using this machine I built now for a little while. It is working well and I have purchased Sheetcam to use as my cam program for 2.5D projects. It is a great program and has made it possible for me to do some really cool stuff. I am using Mach3 which is also very nice altho I have been considering having a look at EMC. Currently I am using the Sheetcam tooltable I made to track all of my tools and their individual offsets. I am using the TTS tormach style toolholders and I really like that they can maintain great Zero repeatability. So far all of my programs have been using the tooltable in Sheetcam and I have never done one in Mach3 on the machine. Before that I was just doing my drawings and zeroing every tool on the work until I figured out how to use the tool length offsets. My question then is I am wondering how many of you do your machining setups this way? Do most of you use the cam programs offsets or mach3 and how do you let the cam program know what to do if you use mach3's table? IS there a particular way that they work together? I have been doing well with this but my concerns lie in the fact that I am trying to get into 3d machining techniques and that is beyond the realm of sheetcam so all of my tool length offsets are gonna then be obsolete. Would you say that it is more useful to just use the mach tooltables and import a cam profile that just calls up a tool? I have been curious about this for a little while now and I just thought I would ask all of you guys what you do on your machine?

Also what are you 3D guys using for Cam that is not ridiculously expensive? That is my next adventure.... peace


Pete

[ihavenofish]

I have been using this machine I built now for a little while. It is working well and I have purchased Sheetcam to use as my cam program for 2.5D projects. It is a great program and has made it possible for me to do some really cool stuff. I am using Mach3 which is also very nice altho I have been considering having a look at EMC. Currently I am using the Sheetcam tooltable I made to track all of my tools and their individual offsets. I am using the TTS tormach style toolholders and I really like that they can maintain great Zero repeatability. So far all of my programs have been using the tooltable in Sheetcam and I have never done one in Mach3 on the machine. Before that I was just doing my drawings and zeroing every tool on the work until I figured out how to use the tool length offsets. My question then is I am wondering how many of you do your machining setups this way? Do most of you use the cam programs offsets or mach3 and how do you let the cam program know what to do if you use mach3's table? IS there a particular way that they work together? I have been doing well with this but my concerns lie in the fact that I am trying to get into 3d machining techniques and that is beyond the realm of sheetcam so all of my tool length offsets are gonna then be obsolete. Would you say that it is more useful to just use the mach tooltables and import a cam profile that just calls up a tool? I have been curious about this for a little while now and I just thought I would ask all of you guys what you do on your machine?

Also what are you 3D guys using for Cam that is not ridiculously expensive? That is my next adventure.... peace


Pete

ive never used tool tables and offsets. ive done everything manually tool by tool (even though i do have a few tts tools). ill be getting around to changing that pattern soon.

ive been using a couple different things to make my 3d cutting programs, but its really hard to get around the price point.

for modelling, i use 3d studio max primarily. im a computer animator, so i know how to use it, and more importantly its been paid for. the reasoning behind this odd choice is that there is a free set of gcode and toolpath generating tools for it. very basic, but quite usable if you know 3dsmax well and in my opinion, nothing beats polygonal modelling for freeform shapes (they do slow down the cam though).

the other thing ive just gotton is visual mill. it came with my new machine. i think retail is $1000. so far i think i like it. its been pretty easy to get the hang of it, and seems to cover the most important functions. ive just finished my first complicated part with it and hope to machine it tonight. its a small guitar bridge. theres 11 operations, 3 tools, and it took me maybe 2 hours to set up, if that. this part is more of a 2.5d part, but the 3d tools are just as easy to deal with (ive done a contoured guitar body but havent cut it).

the hard part for me has been figuring out what to model, and what not. when i make something for a design, i model everything including chamfers, fillets draft tapers and all. for cam though, you want to deliberately leave those types of features out, because you need the "true" edge to reference for chamfers and the like.

[pete from TN]

That sounds like it should work alright. I have been playing with Alibre for 3d cad and I have not decided on my cam yet. I think I understand what you are saying about the leaving out the champfers. I do that with sheetcam too and just use work offsets to arrive at the desired champfer. I have been using tool offsets now for awhile and I gotta say it is the way to go over zeroing every damn tool... that gets old real quick. However I was wondering about others use of the tooltable and if they mostly rely on mach to hold the offsets and then use the cam program to call up the operations with no offset. I assume it would work that way altho I do not know. I just had a crappy incident happen where I had some kinda computer fluke and lost all my tool length offsets in sheetcam. I was kinda okay with it because I wanted to make my zero tool or number one tool the shortest so all the rest are positive offsets which I did not have before. I cut and turned my zero tool shank on the mill today and redid all my tool offsets. Kinda a PIA but glad it is working again. I just got thru machining a fixture for another project I am working on with them and so far so good. The 3d cam vectrics stuff looks good too tho... I like that they have a lot of free profiles and you can buy some others for reasonable pricing.... peace

Pete

[gd.marsh]

Not far enough along with my mill to get into the tool table issues ..

I can comment on Vectric Cut3D though .. We use both Cut2D & Cut3D with the CNC Router (re-zeroing every tool) .. I do intend to continue using them once my Mill Conversion is complete also (with a tool table set up)

So far we have not found a situation where Cut2D & Cut3D couldn't accomplish what we needed. On occasions there are minor g-code tweaks to make sure there's ample rapid tool height in certain areas or little things of that nature, but the g-code is solid.

2 sided parts are a snap once you figure-out how to register the material correctly on both sides. We've had good results with that. Haven't run into a need for slicing yet, but I recall reading about some drawing modifications that need to be made when slicing a part that's being cut with a ball end mill.

But IMHO - The price is right and the software is good!

[cyclestart]

Tool length offsets in the control, Mach in this case.
Cam creates code that calls for tool length offset from control. Example "G43 H01" for tool #1.

Isn't that the normal way ? Something tells me I'm misunderstanding the question.

[pete from TN]

Vectric software is high on my list of possibilities.... here's my question for you.... What do you NOT like about it? What can't it do? I am getting a little more proficient with my 2dcad and have been experimenting with Alibre I have here and starting to " Get it" so I am hoping to be there soon. One of the things I really want to be able to do is machine a Lithopane on my mill. If I have to rig up a HSS I will do that but I think I can do it with the 6K I have now and if I want to bump it up a tad I can do that as well....

The tool tables are a VERY important part of this stuff if you ask me. Now that I am using them I cannot imagine not using them.... Doing all my programming in Sheetcam and just snatch a toolholder and stick it in the machine once you have that initial Zero is just too much easier. Unless of course you are like my Pal Art who has the whizzbang custom tool height offset sensor setup on the table and never has to zero a tool again.... Damn that guy is clever!!!

I am just not getting the Mach3 tool table setup in association with the cam work. Sheetcam virtually begs you to have a tool table. You do not need to use offsets if you do not wish to but you must choose a tool and give it parameters so the program can figure the cut path... I suppose in Mach with a tooltable you would just set everything for zero offset and call up the tools in your mach tool table but I am not sure how Mach will figure the offset or not.... HMMMMMM


Peace

[gd.marsh]

Mach tool table ..

I may be way out in left field on this .. but wouldn't you want your tool table in Mach so the program can tell you which tool to run next & also accurately report the tool's diameter? Seems to me that info showing up right on the screen would make for less chance of grabbing the wrong tool and ruining a part.

Gary