CNC question, how hard?

macguy

macguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I am not that computer literate and wondered what the learning curve has been with the guys here for CNC that were like me? I have a shop now that is pretty complete but we are building a new house and I am for the most part retiring and have around 600 sq. ft set aside for my new shop. It might as well be complete and have the CNC but I am wondering how hard it will be to learn? I currently use a Gorton P 1-2 that is manual and it works very well for what I like to do. I was told it could be retrofitted for CNC but I have been thinking of just getting something new. Any advice will be appreciated.
 
I'd bet you can do it.

I have taught my wife & partner to use the CAD program for drawing simple geometric designs, plus she learned how to put in the tool offsets and make tool paths and to write the G-Code.

She had no prior CNC experience but learned very quickly.

I'll be happy to help if I can. What Machine and Software are you considering?

Tom
 
Cuesavvy said:
I'd bet you can do it.

I have taught my wife & partner to use the CAD program for drawing simple geometric designs, plus she learned how to put in the tool offsets and make tool paths and to write the G-Code.

She had no prior CNC experience but learned very quickly.

I'll be happy to help if I can. What Machine and Software are you considering?

Tom
Click to expand...

Thank you for the vote confidence. As far as equipment goes I have no idea. There are a lot on the market and most don't seem overly expensive, so it would just be a matter of getting the most suitable.
 
I don't know about CNC machines built just for making cues, but I have programmed and ran metal mills and lathes, such as: haas, cincinatti, etc. If you are good at the cartesian coordinate system (x,y) stuff you can definately learn. There are a lot of books out there on CNC programming and special tooling. You have to learn to visualize what your tool will be doing while you are writing the program. It may be different for specific cue making CNCs so I can't say on that for sure.
 
Your question is extremely subjective. The reason is that some people can comprehend computers and computer software very quickly and easily, and some will just never get it.
You need a technical mind, and a special ability to remember things.
Pretty much anyone should be able to do very basic cnc work on the computer within a few weeks. You can spend years and years refining your methods though.
 
> The textbook I use in school is called Machine Tool Practices,and has a nice section on CNC. You should probably start with Machinery's Handbook,you can even get that one on a cd-rom too. Make sure you thoroughly read the feeds/speeds section for sure,and make certain that you can do both of those calculations in your head or use a calculator every single time. End mills get expensive when you burn them up or break them. The 2 most common formulas for machining are CS x 4 divided by D,CS is cutting speed for the material,which for metals has pretty much standard for decades,multiplied by 4 and divided by either the diameter of the part in a lathe or the diameter of the cutter in a mill. The other formula is F x N x RPM,F representing the feed per tooth for a particular material,N for the number of flutes or teeth on your cutter,and the RPM from the first equation,this is for setting the feed rate in a mill. Tommy D.
 
Macguy,

If you are interested in a CNC machine, PM me and I can give you more information.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top