3D printers/CNC mills

[Heimo]

I would use a virtual machine to run Ubuntu inside windows, it is easy...
here you can see me running xp inside win 7
and al-xg is correct 3d modeling is easy to learn in these days, also you don't really have to know g-code since the software generates it from the 3D model, well that is at least how I understand it (I may be wrong)

[dewey-1]

I would think this is a safer solution. Or even a multi I/O PCI card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... rx5a3zglmx

Some of the cable adapter solutions have been known not to not fully compatible, such as bidirectional control, especially if the device needs it.

Read some information here;

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1238773

Note; Mach3 software does not agree with Win7 64 bit!
I recommend a cheap P3 or P4 laptop with parallel port and XP 32 bit OS just to protect your new PC system.
Like this;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Latitude-C ... 3cbe5aa9ae

[POLAND_SPUD]

ohhh BTW... USGF what do you know about hexapod machines ?? I've seen them somewhere I hope I can find that vid

[youtube][/youtube]
looks very cool... but how practical are they ??

[al-xg]

A friend of mine made one of these for his final year project.

Its a lot more impressive when they machine things fast

Ahhhrg can't find any decent videos anymore...

[youtube][/youtube]
Ah well that'll have to do.

[mobile chernobyl]

Moar Axis' Moar better!

My uncle is a machinist at a company near me and brought me in to show me a 5 axis water jet - they use it for water turbine work... amazing to watch lol. Very similar to this:


But on a much larger scale!

[USGF]

ohhh BTW... USGF what do you know about hexapod machines ?? I've seen them somewhere I hope I can find that vid

Poland Spud, they must not have a good cost to benefit ratio as they have not gotten popular in commercial shops. I see them in high speed robotic applications. Mostly packaging. I know if I was to invest in a Hexapod machining center, the first huge obstacle would be the CAM software. Standard CAM for a 3 or 4 axis mill is already expensive. To get a custom post written for an odd machine will likely be astronomical. I'm sure everybody else has come to the conclusion that a large 5 axis machine will handle just about any situation likely to arise.

USGF

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Thank you all for your advice.

Guess my final argument. Even with persons as "experienced" as myself or Mike, it was virtually impossible to make nice metal parts with Scott's router. You can drill holes in a circuit board, you can mechanical etch PC boards, you could with a lot work set up a pick and place for installing electronics components. Course you can cut plastic and wood parts. You will not machine AR grips as nice as Mike makes them.

Point taken.

I've mulled over the subject in some detail taking the opinions and experiences in this thread into consideration and have come to some conclusions:

- getting CNC for the sake of getting CNC is not a valid justification, at the moment it will just be a solution looking for a problem, so to invest in anything substantial right now is probably a bad idea.

- I'm not going to get away with a relatively cheap router for what I have in mind, so this is going to require some financial outlay. I've spent more on tools in the past 6 months than I have in my entire life, perhaps it's time to take a few steps back and work with what I have, letting some funds accumulate in the meantime.

- Converting the Sherline to CNC is probably not the best idea and I am better off leaving it as a manual mill, buying a separate more substantial one for CNC

- I cannot put off getting into 3D modelling any longer *ducks to avoid the barrage of I-told-you-sos frow Duane*

So, with my initial enthusiasm suitably dimmed and both feet firmly on the ground, I've decided on a slightly more cautious, more long term approach.

I will grudgingly put MS paint aside and take on more sophisticated software, and put money aside for a "proper" CNC mill while I do so, as well as pledging to run my manual machines every day, something I've fallen back on lately and I should be ashamed.

[USGF]

JSR,

What you could do with "proper" drawing software is difficult to fathom. Bravo.

USGF

[evilvet]

What you could do with "proper" drawing software is difficult to fathom. Bravo.

A simple example of why this topic applies to Spuds. Many of us dream of making the perfect "copy"; a BFG that actually looks like a BFG rather than a plumbers nightmare.

So.........

Start with a suitable image
Apply a nifty program called Image to G Code
Feed the G Code to your CNC router
Load the router with some material like a sheet of HDPE 25mm 1200x600 that most of us have under the bench

Presto, out comes the grips, stock, receiver etc that we dreamed of.

19,000 lines of G-Code that look like this:

G90 G80 G40 M3
G92 X0 Y0 Z0
G01 F140
Z-1.000
Y6.24 Z-1.0
X0.02
Y0.0
X0.04
Y6.24
X0.06
Y0.0
X0.08
Y6.24
X0.1
Y0.0
X0.12
Y6.24
X0.14
Y0.0
X0.16
Y6.24
X0.18
Y3.37
Y3.36 Z-0.984
Y3.35 Z-0.961
Y3.34 Z-0.933


Picture examples herewith.

[USGF]

A simple example of why this topic applies to Spuds. Many of us dream of making the perfect "copy"; a BFG that actually looks like a BFG rather than a plumbers nightmare.

So.........

Start with a suitable image
Apply a nifty program called Image to G Code
Feed the G Code to your CNC router
Load the router with some material like a sheet of HDPE 25mm 1200x600 that most of us have under the bench

Presto, out comes the grips, stock, receiver etc that we dreamed of.

19,000 lines of G-Code that look like this:

G90 G80 G40 M3
snip

Evil,

If only it was that easy. What you describe is surfacing. Great for making Starbuck logos, small trinkets, visual appeal stuff. It would be great for making thermoform molds. For a "real" part, you gotta go CAD CAM for now. In a few years, that may change with manufacturing information embedded in drawings. For now, a 2 or 3D drawing to work from is hard to beat. All the current systems are geared that way. I am looking forward to drawing files JSR can e-mail to us for manufacture. (Finally):D

USGF

[evilvet]

@USGF

Sorry, have to disagree.

Yes, I simplified it a bit, what I tend to do is feed the G-Code via CAM/BAM then into Mach 3 for the actual job.

This is exactly the technique I have used to produce actual 3D parts.
Not surfacing, the mill cuts all the way through apart from holding tabs. The thing to remember that you are making 2D sections that become 3D. To make a stock, I cut two mirror halves, each 50% of the final thickness required. Cut the mirror images, then laminate them for the finished result.

Cheers

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I am looking forward to drawing files JSR can e-mail to us for manufacture. (Finally):D

It might take a while but I'll get there

[dewey-1]

I am looking forward to drawing files JSR can e-mail to us for manufacture. (Finally):D

It might take a while but I'll get there

Look how long it took him to get a lathe! Told you so number one!
See how long it takes him to get and use proper CAD software! Told you so number two!

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Look how long it took him to get a lathe! Told you so number one!

Ah, but I got one... and note that in a few months I went from "I want to buy a shitty $300 lathe" to buying a quality lathe and mill and more accessories than you can shake a stick at

See how long it takes him to get and use proper CAD software! Told you so number two!

As one of the more comical of my Spanish colleagues would say, "Ethtep by ethtep"

[Gun Freak]

"Ethtep by ethtep"