2014-03-12 2:01 GMT+02:00 DeeEmm <dee...@deeemm.com>: > So far Sheetcam looks to be very promising as it seems equally suitable > for both routing and plasma.
Yes, SheetCAM is nice for 2,5D routing and jet-cutting (I use it for both router and waterjet machines). It is just that windows version is where all the new stuff is located, Linux version seems to lag behind on updates. I guess that you should ask Leslie (author and maintainer of the app) about his plans on getting Linux version up-to-date. > At the moment I'm trying to get my head around the workflow for using the > machine in dual configuration and am very interested to know what others > have used for CAM solutions - specifically in regards to plasma. IMHO the most appropriate solution depends on wether both tools - router and plasma torch - can move along Z axis independently or not. From the pictures of your machine it seems to me that both of these tools will be attached to the same Z plate (I built my router with "dual Z axis" with this exact intention in mind - to have plasma cutter and milling router combo machine, but I changed my mind really soon after I realised that these 2 technologies require pretty much opposite from the table surface - plasma needs as small surface as possible, let the dross fall in waterbed, while routing needs as much contact surface as possible - clamping material to plasma grill will leave dents and marks in the material to be machined (I have no idea, how to place and fix a spoilboard there and have the surface level really match XY plane and have the Z height repeatable), so now I have a router with unused W axis and a plan to build dedicated plasma machine). So you are going to swap plasma torch and router motor. How repeatable are those mounts? I would suggest creating one config. You still would need to touch off before running a new g-code file, so there is no difference - it is the same motors, the same switches, everything the same, except that you do not want to turn on/off the plasma with M3 command, when the router head is attached (I assume that you will turn the router motor on and off by hand, no cnc control over it, just like my machine and many others out there). I see 3 options there: 1) install manual hardware switch to interrupt that wire by hand; 2) create a button in vcp, enabling plasma on/off and use and2 module with this button and motion.spindle-on for inputs, output to gpio pin that switches the plasma on; 3) attach hardware switch on Z plate that is pressed only when torch is installed and left intact by router head (or vice versa) and use any of previous solutions as that would eliminate possibility to forget to turn the switch on or off. If you play a little with tool table, assume plasma torch as a tool no 10 or whatever is your favorite number and add any offsets along X and/or Y to that particular tool, if there are any, measured from router motor - that way you could use both tools for the same job (drill/mark bolt holes with drill bit and then cut the part with plasma) and keep the starting point untouched between swapping the tools. Just remember to tell LinuxCNC that you are swapping tools with M6 command either in gcode file or in MDI (possible to call MDI command also by a button on custom vcp (virtual control panel)). I realised that you specifically mentioned word "noob", when described your skill and knowledge of LinuxCNC, so it got me thinking, how much you might had understood from sentences like "use and2 module with this button and motion.spindle-on for inputs, output to gpio pin", so I have no idea, how much have you read in manuals etc to grab basic concepts of HAL and creating VCPs. Let me know, if you need some help with these specific advices. I also looked at your thread of the router build and one question arised. Do I understand correctly that your current design does not keep the gantry bridge from being moved upwards? I think that it is crucial for the router to design bearing supports so that they leave only one possible direction of motion - the one controlled by motor. The reason I am reserved about your design is that my gantry router has 90x180 mm extruded aluminium profile and I tried to drill holes in steel rectangular tubes with 3 mm drill (the smallest I have) - I noticed that as the drill was pushed in the material, the aluminium profile flexed by several milimeters, which makes me reserved about the actual precision of the machine. So I am sure that with your current design it is very likely that during plunge moves it will lift up the whole gantry bridge instead of moving the tool in the material. And the whole construction is lot more likely to vibrate during cutting, so routing feed rates will be much lower than they probably might be. From pictures it seems that there is no very easy way to add another pair of bearings on each side that would not let the gantry bridge to move up. Anyway, I think that you have done a nice machine, taking into account that main focus is to keep the cost down as much as possible. Viesturs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Learn Graph Databases - Download FREE O'Reilly Book "Graph Databases" is the definitive new guide to graph databases and their applications. Written by three acclaimed leaders in the field, this first edition is now available. Download your free book today! http://p.sf.net/sfu/13534_NeoTech _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
