CNC made Flapgauge

[Wendy]

The gears are made with a 1 mm. endmil and with Involute software.

Regards, Wendy

[maliga00]

Nice works Wendy!!!, could you tell us the process of engraving, per example:

1- Soft used in art design
2- Soft and operation toolpaths for the diferent jobs.
3- Tools used.
4--Soft used in G-code (example, mach3, kcam, etc)

I belive that all you could tell us , will be a great advice for our futures development and contribute to build a "database" to consult.
Thanks in advance
Regards
Alberto

[Wendy]

Hey Alberto,

1- Soft used in art design
I do all my drawing in cad software, also the text for engraving. If you put text in autocad then you have to explode the text so that it is not text anymore but simple lines.

2- Soft and operation toolpaths for the diferent jobs.
The dxf drawing is loaded into Rams where I make the toolpaths. Holes and everything that have to be cut away are done first with "Profile" and "Internal" or "External". For acryl I only use a Z-axis increment of 0.2 mm for each round and the router at almost the highest speed possible. For 2 mm. it has to do 10 rounds. If some parts of the panel have to be flattened then this is done with "Spiral". I use "Spiral" also for all engaving together with "Slot" for simple lines.
For engraving the depth is set to 0.03 mm only and the Z-axes position is tested by engraving (if possible) on some part of the panel that will be cut away afterwards or close to a rotary hole or something like that. So I can visually see that the engraving is good or adjust the Z-axes. After that I engrave with the test position of the Z-axis minus 0.03 mm. If it is not good from the first round then I lower the Z-axis for the next round with + 0.01mm. All engraving is done letter per letter. So the engraving is never deep and you can just feel it.

4--Soft used in G-code (example, mach3, kcam, etc)
The toolpaths created in Rams are imported in my CNC and I'm ready for milling or engraving.



Hope this short explanation helps you,


Best regards, Wendy

[wannabeaflyer]

Hey Alberto,

1- Soft used in art design
I do all my drawing in cad software, also the text for engraving. If you put text in autocad then you have to explode the text so that it is not text anymore but simple lines.

2- Soft and operation toolpaths for the diferent jobs.
The dxf drawing is loaded into Rams where I make the toolpaths. Holes and everything that have to be cut away are done first with "Profile" and "Internal" or "External". For acryl I only use a Z-axis increment of 0.2 mm for each round and the router at almost the highest speed possible. For 2 mm. it has to do 10 rounds. If some parts of the panel have to be flattened then this is done with "Spiral". I use "Spiral" also for all engaving together with "Slot" for simple lines.
For engraving the depth is set to 0.03 mm only and the Z-axes position is tested by engraving (if possible) on some part of the panel that will be cut away afterwards or close to a rotary hole or something like that. So I can visually see that the engraving is good or adjust the Z-axes. After that I engrave with the test position of the Z-axis minus 0.03 mm. If it is not good from the first round then I lower the Z-axis for the next round with + 0.01mm. All engraving is done letter per letter. So the engraving is never deep and you can just feel it.

4--Soft used in G-code (example, mach3, kcam, etc)
The toolpaths created in Rams are imported in my CNC and I'm ready for milling or engraving.



Hope this short explanation helps you,


Best regards, Wendy

Hi Guys n Gals Not to divert from wendys post but i use Vectric CUT2D, and even though im nowhere near getting the full use of it (still learning about the whole cnc Lark ) i can honestly say ( im a customer not sales rep ) that other than free software the CUT2D software has turned out to be execllent bang for bucks value , very easy to use and for my current projects seems it will do all i need , i also use a Free'ish program called DIPTRACE for my PCB work ( isolation routing ) and again its another package that allows relative Noobs to jump in and see their efforts really quick. have autocad inventor as my main cad program and am trying out numerous utilities like GearDXF for to allow me to follow the stuff you guys are doing here, so pretty much have a nice suite of programs which should given time, allow me to contribute something back .. have a look at my posting later for my Rotary table attachment for my CNC router ( will start under a new Heading ) Now back to wendys thread

[maliga00]

Thank you very much. your suggestions are very valuable for my future works.!!!
Regards
Alberto

[maliga00]

Hi Wendy, wich model of Cnc did you buy?, what working area do you have in the cnc?
Best regards
Alberto

[Wendy]

Hey Alberto,

My machine is a Colinbus Profiler, you can see it here. Working area is about 32 mm x 35 mm.
http://www.colinbus.com/en/toebeh_profiler_en.htm

You have to assemble it yourself, not that difficult. After completing and testing I have made a few changes. Mounted a new Z-as support for a Kress and made an engraving nose. The new support for the Kress and the Kress was giving much better results. You can see the changes on my website http://www.flightsimparts.eu/Simulator_CNC.html

Regards, Wendy

[maliga00]

Thanks Wendy! Nice works. Did you mean 320mm x 350 mm, right ?
Regards
Alberto

[Wendy]

Oh, small mistake. Yes of course 320 mm. x 350 mm. otherwise it would be a very very small cnc.

Regards, Wendy

[maliga00]

Thanks Wendy!
Regards