On Wednesday 19 December 2018 01:27:46 David Berndt wrote: > I could write a big email about this, and I will if you want to, just > let me know. But I'll jump in here and agree with Chris. You're > missing out not having a cad/cam package. You're not able to use your > tools, or your time to optimum effect, and you're not getting the best > end result that you could possibly get in most cases. Modern CAM > software outputs some awesome tool paths and is worth having/using. > Especially for a hobbyist imo. > > > Regards, > Dave
I guess I'm a stubborn old cuss. Right now a simulated run looks great, and its about 280 active lines of code if the comments are skipped. You saw the screen snap I posted yesterday. Can your cad/cam program do that in 300 LOC? 100k LOC maybe. One question remains: I'd like to drill holes for connectors with a 4mm dia tool. All are under .625" in dia. The cutter comp section doesn't mention the g42 enable blending moves in anything but the xy plane, so my question is: Can I go to the center of a hole with a 4mm tool a half inch above the work, enable the g42. and descend to the work on the z axis while the comp is being phased in? If I can do that, my backlplot visualization would be considerable more accurate. Right now I'm doing cutter comp in the code, but that means the trace is tool_dia undersized visually. Those moves then could be incorporated into the SUB at the expense of 5 seconds of cutting air above the actual cutout, and only have to be written once. I don't see any reason why it couldn't work, and the radius of these holes isn't long enough to do the "blending" by a loooong ways in the xy plane, and being able to do it with a z move would be a huge help. Seeing as how its freezing out, and nearly so in the shop where this machine is, I may as well find out. And I guess the answer is no, no amount of Z is enough. So the calls will have to pass the x & y's too and the SUB will need to do more math. Next question, will it work at all in G91? No, don't even try. So all my calls to drill holes are now absolute to the map in use. So the drill a hole call now looks like this: o130 SUB G40 M3 F15 (feed rate) (arrives here at center of hole, change this to take a passed argument for radius) G0 Z#<_ZUP> ( clear work) G0 X[#2 - 0.3] Y[#3 - 0.3] (move away for G42 blend in) G42 D15 X[#1 + #2] y#3 G0 Z0 G3 F#4 I-#1 J-0.000 Z#<_ZDN> P9 f15 G0 Z#<_ZUP> (back to clear) G40 M5 o130 ENDSUB The extra, cut air moves, to switch the G42 in and out add around 15 or 16 minutes to the run time. This routine gets called 19 times. Its expecting 4 arguments, the last one being a feed rate so I can turn it down nor nearly straight drilling, the little holes that are almost a straight drill can push pretty hard, and there no support under the workpiece except where its clamped at the ends. Plus theres now 3 M0's in it, to move clamps at one end or the other, and 2 more M0's to allow clamps to be loosened and the work re-aligned in case I have to take it off the table. So yes, it will need baby sitting but I don't see anybody here except me to do it. The idea is, I put a workpiece a half inch bigger each way than I need on the table, and when its done, I take a complete back panel ready for parts off the table, needing only a bit of deburring if the tool gets dull. But it will be running up to its kneecaps in cutting oil soaked swarf. I moved the ac cord from the too flexible, middle of the panel to the extreme left end as that puts an S curve into that heavy cord, absorbing any panel flexibility by about 99.9 % before it gets to the terminals of a 12 volt 1.25 amp supply that runs it all. Theres 116+ inches of rapids, and 395+" of cutting, on a panel that's about 11.875 by 3.125. 320 LOC according to file->property's. I doubt if your cad/cam's gcode output can touch that. If it can't write gcode a heck of a lot more efficiently than pcb-2-gcode for eagle, it can't play in the same ballpark. I don't have an eagle sourced file thats not something in the 100k territory for a 1.6" x 2.2" board. [...] And I see its up to 53F, so I might hit the shop and try it if my right leg will get me up the hill. Except I haven't been out to get my lady her daily dose of crosswords from the local fishwrap yet. Some things are more important than others. See rule 2 about the boss is always right. :) So now I have a leg with a pulled muscle, I woke up around 7ish with a leg cramp, so I've not been getting around the house too well all day. Enough to take care of my lady, but not much else. I don't recommend this business of getting old, its nothing like AARP claims it is. I could cheerfully throttle the guy who claims these are the Golden Years. Or he could die a long lingering death from COPD like my wife is doing. Thanks David, and have a Merry Christmas. I'm going to go get my lady her cross-words, before she uses them on me. :) -- Cheers, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene> _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list [email protected] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
