I have made the decision to CNC it!

have you watched the training videos?
steve
 
i'm not sure what cam software you are going to use but most of the lower cost softwares do not do 3d cam (they do not contour in the z axis ) so you have to draw the part from every direction and rotate the part and mill it from every direction.
i'm learning this all myself and it is hard to explain in text. thats where windows remote assistance would help ( letting us both see the same screen ) but i dont know how to use it either.
steve
 
Understand,

Well I guess, as your saying, I will have to do each aspect then I guess in 2d and do one aspect of the part at a time. Not a problem and that might help in the long run, it is just that I will have to save a few files and run them in order. As for what I am going to use, I was thinking of using the same set up as you have.
 
As for watching the vids, yes I have been watching them.. and even had to write some of the instructions down.. I guess it is going to just take a bit for it all to sink in. I am like that sometimes. It takes repeating something over and over to get it to sink in.
 
it is possible to contour in the z axis with 2d software by drawing the image then generating the g-code and editing the code to exchange the y or x plane moves to z moves. i havent had to do it but it can be done. that is how they did it before 3d software and multi axis machines
you will have to learn to edit g code to do a lot of the things you want to do and it is not really hard if you break your process into seperate machining moves the append them together into one file. I dont do it this way, i do it as each seperate move so it takes me longer but it is easier to see mistakes. once you have perfected each process and if your going to be producing a lot of these parts you add the files all together with the tool changes and pauses to relocate/turn your part and you have the entire process. you can mount your part centered in an index to rotate and machine all 4 sides if needed by using the center of the part as your X and Y zero center point.
steve
 
my point in the last post is your drawings have to reflect the machining
lets say we will rotate the part and machine 4 sides
the top and bottom drawings have to be mirrored and flipped to machine correctly.
your drawing has to be a view from the mill's cutter prospective
so the machine process has everything to do with the way you draw your part.
steve
 
Understand, I think that is the way that I will approach it, doing it in steps instead of doing one complete part at a time, I don't mind doing it that way, in the long run, it still will take just about the same amount of time to complete each one. Whether I am doing one, one 1000 of them, if I do them in a series till done will be fine. The nice thing about the CNC is that i can repeat the actions without having to think about the numbers once the drawings are done, saved and can be brought back up in a respective order. This is why I will need a jig of some sort to hold the part. The parts diamentions will not very.

The reason that I was trying to get those arcs is that I could try to see what approximately what it would look like in the finished form. That way I could alter how it would look in the long run or change something if I wanted to.
 
are you ready to buy?
they would both work...
the 3axis sets motors could use 48v for more power but will work as is but not at rated power. if you needed more power you could go to a 48v power supply.
the 4 axis set is at it's limits the motors are only rated for 3.6v/36v in cnc power supply terms, so there is no option for more power by buying a bigger power supply. but yes they would work at advertised rating. and it is not a bad setup except breakout board.
I will say i had dealings with this company and personaly they said they would take care of my problem and they did nothing. they lied to me. and said a new motor had been shipped 2 months ago. they must be rowing here
note about ebay purchases i have learned dont do a rating until you make sure everything works and is not damaged. open every item. once you post a rating " they dont care if your happy" you told ebay you were happy already.
i like longs motor company on ebay they didnt have what i needed without waiting, contacted me and gave me a better system for the same price.
i needed more information from them once and got instant replys.
there may be others that are good but i think wantmotor or sometimes called wantamotor play games and some of their adds are selling big motors with nothing to run them correctly.
also anytime you see that breakout board (everyone in china gives it away) add a different board to your planned purchase. that board will make you think you bought junk motors and drivers.
steve
 
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