[outsider787]

I need to machine something on my BF20, and I need to turn the head 90deg and use the machine as a horizontal milling machine.
What I'm trying to do is mill some holes and a profile in the side of an enclosure. The enclosure it too large have the surface I want milled be on top. Putting the enclosure on it's side will work for me.

Currently I only have access to Cut2D for generating the g-code, but what do I do with the g-code? Can't use it as is, since (with the head turned 90deg) my X axis is now the Z axis and vice versa.

Is there a simple way to swap axis in Mach3?
Any other solution?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

The easiest/best thing would be to make a copy of your Mach3 XML, and edit it to swap the pinouts for the X and Z axes.

Regards,
Ray L.

[hndswthtshdws]

In Mach3 -> Config -> Ports and Pins -> Motor Outputs

You will see a chart with X, Y and Z axis, and the corresponding step and dir pins. If X axis uses pins 2 and 6, and Z axis uses pins 4 and 8, just switch it so that X axis uses 4 and 8 and Z axis uses 2 and 6. Just an example, use whatever pin numbers you actually have.

I don't know how familiar you are with setting up Mach. You might want to write down the existing settings in this menu.



You could also switch the motor plugs around. Plug motor x into z and vice versa.

There's probably a way to do it in cut2D but I'm not familiar with the program. There's probably a way to do it with Gcode as well.


EDit: I'm a slow typer :-(

[hndswthtshdws]

You could also use Cut2D to make the program on an XY plane, then edit the code using notepad. Use find/replace and switch X to Q, then find/replace Z to X, then find/replace Q to Z.

[hoss2006]

You could also use Cut2D to make the program on an XY plane, then edit the code using notepad. Use find/replace and switch X to Q, then find/replace Z to X, then find/replace Q to Z.

That's basically what I did here though I had to swap all 3 axis.
Here's the post in my old thread.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/337985-post342.html
Hoss

x2 freak 90 deg engraving - YouTube

[wizard]

Is this a one off thing never to be returned to? If so just write the CNC code by hand or even less complex use MDI mode and bore your holes one at a time. A bit of mental gymnastics admittedly but you could have this over and done with in the time that it takes to edit a file.

I'm assuming this is an electrical enclosure of some sort or similar. If so you can use UniBit type drills to drill out many of the commonly used sizes. We are assuming here "holes" mean round holes. No the holes won't be pretty interpolated holes but they won't be seen either. On another note, trying to machine the sheet metal of an unsupported panel box wall can be hard on your tooling and ears. The vibration can be significant and may require that you find a way to support the sheet metal, generally though this is a bigger problem on panel boxes with welded on doors when machining the door surfaces. There is a whole tooling industry built around electrical enclosure work, some times you need to think outside your box.

Of course if any of these holes are anything other than round or straight sided you end up back programming issues. I'm not sure if you can change the plane of interpolation in Mach but looking into that might help.

I'm actually wondering how this will even work out on a mill this size. If the enclosure is so big you can't stand it up I'm assuming it is also wide and long. Electricians and panel builders have a long tradition of handling these things manually, especially one offs. In the end it can be more efficient than trying to setup a mill even if manual layout is required. Of course enclosures with removable side panels and doors make machining a lot easier.

[outsider787]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Ended up trying to put the enclosure upright on my mill, and it JUST fit. With the 1/8 cutter, I had 14mm left of travel on the Z axis.

So I didn't yet try rotating the head, but I do like the idea of just editing the NC file in notepad.

[wizard]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Ended up trying to put the enclosure upright on my mill, and it JUST fit. With the 1/8 cutter, I had 14mm left of travel on the Z axis.

I guess short cutting tools can be as useful as short drill bits on those Mini lathes. You got the job done that is the important thing. I would have gone the UniBit / Sawall route.

So I didn't yet try rotating the head, but I do like the idea of just editing the NC file in notepad.

Look into the plane instructions that change the plane of interpretation. That would be G17, G18, & G19. They may make it easier for you to mill circles with the head horizontal.

[hoss2006]

Thanks for the replies guys.
Ended up trying to put the enclosure upright on my mill, and it JUST fit. With the 1/8 cutter, I had 14mm left of travel on the Z axis.

So I didn't yet try rotating the head, but I do like the idea of just editing the NC file in notepad.

Good job.
I agree about editing the g-code, no sense messing with the mill and have to go back and undo it.
Maybe for next time consider the Z axis flip mod.
I have 18.5 inches of clearance now, gains about 5.5 inches over stock.
http://www.cnczone.com/forums/913140-post1265.html
Hoss