edit: The attached code in the .zip file runs the inside lines of the shapes in the attached X5 file. edit 2: won't let me attach the .nc file...stupid...how do I make a code box scrollable? ICUT.zip 4 LINERS OFFEST SPLINES TEST.MCX-5

It's a Pacer 2512K+ from AXYZ Automation.

not on the machines we have

Tangential knife: http://www.axyz.com/opt/primary.html Basically, it's a drag knife that rotates to follow a line. For example, to cut an "S" shape, it'd rotate the knife so the edge is always running along the contour. It's pretty darn slick for cutting paper, fabric, etc., but the software SUCKS (not to mention the licensing issues I'm currently having). The biggest problem I have with the software is that I can't tell it to keep the knife down when going around corners. It has a habit of stopping, pulling the knife up, then setting it back down. That leaves a piece of material left that causes fraying.

220+ views, no replies...I'll take that as a no? lol.

Is it possible to program a tangential knife with mastercam router or mill? We're currently using iCut to program the knife on our router, but it's not exactly a robust program, and while relatively simple to use, I haven't found a way to make it do exactly what I want. I'm having problems with the knife lifting and rotating a bit at the end of a line segment to get ready for the next line. Any help anyone can give me would be appreciated. Marshal

that kind of cutter, but on a head that'd fit into my router. We've decided just to get a holder for those round blades made from a shop here in town, as soon as I finish drawing it up

Does anyone know of a place I can find a rotary cutter (pizza cutter style) for cutting fabric on our table? Apparently the company that makes all the knives and creasing wheels for our system doesn't make a rotary cutter. We've got a "tangential knife" system on a Pacer router. The creasing wheel setup looks pretty decent, and I think a rotary cutter would work really well in the same holder, but I can't find anywhere that makes anything like them Any ideas?

The number of threads is not necessarily the number of cores. In my case with an i7, I've got 4 cores, but there's a thing called "hyper threading" which doubles the threads the CPU can handle, so I've got 8 threads Of course, in the case of this benchmark, I don't think the number of threads makes much difference. If you've got a quad-core system, it's already using 3 of the cores to do this, one for each operation.

And on the other machine: 47.643s Core i5-2500 2.2GHz 4GB RAM Windows 7 32-bit The solid state drive in the second machine must make a pretty big difference, not to mention the sandy bridge processor. Although, neither machine appears to use much RAM to do any of it, and the processors don't even come close to maxing out

I found it, thanks. Looks like 1m 9.488s. Desktop with 2.8GHz i7 12GB RAM at I have no idea what speed lol Windows 7 64-bit I'm going to go run it on our other machine as well...got a solid-state drive and the new sandy bridge processor in it, along with nothing else installed on it. Might be interesting

ok, I'm probably missing something extremely simple, but where is this benchmark file for X5? I can't find it anywhere on my computer....

I did the same thing, had them send me a trial and take off a hundred bucks cuz it was used lol. Plus, getting it from 3dconnexion means you get the 3-year warranty as well, just in case

I've got a Space Explorer, and I really like it. It's simple enough that you won't get overwhelmed with all the customizations. But I would say it depends on what your needs will be. If you're going to want a bunch of buttons for whatever functions, then the space pilot pro might be the way to go.

because I have an iPad, and it goes pretty much everywhere with me at work. And because it'd be a heck of a lot easier to double check things next to the machine on an ipad rather than walking back to the computer. Of course, I could always remote into my computers at work to do it, but that's not quite as easy as having a simple MCam app would be

I'm pretty new to programming in general, but with the router, you can set multiple origins, correct? While with the mill it just reads the single set origin (I think). And I've noticed that tiny little imperfections in a post, or quirks with your controller, can cause weird things to happen even though the code reads right.

Do you use a user created origin (G55 on our Pacer/AXYZ) on your router? If that's the case, don't you have to specify in the code that you're using that G55 origin? I'm just throwing something out here, I'm not sure at all. Heck, our router is only a month old and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to run things on it lol For example, here's a segment of code that I know works that I just ran on our router (not from MCam for SW), notice the G55 called out to be used: N100 G20 ( FRAME 1 ROUGH ) N102 T4 N104 M03 S18000 N106 G55 G0 X7.1437 Y2.0422 N108 Z.266 N110 M08 N112 Z.116 N114 G1 Z.0595 F100. N116 Y1.9172 Z-.003 F30. N118 G3 X7.2687 Y1.7922 I7.2687 J1.9172 N120 G1 X12.8742 N122 Y5.0947

Ok, nevermind, I can see I'm an idiot and can't see the attributes bar at the bottom of the screen (it's Friday, I need a drink)

How do I create the "square points" for tabs in X5? The help file says to "Create, Point tools. Then click Attributes in the Status Bar and select the square point style:", but I don't see anywhere that there's a way to change the point style. I have no idea if tabs are going to help me at all, but I'd like to experiment with them a bit, and figure I should learn everything I can.

Anyone have any recommendations for web suppliers of ISO30 collet chucks? Preferably for ER-16 collets, since that's the majority of what we use in our mill, and we've got plenty of them. I'd really prefer a website that I can just "add to cart" and has quick shipping, that's what the boss likes anyway. I'm trying to learn more machining on the fly with our new router, so forgive me if I'm asking a question that's insanely simple lol.

I'll have to look into that glue. We use a 3M double sided tape in the mill, stuff does NOT come off without a lot of work, and I'm trying to get away from using that stuff just because of the time we spend removing the adhesive. 35,000? Holy crap lol. Our spindle only hits 25,000. I'll check into the tools though, thanks.

any suggestions on particular model numbers? I've never used downcut bits, are there any considerations when it comes to spindle speeds and feed rates compared to upcut bits?

I'm trying to find good tooling for cutting through sheets of 2024 aluminum, 0.016" thick on our router. The issue I have with using a standard endmill is it pulling up on the material, which causes problems since we're holding down with a vacuum table. I tried a straight-flute cutter, thinking that'd help, but it leaves a heck of a burr, which certainly isn't ideal. I'd like to find something 1/16" diameter, that won't pull up on the sheet (so it stays down), and that will leave as little burr as possible. Am I asking for too much? lol

nextengine is the cheapest, but from what I've seen, it works. It takes some tweaking to get the settings just right and then to bring multiple scans together, but it's supposed to work pretty well. I haven't been able to get good results out of mine, but I haven't used it in a few months either. I don't think I ever gave myself enough time to work with the images and align them properly.

too late, I'm already nuts