CNC Newby Help

[GrimmCustomCues]

I just picked up an older 3 Axis Taig MicroMill 2000. I figured this would be a good affordable place to start with CNC. I'm in the process of adding a dovetail bed, indexable headstock and tailstock to hold a pool cue butt at the moment. I spoke with the company that originally sold it and they have told me I need and they can install an upgrade board that is compatible with the Mach 3 software. They can also install another upgrade board for a 4th Axis Controller. Is there any other software I need or anything else that might come in handy? Does anyone sell the plug-in's for specific basic shapes specifically for cues? All tips and info is appreciated.

Richard

 

[Mr Hoppe]

You're going to need CAD software to make your drawings, CAM software to apply your machining operations, and a controller software to translate the G-code produced by your CAM software into electrical pulses and control your stepper motors.

There are many, many different software packages to choose from that range from free & easy to very expensive & very complex, and everything in between. MasterCam and AutoCad are examples of software that do both CAD and CAM (CAD\CAM) and are both high-end in terms of capabilities, and generally expensive. A set-up used by several here, including myself, is BobCad for CAD\CAM and Mach3 for the controller software. These are lower cost alternatives which still have a wide range of capabilities, good support, and a large installed base of users across the country.

Again, there are many, many options for software that you can use, but BobCad and Mach3 is just one combination that is used by cue makers here that you can post questions about and get help from others who are probably already doing what you are wanting to do.

 

[Mr Hoppe]

snip . . . Does anyone sell the plug-in's for specific basic shapes specifically for cues? All tips and info is appreciated.

Richard

There aren't plugins for the shapes. What you do is draw the shape you want in your CAD program, or another drawing program capable of saving in a .dxf format, then import that into your CAM program to design how you want that shape machined, then your CAM program will produce G-code that is then used by your controller software which tells the motors how to cut the shape. You can download the latest version of BobCAD and play around with it for free, but they will ask you for your contact information prior to getting the download. If you give them your correct contact info, they will call you repeatedly until you pull your hair out.

 

[Bill the Cat]

Another option

Instead of upgrading the older MicroMill 2000 controller, I'd look at replacing it with a Gecko 540 controller. I don't know what they quoted you for the upgrade, but I'm guessing the cost of a new (4 axis) Gecko 540 controller would be comparable.

I bought my whole Taig CNC system through deepgroove1. He also sells just the control system (with or without the stepper motors).

http://cgi.ebay.com/gecko-4-axis-dr...ultDomain_0&hash=item255fecc96b#ht_1703wt_744

 

[cuesmith]

Instead of upgrading the older MicroMill 2000 controller, I'd look at replacing it with a Gecko 540 controller. I don't know what they quoted you for the upgrade, but I'm guessing the cost of a new (4 axis) Gecko 540 controller would be comparable.

I bought my whole Taig CNC system through deepgroove1. He also sells just the control system (with or without the stepper motors).

http://cgi.ebay.com/gecko-4-axis-dr...ultDomain_0&hash=item255fecc96b#ht_1703wt_744

I agree with Bill on this one. I just bought a second Techno Isel CNC Gantry type router. It came with only a 3 axis controller which was rather obsolete so I bought a 4 axis system from Paul at Deepgroove which is due tomorrow. I'm using the Mach 3 software on this machine and an old AH-HA 4 axis controller on my old machine. The Ah-Ha is no longer made or supported, though there is a Yahoo Group that helps with any Ah-Ha problems I've encountered. The Ah-Ha is an old DOS based system though and I use the old 3 1/2" floppy disks to move the cutting files from my Cad-CAM computer to the computer that runs the machine. With my new system I should be able to use a USB memory stick, a CD or a floppy. A lot of cuemakers use BobCad and like it, but while I have it, I use another program I find MUCH more user friendly and has the ability to do just about anything BobCad can do and much easier to understand, at least for me. Anyone looking for a very user friendly CadCam program that the owner of the company supports very well I'd highly recommend Waynemark Software's FastPath. It's also cheaper than BobCad! If you're interested you can contact Greg Brown at GBrown1002000@Yahoo.com . Please tell him that Sherm referred you. I don't make anything off of it but I'd like him to know I appreciate all the help he's given me! When I got started with CNC I'd hardly ever sat at a computer, much less had any understanding of how to make one work. Greg was very patient with me and the software is really easy to learn! I forgot to mention that Dick Neighbors also uses this software and loves it too.

