***CNC Shaft/Butt Turning*** CueCut Licensed Version For Sale

MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have posted the licensed version for sale on my web page.

http://mvpcues.com/cuecut.php

The price is $200. That includes domestic USPS priority shipping of the USB dongle. Previous owners of CueBalance get a $50 discount, so contact me directly rather than using the Buy Now button if you own CueBalance.

I had to upgrade to a later version of .NET for the licensed version. I will work with purchasers who might have a problem with the drivers on their PC. I have had to help one purchaser with a driver problem.

A few people have asked me about other CNC programs for other cue operations. Future programs are a possibility, though no guarantee. The purchase price includes lifetime support and any needed fixes, but I have no immediate plans to add additional features or provide major upgrades.

The price includes either the mill or the lathe version...or both in the unlikely event someone actually owns both types of machines.

More verbiage on the web page. Any questions not covered there, feel free to ask. Thanks to everyone who showed interest in the program.
 
dzcues

dzcues

newbie
Silver Member
I'm making a short, 22" butt for a junior player.

I used the compound taper feature of CueCut to make the first 6" my standard taper (so my collets would work). The next 6" transitions to a larger diameter which also matches my taper and leaves the large end at 1.270". This allows the player to become familiar with the diameters of a full size cue & also adds weight naturally.

It would make a great shorty cue for locations with tight spots, too. I spent about 10 minutes tweaking sizes & options till I had what I wanted, then spit out a perfect program!

Yes, any CAD/CAM program would allow you to do the same thing but this is quicker & allows you to make size & configuration adjustments MUCH quicker. And the best part is you never lose your fixture location!
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I helped a couple of users on the phone today with how shaft cutting is designed to be done in the program. In case it helps any of the other users, I'm going to reiterate a few things here.

I designed shaft tapers in CueCut so that they are a one and done process for each different taper. Shaft tapers are always defined based on final size. When creating the taper, set the joint size, set the 3" collet size, set the tip size (all at final size), then adjust the data points in between to match your specific shaft taper. Let's assume a taper was created so that the joint size is .850 and the tip size is .500 (easy math below). Save it, save it to the file, done.

For actual shaft cutting using the above taper, the only thing that needs to be entered is the tip diameter to cut to, the length of the blank, and make sure the taper defined above is the currently selected one in the drop down. If you want to cut a dowel to .700, enter .700 for the tip diameter on the main page. Done. The joint diameter would come out to 1.050. In six months if you want to cut it to .650, enter .650 for the tip diameter and make sure the correct taper is selected. Done. The joint diameter will come out to 1.000.

To cut another dowel that is further along to .550 with the same taper, enter .550 for the tip diameter. Done. The joint end will be cut to .900.

<fast forward>

Time to take a final cut to .500. Enter .500 for the tip diameter. Done. The joint end will be cut to the cuemakers standard .850 joint, as defined in the shaft taper data.

Customer calls and says he wants the tip diameter to be .490. No problem. Load the blank that was just cut to .500 and now enter .490 for the tip diameter. Done. An automatic gradual adjustment will be made by the program between the 12" mark from the joint to the 3" mark from the joint. That adjustment will be made to maintain a .850 joint diameter (instead of .840) since the tip diameter was cut to .010 less than what is defined in the taper data. The curve between the tip and the 12" mark from the joint will be exactly the same, just scaled to a .490 tip.

Another customer calls and says he wants the tip diameter to be .510. No problem. Load a blank that is ready for final cut and enter .510 for the tip diameter. Put a checkmark in the "Final Cut?" option. This is telling the program you want the .510 to be final size. The tip will be cut to .510. Starting at the 12" mark an automatic gradual adjustment will be made between the 12" mark and the 3" mark so that the joint, again, comes out to .850 (instead of .860) since the tip diameter was cut to .010 larger than what is defined in the taper data.

One defined taper used to make all intermediate cuts, and all final cuts even if the desired tip diameter is a little different than what is defined. All by entering only one diameter to cut to in the program for each cutting operation.
 
JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
MVPCues said:
I helped a couple of users on the phone today with how shaft cutting is designed to be done in the program. In case it helps any of the other users, I'm going to reiterate a few things here.

I designed shaft tapers in CueCut so that they are a one and done process for each different taper. Shaft tapers are always defined based on final size. When creating the taper, set the joint size, set the 3" collet size, set the tip size (all at final size), then adjust the data points in between to match your specific shaft taper. Let's assume a taper was created so that the joint size is .850 and the tip size is .500 (easy math below). Save it, save it to the file, done.

For actual shaft cutting using the above taper, the only thing that needs to be entered is the tip diameter to cut to, the length of the blank, and make sure the taper defined above is the currently selected one in the drop down. If you want to cut a dowel to .700, enter .700 for the tip diameter on the main page. Done. The joint diameter would come out to 1.050. In six months if you want to cut it to .650, enter .650 for the tip diameter and make sure the correct taper is selected. Done. The joint diameter will come out to 1.000.

To cut another dowel that is further along to .550 with the same taper, enter .550 for the tip diameter. Done. The joint end will be cut to .900.

<fast forward>

Time to take a final cut to .500. Enter .500 for the tip diameter. Done. The joint end will be cut to the cuemakers standard .850 joint, as defined in the shaft taper data.

Customer calls and says he wants the tip diameter to be .490. No problem. Load the blank that was just cut to .500 and now enter .490 for the tip diameter. Done. An automatic gradual adjustment will be made by the program between the 12" mark from the joint to the 3" mark from the joint. That adjustment will be made to maintain a .850 joint diameter (instead of .840) since the tip diameter was cut to .010 less than what is defined in the taper data. The curve between the tip and the 12" mark from the joint will be exactly the same, just scaled to a .490 tip.

Another customer calls and says he wants the tip diameter to be .510. No problem. Load a blank that is ready for final cut and enter .510 for the tip diameter. Put a checkmark in the "Final Cut?" option. This is telling the program you want the .510 to be final size. The tip will be cut to .510. Starting at the 12" mark an automatic gradual adjustment will be made between the 12" mark and the 3" mark so that the joint, again, comes out to .850 (instead of .860) since the tip diameter was cut to .010 larger than what is defined in the taper data.

One defined taper used to make all intermediate cuts, and all final cuts even if the desired tip diameter is a little different than what is defined. All by entering only one diameter to cut to in the program for each cutting operation.
Click to expand...

Can you specify the diameter at 5 different points ?
Say .850' at the joint, .800" 3 inches down from that ( OR X26 ) , 5" from there, then to 14.5" from the tip, then off to the tip end ?
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JoeyInCali said:
Can you specify the diameter at 5 different points ?
Say .850' at the joint, .800" 3 inches down from that ( OR X26 ) , 5" from there, then to 14.5" from the tip, then off to the tip end ?
Click to expand...

Here is the shaft design screen. The mandatory points defining a shaft taper are joint diameter, 3" collet diameter, 12" from joint (mandatory for automatic adjustment purposes) and tip diameter. Obviously, that wouldn't be much of a shaft if that was all that was used. Data points defining the curve are from 5" to 28", every inch.

cc3.jpg
 
JoeyInCali

JoeyInCali

Maker of Joey Bautista Cues
Silver Member
Damn!
You da man Kelly.
That will get it done.
If you leave a box blank in between two points, will the software compute for that point ?
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
JoeyInCali said:
Damn!
You da man Kelly.
That will get it done.
If you leave a box blank in between two points, will the software compute for that point ?
Click to expand...

You can't leave it blank, but you can uncheck the checkbox above the point. If you uncheck it, that data point won't appear in the GCode file. If you uncheck the 18" data point, GCode will just go from 19" to 17". So, if someone has a completely flat taper (oxymoron?) the first 8" of the shaft from the tip end, they could uncheck data points 22 through 28 rather than setting them all to the same value and using them. Same end result.
 
