[yohudi]

Some people take all caps to be the equivalent of yelling.

....... I just thought others might be having

the same problems as me and was trying to help.

Hi There,

Well I see what you mean about caps now... and obviously.. no intent to be yelling.... just to emphasize important points.... and yes I understand you do want to pass on important knowledge / info....

Have a look at the link below... Short 60 sec clip of toolpath and vector generation below zero... Not trunnion version though...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYH1dJceriI

Now don't get me wrong... this is not a recommendation.. or a suggested method.... but... under the right circumstances.. you can successfully toolpath below zero position...

For trunnion use you are pretty much always going to want the object pivot located at the origin.. then use Angle from origin.... this is the way I set up the test paths.. if you look at those scene files... they are meant to help trunnion user with setup ... files are online at the CNC_Toolkit group.. I can no longer upload or download here.... they do like to bugger about with my account for some reason....

I am more than happy to help if I can... and re: the ebook.... considering it's now over 7 years since the writing... it could probably do with an update.. I don't claim it's ommission free btw.... there will always be something...

Hope this helps

TTFN

Danny

[MichaelGolden]

It runs without any problems that I can see.

For anyone trying to generate toolpaths with Gmax and cnctoolkit there are a couple of things that I could find no mention of

in the manual, one the surface you are projecting the splines onto need to be above the 0 plane, and second the imported DXF

file that you are projecting needs to be subdivided or it will not lay on the surface right.

For the trunnion. You will always have to have your part above 0 anyway. Really you should be drawing your chuck / vice ontop of zero as a reference and your part above that. Xyz in the program is equivalent to xyz on the machine. So to design your part below zero would cause a crash.

Which is why it's unfortunate the code begins and ends from the machine zero point. I'll look into changing this home position in the toolkit.

[mcphill]

For the trunnion. You will always have to have your part above 0 anyway.

Can't the bottom bed of the trunnion be below Z0? If Z0 is at the A axis centerline, then that can certainly be the case. Maybe not always (depends on the design), but possible.

[yohudi]

Which is why it's unfortunate the code begins and ends from the machine zero point. I'll look into changing this home position in the toolkit.

Micheal,

The point at which the code starts and ends is controllable.... you just need to put the Zeropoint icon.. where you want the code to start / end....

When using CNC_toolkit.... there's a difference between the zeropoint... and the origin..... as long as work / trunnion pivot is at the origin( scene [0,0,0] then the cut/job start/end can be anywhere you like...

Again... check out where the Zeropoint is in the test scenes... you can see it in the videos even.... as long as you setup...with object pivot at scene 0,0,0 .... you shouldn't have a problem....

Hope this helps

Danny

[MichaelGolden]

Can't the bottom bed of the trunnion be below Z0? If Z0 is at the A axis centerline, then that can certainly be the case. Maybe not always (depends on the design), but possible.

Yeah you're right. Totally machine dependant. As long as the points along the toolpath in 3d space match the machine.

And actually Danny I didn't see that option to set a home position. Thanks for clearing that up. I'll have to play with that tonight.

[yohudi]

And actually Danny I didn't see that option to set a home position. Thanks for clearing that up. I'll have to play with that tonight.

Hi There,

No problem... this type of stuff is in the ebook... and the cnctoolkit overview video at youtube does mention / show using the zeropoint to make lead-in / out....

have attached an image from 1st frame of text ring / freeform example...

For ZAC setup.. as mod is... default zeropoint would probably have to be something like where I've drawn (badly) the green marker.. i.e. machine pos 0,0,Whatever you need Z.... to give room for A axis 0 to 90 rotation with un-cut stock.... I think....

hope this helps

Danny

[billw999]

Micheal,

The point at which the code starts and ends is controllable.... you just need to put the Zeropoint icon.. where you want the code to start / end....

When using CNC_toolkit.... there's a difference between the zeropoint... and the origin..... as long as work / trunnion pivot is at the origin( scene [0,0,0] then the cut/job start/end can be anywhere you like...

Again... check out where the Zeropoint is in the test scenes... you can see it in the videos even.... as long as you setup...with object pivot at scene 0,0,0 .... you shouldn't have a problem....

Hope this helps

Danny

First off let me say that I am not trying to say what is right or wrong but from the perspective of someone who has only used commercial cadcam software, I find cnctoolkit

terminology confusing. I am accustomed to hearing machine origin and part origin or tool origin, but not zeropoint. As far as the angle control is concerned I would expect

the option angle from reference surface to produce tool vectors that were normal to the surface regardless of any other settings. Again I am not saying this is right or wrong but I think

it will confuse a lot of people. Thanks for your help by the way.

[yohudi]

First off let me say that I am not trying to say what is right or wrong but from the perspective of someone who has only used commercial cadcam software, I find cnctoolkit

terminology confusing........ Again I am not saying this is right or wrong but I think..... it will confuse a lot of people. Thanks for your help by the way.