Sherm

 

[JoeyInCali]

I agree with Bill on this one. I just bought a second Techno Isel CNC Gantry type router. It came with only a 3 axis controller which was rather obsolete so I bought a 4 axis system from Paul at Deepgroove which is due tomorrow. I'm using the Mach 3 software on this machine and an old AH-HA 4 axis controller on my old machine. The Ah-Ha is no longer made or supported, though there is a Yahoo Group that helps with any Ah-Ha problems I've encountered. The Ah-Ha is an old DOS based system though and I use the old 3 1/2" floppy disks to move the cutting files from my Cad-CAM computer to the computer that runs the machine. With my new system I should be able to use a USB memory stick, a CD or a floppy. A lot of cuemakers use BobCad and like it, but while I have it, I use another program I find MUCH more user friendly and has the ability to do just about anything BobCad can do and much easier to understand, at least for me. Anyone looking for a very user friendly CadCam program that the owner of the company supports very well I'd highly recommend Waynemark Software's FastPath. It's also cheaper than BobCad! If you're interested you can contact Greg Brown at GBrown1002000@Yahoo.com . Please tell him that Sherm referred you. I don't make anything off of it but I'd like him to know I appreciate all the help he's given me! When I got started with CNC I'd hardly ever sat at a computer, much less had any understanding of how to make one work. Greg was very patient with me and the software is really easy to learn! I forgot to mention that Dick Neighbors also uses this software and loves it too.

Sherm

Sherm, doesn't the Techno come with servo motors ?
I agree on Mach3 controller.
I trained on Mach2 with Edwin.
Mach's can sure make life easy when you figure it out.

 

[cuesmith]

Sherm, doesn't the Techno come with servo motors ?
I agree on Mach3 controller.
I trained on Mach2 with Edwin.
Mach's can sure make life easy when you figure it out.

Joey,
Some Techno's come with servos, the 2 I have both came with steppers. You can order them either way and both have their pros and cons.

Sherm

 

[GrimmCustomCues]

Instead of upgrading the older MicroMill 2000 controller, I'd look at replacing it with a Gecko 540 controller. I don't know what they quoted you for the upgrade, but I'm guessing the cost of a new (4 axis) Gecko 540 controller would be comparable.

I bought my whole Taig CNC system through deepgroove1. He also sells just the control system (with or without the stepper motors).

http://cgi.ebay.com/gecko-4-axis-dr...ultDomain_0&hash=item255fecc96b#ht_1703wt_744

Thanks Bill, I actually was looking at that controller today. The upgrades I need are actually pretty cheap. Less than 1/2 the cost of the Gecko 540. If I did switch over to the Gecko I assume I would also need to change out my current stepper motors or re-wire them to connect to the Gecko. Can you tell me some of the major differences between the original controller and gecko 540?

I'm wondering now if I should have just bought new mill. If I do the Gecko with 4 stepper motors I'll have about $1400 invested including shipping at that point but if I can sell the original controller and stepper motors for it, that price will come down a bit. Someone actually has some listed on ebay used for $838!!!!! I have a feeling they're crazy! I bet that controller and motors might be worth a couple hundred. Any idea?

Richard

 

[GrimmCustomCues]

There aren't plugins for the shapes. What you do is draw the shape you want in your CAD program, or another drawing program capable of saving in a .dxf format, then import that into your CAM program to design how you want that shape machined, then your CAM program will produce G-code that is then used by your controller software which tells the motors how to cut the shape. You can download the latest version of BobCAD and play around with it for free, but they will ask you for your contact information prior to getting the download. If you give them your correct contact info, they will call you repeatedly until you pull your hair out.

Thanks Mr H, Ive seen Mach 3 and BobCad quite a bit on this forum. Im gonna try out both and a few others that have been mentioned. I'm just trying to figure out which route Im going to take on the mill and controller now. LOL

Richard

 

[Bill the Cat]

Sorry I don't have the techno smarts to list the differences

Thanks Bill, I actually was looking at that controller today. The upgrades I need are actually pretty cheap. Less than 1/2 the cost of the Gecko 540. If I did switch over to the Gecko I assume I would also need to change out my current stepper motors or re-wire them to connect to the Gecko. Can you tell me some of the major differences between the original controller and gecko 540?

I'm wondering now if I should have just bought new mill. If I do the Gecko with 4 stepper motors I'll have about $1400 invested including shipping at that point but if I can sell the original controller and stepper motors for it, that price will come down a bit. Someone actually has some listed on ebay used for $838!!!!! I have a feeling they're crazy! I bet that controller and motors might be worth a couple hundred. Any idea?

Richard

Maybe someone with more smarts in electronics will chime in. I just know that I did a lot of research before buying my machine. Everything I read kept saying that the Gecko was the only way to go.

 

[waynewrc]

Cnc

Currently I am building a 4 axis CNC machine. The research that I have done has lead me to belive that Gecko drive controllers are first class. I did end up purchasing CENTENT drives off ebay that were designed by the same person as the Gecko drives saved a few $$$. I have also purchased BobCad 24 which I am using to design parts for the machine, I drop off a drawing and gcode file and pickup a part. For the money BobCad is great. Mach III seems to be the most popular windows cnc controller software (free to try inexpensive to buy) and EMC2 seems to be the most popular Linux version and it is free to try and free to use. You can download a version linux called Ubuntu with EMC2 included in the install. I have setup a dual boot pc to try out both software packages.

