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The CAM Tools supplied with Autodesk's Fusion 360 are surprisingly capable and easy to use. I've used it with good success with the built-in G-code generators on a Shapeoko and a Shopbot. Fusion 360 is free for non-commercial use, or commercial use below $100k revenue per year (iirc).
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Apr 11, 2016 14:44
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Spazzle posted:Pycam is indeed slow. I hear consistently good things about meshcam. Particularly from non machinists, and people new to it all. Down side is it's 250. It's definitely worth looking into.
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Apr 11, 2016 15:00
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Aurium posted:I hear consistently good things about meshcam. Particularly from non machinists, and people new to it all. Man, I just googled it, doesn't work with CNC lathes  Is there anything in that price range for lathes?
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Apr 11, 2016 22:21
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Look into Fusion 360, I think it has lathe CAM built in. I just have a mill though so I haven't looked very hard at the other modes. There's also a free version you can play with before you buy if you're needing a commercial license.
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Apr 11, 2016 23:11
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Yep. Fusion360 does everything. I have had a bit of trouble getting lathe toolpaths to work for boring, but that is my own dumbness, and not the program.
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Apr 11, 2016 23:28
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Fusion 360 is the only good CAM available for under $2000. The fact that it's free (until you start making $100,000 revenue/yr, I think) is just an extra bonus. sharkytm posted:Or scrap aluminum extrusion/castings/scrap. Hit your local machine shop, I'll be they'd give you a bucket of the stuff. I pay like $3/lb at the local scrapyard for good aluminum drops, so scrap has to be less than that. Just FYI, extrusion aluminum and casting aluminum are different grades. If you want the best results when casting (fewest voids, best flow, least contraction, etc) then you want to start with a casting alloy. The other poster's suggestion to melt down trashed aluminum alloy wheels (or other cast aluminum engine parts, e.g. valve covers) is the correct way to go. Extrusions aren't a bad feedstock, but you can do better.
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Apr 12, 2016 09:25
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This is probably a less common source, but hard drive cases are a good stock as well. I suspect the platters are also a decent source, but I'm not sure what the exact composition is. Does anyone have access to an xrf meter to test some?
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Apr 12, 2016 23:40
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Sagebrush posted:Fusion 360 is the only good CAM available for under $2000. The fact that it's free (until you start making $100,000 revenue/yr, I think) is just an extra bonus. why didn't anyone tell me about this back on the first page when I was complaining about wtf to do for CAM software, goddamn
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Apr 13, 2016 06:49
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It wasn't available in 2013. Fusion CAM is a relatively new product. (though from what I can tell, it uses the same engine as HSMWorks, which Autodesk bought about two years ago)
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Apr 13, 2016 07:37
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Has anyone here tried the JTech Photonics laser kits on their cnc machines? Not cheap, but look interesting. http://jtechphotonics.com/?product=new-2-8w-laser-and-2-5amp-safety-compliant-driver-kit-with-us-style-power-adapter
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Apr 13, 2016 14:00
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So it's a bit mindblowing to me that http://www.shapertools.com/ is actually a real, working thing. It's a handheld router that can display a path for you to follow (stock shapes or paths on a USB drive), then auto corrects as you go along. When I first heard about it I thought it'd be one of those scammy concepts, but applied science recently made a video showing how it works and uses it to cut through some aluminum. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8GFpSCK6Jk
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Apr 13, 2016 14:31
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Is any of Autodesk's Pier 9 stuff publicly accessible? I visited a company there for an interview, neat stuff back there.
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Apr 14, 2016 02:39
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rawrr posted:So it's a bit mindblowing to me that http://www.shapertools.com/ is actually a real, working thing. It's a handheld router that can display a path for you to follow (stock shapes or paths on a USB drive), then auto corrects as you go along. I used this in silicon valley ~2 years ago at maker faire 2014 and follow them on Youtube. It actually for real works and has for two years. I am very annoyed they dont sell it yet.
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Apr 14, 2016 03:27
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Is there an expected price point? Because drat.
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Apr 14, 2016 03:46
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Bad Munki posted:Is there an expected price point? Because drat. They asked me what would I pay so they didnt have one at the time.
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Apr 14, 2016 04:32
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CarForumPoster posted:They asked me what would I pay so they didnt have one at the time. If it comes to market under 1500 I will buy one and hug it and pet it and name it George
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Apr 14, 2016 05:51
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JawnV6 posted:Is any of Autodesk's Pier 9 stuff publicly accessible? I visited a company there for an interview, neat stuff back there. No. You have to be an Autodesk employee or an artist-in-residence to use the facilities.
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Apr 14, 2016 08:21
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CarForumPoster posted:I used this in silicon valley ~2 years ago at maker faire 2014 and follow them on Youtube. It actually for real works and has for two years. I am very annoyed they dont sell it yet. How is the quality of the cut compared to traditional routers?
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Apr 14, 2016 18:28
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rawrr posted:How is the quality of the cut compared to traditional routers? I'm not really the person to answer that because my back ground is CNC machining (particularly milling) of aluminum and Mech E and 0 routing of wood save for a few times on a table. That said, the setup at the time was basically a dewalt plunge router on a portable stage IIRC so I'd expect that it was the same as a dewalt plunge router with that tool. It was quite easy to use they had a DXF file they loaded in, showed you how to use it and in 30 seconds you could have a little cut out of America from ~1/4" plywood.