Kingpin

Kingpin

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Forgive my thread jack but who has this type of software? Where could we get a list in order to find out who could make us a shaft? Thankyou.
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Kingpin said:
Forgive my thread jack but who has this type of software? Where could we get a list in order to find out who could make us a shaft? Thankyou.
Click to expand...

Since I am the author and seller of the software, I would be the only one who could make that list. I couldn't do that, of course...I consider sales private. Perhaps purchasers of the software can volunteer to be made known or contact you directly.
 
Last edited:
LGSM3

LGSM3

Jake<built cues for fun
Silver Member
offsets

Bob

are you just running mach out of g58 with simple code or does cue cut offer options for the initialization of offsets? I ask because your machine is for multiple ops....obviously a dedicated lathe could just live at the default g54.

May also be wise to qualify now that offsets (or G58 as referred to in your vid) may not be an option for most people who dont have home switches. In which case they will be restricted to the old fashion zeroing of the cutter in both axis.

Would just hate to see you guys have to become tech support for installing switches on multiple controllers, etc. etc. etc.
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
LGSM3 said:
Bob

are you just running mach out of g58 with simple code or does cue cut offer options for the initialization of offsets? I ask because your machine is for multiple ops....obviously a dedicated lathe could just live at the default g54.

May also be wise to qualify now that offsets (or G58 as referred to in your vid) may not be an option for most people who dont have home switches. In which case they will be restricted to the old fashion zeroing of the cutter in both axis.

Would just hate to see you guys have to become tech support for installing switches on multiple controllers, etc. etc. etc.
Click to expand...

There are no offsets in GCode generated in CueCut. Like you say, some users do not have homing switches and are touching up. They are used to that already. The difference with CueCut is they should use dedicated tooling (dowel and same cutter/dowel pin in router) to do every touch up so the x/y coordinate in CueCut never changes...unless they actually move a fixture or hardware changes for some reason.

Like Bob, I have homing switches and so after I home the machine I set an offset in my controller software so that the x/y coordinate in CueCut for me is always 0,0.

There is zero chance I will become tech support for installing switches.
 
Last edited:
j2pac

j2pac

Marital Slow Learner.
Staff member
Moderator
Gold Member
Silver Member
Awesome

Fantastic programs Kelly. Really cool. :cool:
Joe P.
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I have added a new feature to the program. Now when adding or editing a shaft taper, you can include other existing shaft tapers in the graph for comparison. Just click the existing shaft tapers in the top left list to include/exclude them in the graph. While playing around with new shaft tapers, I often wanted to compare several tapers I already had. I think this little addition will be useful.

I have posted new installation files for this version. The version number is 1.02. If the new installation file is downloaded, run, and the program is installed to the same folder your originally installed the program to, the program will be overwritten without any fuss. Shortcuts that are already created on the desktop/start menu will be for the new version. If anyone no longer has the original link to the page where the licensed versions can be downloaded, contact me for that link.

For the XP users who I had to send an "XP version" executable, if you want the new version for this new feature, please contact me and I will make you a new version.

Note this new feature was NOT added to the evaluation versions.



cc3.jpg
 
MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Thanks Randy.

I am making a few more changes. Hold off on installing the new version until I post again.
 
Last edited:
Texas Carom Club

Texas Carom Club

9ball did to billiards what hiphop did to america
Silver Member
JoeyInCali said:
Can you specify the diameter at 5 different points ?
Say .850' at the joint, .800" 3 inches down from that ( OR X26 ) , 5" from there, then to 14.5" from the tip, then off to the tip end ?
Click to expand...


With cncs you should be able to specify the diameter at as many points as you want

You just make the cad drawing and the machine will make it,

I don't knew about this particular software, but if The Machine reads standard gcode, programming any taper you can imagine is pretty simple


I'm not attempting to dump on your software By any means I'm just replying to his question


Cnc programming/drafting/machining is my day job
 
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MVPCues

MVPCues

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am finished with this round of software changes. Version 1.0.4 is posted to my web site.

I have started a user mailing list to inform users when new features/fixes are added to the program. If you are a licensed user and did not receive an email from me, please contact me.
 
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