 

[Mc2]

Thanks Bill, I actually was looking at that controller today. The upgrades I need are actually pretty cheap. Less than 1/2 the cost of the Gecko 540. If I did switch over to the Gecko I assume I would also need to change out my current stepper motors or re-wire them to connect to the Gecko. Can you tell me some of the major differences between the original controller and gecko 540?

I'm wondering now if I should have just bought new mill. If I do the Gecko with 4 stepper motors I'll have about $1400 invested including shipping at that point but if I can sell the original controller and stepper motors for it, that price will come down a bit. Someone actually has some listed on ebay used for $838!!!!! I have a feeling they're crazy! I bet that controller and motors might be worth a couple hundred. Any idea?

Richard

I have used both. The Gecko 540 is by far the better controller. It is smoother and stronger, and more reliable. I wouldn't bother changing though unless I was adding a 4th. It would be easier to get something that will work out of the box. If you get a deepgroove box, it will have a 48v power supply. This will run the motors better and cooler. The motor cables do have to have a current limiting resistor in them however, they are easy to add. Deepgroove takes care of this for you. Oh, and the most important things for newbs, he has the correct setup files on his web site for Mach3. The old setup has value so you could re coupe some of that if you want to sell on ebay. The Taig is a great starter machine. Most upgrade sooner or latter to a bigger machine. Only you can decide how much you are willing to spend, and how much time you will take setting up the machine. Do you know how to do this kind of work? Will you need help? I know guys who can do this stuff with very little help. And others who would just let someone else do the work and all they want to do is run the machine. I believe it would be good to know as much about the inner workings of the controller in case you have issues down the line.

Jim.

 

[ChampionsRepair]

Go Gecko, really...

I recently went through something similar here:
http://forums.azbilliards.com/showthread.php?t=215206
The difference between the two controllers is amazing the gecko is significantly faster, more accurate and the steppers run quieter. Then when you gain the functionality of Mach3 the combination just flat out performs. But you can use your existing controller with Mach3. I did before I decided to upgrade. All of the info was at cnczone forums for doing it.

The upgrades I need are actually pretty cheap. Less than 1/2 the cost of the Gecko 540. If I did switch over to the Gecko I assume I would also need to change out my current stepper motors or re-wire them to connect to the Gecko. Can you tell me some of the major differences between the original controller and gecko 540?

I ended up buying a used mill with G540 controller off of craigslist. It had the same model steppers even though the inductance was too high according to Gecko. They run great but get HOT after about 45 minutes. I don't use my mill for cues (read only put inlays in 3 cues in the last 10 years) but it runs about 3 hours per day making specialty accessories for wine enthusiasts. I sold the second mill and my old controller on here for $100 less than I paid. After having used it for the last 3 months, I can say the upgrade was easily worth $500+ with the time savings and improved performance. I added a 4th axis at the same time and it has worked out great.

Hope this helps with your decision...

 

[GrimmCustomCues]

Looks like the Gecko 540 with new Stepper motors and Mach 3 are the way to go from everything Ive been told and read so far. Not sure about the Cad/Cam software yet. Just downloaded the BobCAD trial software, now thats some complicated stuff. Anyone know where I can get a crash course in it? I plan on trying some others mentioned. Thanks for all the info guys. I hope to have this all up and running in the next couple weeks so I can start playing a little.

Richard

 

[waynewrc]

BobCad 24

Looks like the Gecko 540 with new Stepper motors and Mach 3 are the way to go from everything Ive been told and read so far. Not sure about the Cad/Cam software yet. Just downloaded the BobCAD trial software, now thats some complicated stuff. Anyone know where I can get a crash course in it? I plan on trying some others mentioned. Thanks for all the info guys. I hope to have this all up and running in the next couple weeks so I can start playing a little.

Richard

They have some very good tutorials on thier web site.

 

[Mr Hoppe]

Looks like the Gecko 540 with new Stepper motors and Mach 3 are the way to go from everything Ive been told and read so far. Not sure about the Cad/Cam software yet. Just downloaded the BobCAD trial software, now thats some complicated stuff. Anyone know where I can get a crash course in it? I plan on trying some others mentioned. Thanks for all the info guys. I hope to have this all up and running in the next couple weeks so I can start playing a little.

Richard

The default install of BobCad installs every toolbar that it has, and appears quite intimidating. You can remove many of the seldom used toolbars from the interface, including all of the 3D stuff and many others if it makes you feel better. Doing so will also give you a little more screen real estate.

Remember that the trial version of the software will not generate G-code, so you won't be able to cut anything with it. It's there so that you can get a feel for how to draw and config their CAM features. Other than their web site, here is a nice step-bay-step tutorial that you may find useful.
Good luck.