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Apr 15, 2016 04:34
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Aurium posted:I hear consistently good things about meshcam. Particularly from non machinists, and people new to it all. How do you deal with tabs in pycam?
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Apr 18, 2016 17:12
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Spazzle posted:How do you deal with tabs in pycam? To be honest, I haven't dealt with them. I've been securing the work by screwing it to a sacrificial bed.
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Apr 19, 2016 19:59
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That works fine if you're okay with holes in the middle of your part, or cutting it out of a block at the end. Tabs/bridges are necessary for more complicated pieces.
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Apr 19, 2016 22:42
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IN TYOOL 2016 what would be the best CNC option for home milling semi intricate 2.5D parts, say about the size of an AR-15 lower receiver in aluminum?
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Apr 21, 2016 01:34
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Hu Fa Ted posted:IN TYOOL 2016 what would be the best CNC option for home milling semi intricate 2.5D parts, say about the size of an AR-15 lower receiver in aluminum? How much do you want to spend? 80% lowers are way cheaper than mills. A tormach is a good option
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Apr 21, 2016 03:24
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Sagebrush posted:That works fine if you're okay with holes in the middle of your part, or cutting it out of a block at the end. Tabs/bridges are necessary for more complicated pieces. Oh yea, tabs are good, I'm hoping someone may come and answer that question. But it won't be me.
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Apr 21, 2016 05:30
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CarForumPoster posted:How much do you want to spend? 80% lowers are way cheaper than mills. A tormach is a good option I meant for finishing them. My curiosity was piqued when I saw somebody selling a $1500 CNC set up for that exact purpose.
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Apr 21, 2016 21:48
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Hu Fa Ted posted:I meant for finishing them. My curiosity was piqued when I saw somebody selling a $1500 CNC set up for that exact purpose. The "ghost gunner" would be your cheapest entry into making your own CNC'd ar15 lower, aside from joining a hacker space and learning to use their CNC. The "ghost gunner" is also a massive piece of flaming garbage and you'll probably waste more than $1500 trying to get good results out of it... If they actually bother to ship one to you instead of just taking your deposit and running away. holy poo poo this thing sounds like rear end. The spindle is audibly slowing down mid-cut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yE0i3y6CAkU CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 22:03 on Apr 21, 2016 |
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Apr 21, 2016 21:53
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CrazyLittle posted:The "ghost gunner" would be your cheapest entry into making your own CNC'd ar15 lower, aside from joining a hacker space and learning to use their CNC. That's the exact setup I saw. I couldn't wrap my head around a $1500 milling machine on hard aluminum. My buddy blew up the gears in his Sieg X2 milling out a lower. I think I'll just wait till I find a cheapo Boss 5 or some old NC thing (preferably free) and retrofit it. Or maybe just do it the old fashioned way on my bridgeport.
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Apr 21, 2016 22:04
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If he wrecked his Sieg, he was running it too hard/too deep/too fast.
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Apr 21, 2016 22:14
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CrazyLittle posted:If he wrecked his Sieg, he was running it too hard/too deep/too fast. He's a master machinist too  edit: twss
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Apr 21, 2016 22:15
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Taig mini mill should be able to deal with that kind of thing just fine, albeit slowly (he said, his still-unassembled CNC kit glaring at him from the shipping box where it's sat for months while the shop gets put together)
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Apr 21, 2016 23:59
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Sherline too.
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Apr 22, 2016 02:26
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CrazyLittle posted:If he wrecked his Sieg, he was running it too hard/too deep/too fast. Stock, X2s have plastic gears that are notorious for breaking.
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Apr 22, 2016 04:16
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dyne posted:Stock, X2s have plastic gears that are notorious for breaking. It is, I told him it needed the belt upgrade. I think he's just disgusted with the machine having run much bigger machines all his life.
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Apr 22, 2016 14:18
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Ambrose Burnside posted:Taig mini mill should be able to deal with that kind of thing just fine, albeit slowly (he said, his still-unassembled CNC kit glaring at him from the shipping box where it's sat for months while the shop gets put together) Sounds like a baleful and expensive glare. I'm looking forward to the photo expose as you put it together.
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Apr 22, 2016 15:15
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CrazyLittle posted:
Missed your edit, yeah, what a piece of poo poo. No way that thing is gonna last.
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Apr 22, 2016 15:23
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Hu Fa Ted posted:Sounds like a baleful and expensive glare. I'm looking forward to the photo expose as you put it together. Yeah, I'm hype- I'm carving a dedicated (and soundproofed) shop for it and some other toys out of the corner of my folks' unfinished basement so I'm gonna dive in literally as soon as the floor is in and the table for it gets built. just kinda jumped the gun on actually buying the thing.
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Apr 22, 2016 17:47
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So far as I can tell there still isn't a peep on the web about Carvey (like reviews or anything) nothing newer than 2014 fluff anyway. I wished I had access to something like a shapeoko this past week because I needed non round holes cut into pelican case lids and gently caress having to do it by hand, seriously.
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Apr 22, 2016 19:14
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Can you drill round, and then broach a hole with a piece of steel?
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Apr 22, 2016 20:49
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I didn't even know what broaches were, I had to look it up (thanks for the tip) I decided to just git er done so I drilled holes in the corners and sawed poo poo out with a jigsaw. Fast but ugly. No problem though, I'll just laser-cut a black panel to fit perfectly and nestle that between the ugly and a clear cover  no one will see a thing
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Apr 22, 2016 22:09
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