First Taig CNC Milling project

[TSM2018]

I want to mill 6061 .125" thickness aluminum on my new to me taig CNC. It came with Mach 3... I am looking for spindle speeds and post processing info to create the G Code.
I want to make a two sided indexing fixture for my Taig manual lathe.

From the forum, it looks like the users have been using Mach 3 ATC for the selected tool post. This interests me, because how does a generic tool post know the resolution of the stepper motors... at least I learned this while studying the design for the D & M diy CNC using the dremel router. 1)Do Taig Mill owners agree that Taig doesn't have a tool post instruction?

The fixture is round, and
side one series of 48 1/8 holes
side two, tick marks and numbers for the 48 holes.

I haven't drawn it in Aspire yet, so can't show you anything right now. I'm sure you all have seen basic indexing fixtures for lathes before.

Should be simple eh?

2) Suggestions off the top of head to effectively engrave tiny font of numbers and tick marks on the back side? Ball nose end mill with very light cuts? It has to be small, obviously, but I fear I'll be snapping the ends off when I engrave.

Any value in cutting this for fun on my wood cnc first? At least I can test my concepts.

3) Do you see necessity in peck drilling of 6061 aluminum and .125" thickness? MSC had recommended this part - I just need to confirm my ER collets will work with this prior to ordering.

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/detai ... m=72463086.

Thanks!

[Adrian]

Why do you think the post processor needs to know anything about the resolution of the stepper motors? That's Mach3's job not the Vectric software. The post processor creates the movement instructions. It's up to Mach3 to read those instructions and move the motors the required distances.

[TSM2018]

WHY do I think this?

My logic is as follows:

1) when I purchased Vectric Aspire Software; I purchased it from Digital Wood Carvers, and I have a mfg supplied post processor that I can select to SAVE to USB after I generate a tool path. It was preloaded in my software.
2) Sherline has a post processor option, and this is the competitive product here in the US to Taig in the Desktop Mill world. The Taig lathe is sold under the brand name of Peatol in the UK. No Post Processor for Peatol in the list either.

Am I wrong that different stepper motors have different resolution, or smaller steps will create different resolution in the results?

Eventually, I want to mill jewelers wax for a project, and I know I have seen a video where someone CNC'd wax, so the resolution of the stepper is going to become very important to me. I plan to do some carving and touch up by hand with gravers, before I send it out for lost wax casting, but I was planning to mill this project, not use my router, as the mill speed of the spindle can be much slower with a router and adjustments to its pulleys, where the minimum speed on my Router is 10,000 RPMs (right now it is at 16,500)

I was simply asking other Taig Mill users if they have a post processing file. I will call Taig this week and ask them.

[IslaWW]

TSM...
Your logic is slightly flawed. The post processor is actually much simpler than you think. It will do (for the most part) 3 things and they are:

1) Header
The header sets up the code for that particular machine with the mfgr's codes that are required for that machine to fun properly

2) Body or motion code
The body is simply the gcode positions that instruct the machines movement, with some minor differences

3) Footer
The footer includes any codes required to end the file

The design software or the post processor by extension has no idea if the machine is capable of executing any of the code in the body of the file. It doesn't know table size or resolution. That would be done in the controller. For example lets say you had 4 or 5 decimal place output for positioning and your step resolution was 500, or .002". That "rounding" to the nearest reachable coordinate would be done by the controller. Your gcode output could be 1,2,3 or 4 decimal place precision, but will only output what the controllers instructions are.

You are not wrong, steppers with higher resolution settings will for the most part produce more precise cuts, to a point. Especially if they reach that higher resolution with mechanical reduction vs. microstep settings. That said, there are very few cases where the posted output will affect this, it is more in the hands of the controller.

[dealguy11]

To pile on slightly, your DWC machine may allow you to move files to it directly through the USB port, but it still has a controller that is interpreting the instructions going through the USB port. The controller is what knows about the number of steps your machine is capable of. The information going into the USB port is still some flavor of g-code, which has to be interpreted by a machine controller.

[Leo]

About the cutter - I'll leave the Mach3 stuff for others

Buying cutters at MSC is about the most expensive choice I can think of.

M.A. Ford is a good brand, but they are not the only good brand.

You do not need to peck in aluminum .125 thick.

[TSM2018]

Thanks for the replies... I guess it is just time to face the unknown
.
Leo, MSC has no shipping, as I'm close to a distribution center, so that is the reason they get a limited amount of my business, I just walk in to the counter and I have whatever I want within 30 minutes instead of a couple of days to mail order... and there is some value in people locally having a job. They are rather irritating with their "sales", but to some extent I do try my best to shop local.

Right now I can't get my pulley off the headstock spindle, so I'm not machining until I can get it apart so I can measure the spindle. I know this headstock and spindle is an older version, as I can see the differences in my two lathes, so I'm sure it is best for me to measure.

I'll re-save my file to a pdf; as it is presently a png and see if I have to redraw.