Hi There, no problem.. as I'm hoping to implement Micheals mod into a wider app... then I'm only happy to help.. and also to try and help any necessary changes be as compatible as possible.. on my part as well....

I can't help but agree with you that the terminology that comes with using the toolkit is often found confusing by those who are new to it.. and especially if they come from something else....

Strangely enough... there has been / is something in the pipeline to address this.. and many other issues related to using toolkit.... especially for those with little or no gmax /cnc_toolkit experience at all... There will be news on this before too long...

Danny

[dmauch]

Strangely enough... there has been / is something in the pipeline to address this.. and many other issues related to using toolkit.... especially for those with little or no gmax /cnc_toolkit experience at all... There will be news on this before too long...

Danny[/QUOTE]

Any news?
Dan

[dmauch]

Have you updated the toolkit from yourrev .07?
Dan M
auch

Sooo. Here is 1.07.

I watched the youtube videos with the twitchy movements in the file 02AltParallelSpline posted on the yahoo forums. I checked the gcode line by line and determined there is no problem with the gcode. Its just an issue with the simulation. Something to do with the rotation when 180 degrees. I tested the gcode on the actual machine to confirm this.


This update includes an option for G93 in the post under "standard G-code"

I tested it in mach3. Seems to work. This was a real pain in the butt. So enjoy.
And if anyone has experience with G93 please say so and if there's an issue we can tweak it.

The real cool part about this is you can import gcode from another cam software to form splines in gmax and re-generate the gcode with G93 added to it. You would need to re-do all the 5 axis toolpath vectors if you were using A and C. But I think the next update would be cool if we could add the fword to the existing code without changing it.

I also added a tick box for adding line counters to the code. I found it a real pain to check the code in notepad without any kind of reference.

[yohudi]

Strangely enough... there has been / is something in the pipeline to address this.. and many other issues related to using toolkit.... especially for those with little or no gmax /cnc_toolkit experience at all... There will be news on this before too long...

Danny

Any news?
Dan[/QUOTE]

Hi There,

well there is considerable news..... which I will reveal more fully.... in due course... suffice to say that I've now almost completed scripting of comprehensive application to run pretty much any 5-axis XYZAC / BC configuration .... complete with automatic toolpath generation.. and relief surface / toolpathing functions.... I think you will be both pleased and surprised at the speed, power and flexibility of this new application....

I've taken note of the various cnc_toolkit derivatives that have appeared .... some using Rhino and grasshopper.... ALL based on Rab Gordons original methods / ideas / script.... A common theme with the majority (or even all) of these is to attempt to lay claim to Rab's original ideas in some way.... to date I haven't seen anything that isn't based on copying and adjustment of Rab's original script.... rather than creation of something new and original.

So I have taken a different approach... to work in full and open cooperation with Rab.. and create something new and unique.... based on the principles that CNC_toolkit uses... but applied in an entirely new way... that means you don't need gmax / cnc_toolkit knowledge or experience to quickly generate 3,4 or 5 axis toolpaths using 3D geometry... Image.. or vector source as starting point...

When will this be ready to release ?.... When I've completed work to prevent people ripping it off.... as the CNC community is rife with the attitude that this is perfectly acceptable.... and after some beta testing....

More news in due course...

TTFN

Danny

[dmauch]

Sounds like you are making great progress. Also sounds much better than using Gmax.
Thanks for the update

Dan

[dmauch]

BTW here is a picture of my new 5 axis control box. It is sporting a Ethernet smooth stepper and G540 and the 5th axis is a G251.

[yohudi]

Sadly...

I am unable to see this image....

ttfn

Danny

EDIT: Just checked previous page.... Can see images posted by McPhill... but not this one....

[dmauch]

Hmmm interesting that you can't see the pictures. I'll email them to you off line.
Dan Mauch

[MichaelGolden]

Hey glad to hear more progress is being made on the new software. I am in the process of providing kits to people who want to use the software!

At home bolt on kits. Starting out with the 4th axis for now to see what kind of interest there is. If people are interested I may get into the 5th axis trunnion kits as well.

I hope you like!

6" Rotary Table Nema 23 Stepper Motor Mount | eBay

[dmauch]

Looks good !
Dan

Hey glad to hear more progress is being made on the new software. I am in the process of providing kits to people who want to use the software!

At home bolt on kits. Starting out with the 4th axis for now to see what kind of interest there is. If people are interested I may get into the 5th axis trunnion kits as well.

I hope you like!

6" Rotary Table Nema 23 Stepper Motor Mount | eBay

[Tkamsker]

Hi guys i am about to build an standard trunnion setup and i would like to use this software route you where writing about some news to reveal
so my question is there any news or good to know ?
We do VMC milling machines in europe and the next thing people want is an affordable 5th axis in an proven setup
so any info would be nice
thx thomas

[dmauch]

I was hoping that there would be some news about the 5 axis software that was mentioned last summer. I see that not much has been done on the cnc-tool-kit since Mike last updated it. Has there been any other developments in low cost 5 axis software that generates G code?
Dan