ISLAWW,
>>1) Header
The header sets up the code for that particular machine with the mfgr's codes that are required for that machine to fun properly

Agreed, but I haven't got anyone in the taig forum with CNC mills to indicate the mfg has it is own post processor, and I posted to the Taig forum at least a day earlier, so I'm beginning to be suspect; CNC Mills are not new technology, so this must be so generic that users are not having problems. At least I have two machines that I can check the behaviour of the piece, and can save the file to Mach 3 ATC and DWC post processing options and see when I complete the job in wood if the file behaves differently. I have plenty of scrap wood to test. I do understand basic troubleshooting; I attempt to isolate components; Nothing ever happens without a problem.

I did run a tiny table top today and it did work perfectly - so something can work as planned on occasion, but the aluminum is a whole new world for me; I've only machined brass before, but since I like my brass to be pretty and shiny, I think aluminum is a better choice for this one, so I'm not constantly trying to keep it shiny, like my brass faucets in the house. If design works, then I might switch to stainless, it will be good practice.

Thanks Adrian & Gents for your assistance.

[TSM2018]

I feel as if I am in a time warp. It would like to use a nice 2017 new laptop to run Mach 4. I don't want to use an old computer, and I don't want to use a parallel port to continue to use Mach 3. The purpose of purchasing a new laptop, was so I could be mobile, have aspire, I bought touch screen, so I could draw and design with it... and plug into various machines to a control software. I'm much more fluid with my ability to draw with stylus than mouse.

I am still unable to join the CNCZone, as I can't get it to send me a stupid confirmation email, and I'm not setting up another email address so I need to worry about spam, bots, virus, and other mal attacks in a non monitored email address.

So, is Vectric Aspire's product 9.x compatible with Mach 4? I emailed Gecko, and they do not have hardware that I can use a USB connection. I think I can use USB with PMDX Breakout board, I just need to make sure I can use Mach 4.

I haven't been in the forum for a while... I need to check in more frequently to see what users are up to, and I'm behind on the D&M projects, and news...

Thanks!

[Adrian]

Mach4 post processors aren't any different to Mach3 as far as I know. From what many others have said about Mach4 here and on other forums it would seem to be a poor choice of control software though.

[ger21]

You can run Mach3 on a modern Windows 10 PC. You just need to get a USB or ethernet motion controller. There's a huge variety available, but I'd avoid anything Chinese.
Some will work with both Mach3 and Mach4, but not all.

Assuming you have a G540, you would just plug it into the controller.


The Mach3 posts in Aspire should output code that runs fine in Mach4.



What username and email are you using at CNC Zone? I'm a moderator there and may be able to get you activated.

[TSM2018]

Thanks G in Michigan, I sent a PM with my email address for the CNCZone.

[TSM2018]

It is interesting that Mach 4, has had such a cold reception in the community; I think I have suffered enough - I may call for CNC doctor, uh, engineer.

[ger21]

It is interesting that Mach 4, has had such a cold reception in the community

1) Development has taken far too long.
The developers really got off on the wrong foot, when, after 3-4 years of development, and claims of Mach4 being 90%+ finished, the first release seemed like a barely functional beta, missing many critical features, and basically unusable. It took another 1-2 years before people were actually able to use it.

2) While the developers created a very powerful program, it's far more complex than it needs to be. And to add to that, the developers have left many features for the the users to implement themselves, requiring a fair amount of Lua programming.

3) They followed the same model that Mach3 used, with Artsoft developing software, and using 3rd party hardware. So your user experience is determined more by the hardware developers, than the software developers.
Use 5 different hardware motion controllers, and you could have 5 different feature sets, as it's up to the hardware developers to decide which features they'll support.
Artsoft should be working with hardware manufacturers to make sure that all hardware options support all of Mach4's features, ideally the same way.

[IslaWW]

Suggestion: If you look at all the items regarding Mach that Gerry lists (and a few dozen more), have been solved by the bunch over at Centroid with their Acorn controller. http://www.centroidcnc.com/centroid_diy ... oller.html or their DIY forum: http://centroidcncforum.com/viewforum.php?f=20

Most any and all of the issues most of the lathe, mill or router crowds have had with other controls are either attended to, or will be shortly. For example I did a control upgrade for a ShopBot standard user (added power &resolution) but it never really came to life until he installed the (much faster)Acorn Controller: And that pendant isn't bad either!!!

Increase in resolution, decrease in cycle times, stability, features beyond what DIY controllers offer, a DIY forum, what do you have to lose?

Disclaimer: Not associated with Centroid, other than being a beta tester and occasionally receive products and software to test and evaluate. I do sell complete control boxes using their products. http://centroidcncforum.com/viewforum.php?f=62

[TSM2018]

Thanks for the Centroid suggestion... The $299 price for DIY seems reasonable; I saw acorn in some posts online, perhaps on CNC Zone when I was searching messages, but I did not investigate. They are servicing some really nice equipment. While I'm really fond of my Taig Mill, I don't know if they are going to be happy supporting the desktop market, ie Taig or Sherline. I will send them an email, though. It looks like the service machines for serious output in a production environment.

I'll try and join their forum and read some of the posts.

I'm at $269 for a Gecko540 + shipping.