using mastercam x6 router with a thermwood single head router. i am programming one half of a 4 x 8 sheet. would like to cut the same pattern on the other half of the sheet in the same cutting cyle. how would i cut the mirror image of the firt half . file shows the pattern. thanks for any help. thanks for all the help. copied and pasted all toolpaths. went into planes(wcs) and changed y by 24. problem solved. sorry for not making it clear. the 4 x 8 is a sheet of plywood laying flat on the router. i toolpath 1/2 of the sheet (2 x and it cuts entirely throught the wood would like to cut the same toolpath on the other 2 x 8 side without flipping or having to create the the extra toolpaths. PLYWOOD KIT.DWG

another way to do it using draftsight/drafting program 1. place a object of know length beside the object you want to verctorize 2. take a picture using phone, etc 3. bring picture into draftsight 4. scale picture using known length of object you put in the picture 5. create new layer 6. make new layer active 7. trace object 8. hide picture layer and u have the dxf if you need more info, google for the articles

another way to do it using draftsight/drafting program 1. place a object of know length beside the object you want to verctorize 2. take a picture using phone, etc 3. bring picture into draftsight 4. scale picture using known length of object you put in the picture 5. create new layer 6. make new layer active 7. trace object 8. hide picture layer and u have the dxf if you need more info, google for the articles

i did not try the following, however, using 2016 64 bit draftsight options-system options-autosave/backups

thermwood user here. all of our m codes are put in by the post processor. see about having the post processor modified to output the m codes as needed. your user manuel should list all m codes and their operation.

i am using thermwood dual head routers. we use each head indepently of each other or slave them together as needed. for us, g61 ties the heads and g60 unties them. the post should let you use the z head, w head or slave configuration within the same program. side note: did you get a copy of the machine definition and control definition for the router. could u post the code from dms to let us see and a sample program you use.

we have 5 thermwood 5 x 10 routers ages running from 2000 to 2015. 2 were bought new and three were found on the internet. thermwood still gives us free phone support for the ones we found and bought on the internet. the longest time we waited for a part was approx 3 weeks because it was not on their shelf. all other parts were overnight or regular ups. the voice phone support is fantastic. their controllers are not propriorty and parts can easily be bought local or from them. thermwood supports mastercam and they are also able to help with the programming if needed. by the way, we cut two .75 sheets of plywood at a time, program speed is 500 ipm and we fly, lol. if you are close to north carolina, you are more than welcome to visit us. location asheboro, nc

the ones we buy are 90% carbide and 10% cobalt. we are cutting through 1 1/2" (2 .75 sheets ) of plywood in one pass at 360 to 500 ipm. getting approx 25 to 30 pieces out of each sheet so they are long tool paths. bits are lasting about 125 cycles = 250 sheets. dont know if this is good or not. just seem to be using a lot of bit at 1,700 sheets per week, lol. thanks for the help

thanks for the reply jparris. i found kennametal on the internet, however, i dont know if the blank prices are good/competive. do you know of any good sources for the blanks. currently our bits are 10% carbide. could you tell me the specs on the blanks i would need? cutting two sheets of plywood (.75 each) at 360 to 500 ipm. i take it the grinder will also let me resharp the bits. normally we have them done once. also, i guess that walter solutions could advise me on where to get grinding wheels for the machine. really appreciate your time for the answers

thanks in advance for any advice. situation, retired military and drawing ss. myself and friend have a couple of cnc routers cutting parts for furniture industry. have a lot of spare time on hand and looking to get in trouble with cnc metal cutting machines. am trying to find out what type/specific machine would be good to look at for making carbide end mills. nothing high volume, just something to play around with. would need live tooling and auto load/unload of about 20 blanks at a time. not looking for the latest and greatest. something practical (used and gets the job done). would need to subcontract out for programming for the end mills. i would send the parts i need done. any recommendations for good programmers thanks

did you set the size actual size of the sheet your are using in nesting? i cannot bring up mastercam at home because i left the dongle at work. however, off the top of my head, on the second tab in nesting on the left side, there is a step option that lets mastercan try to fit the parts by steping the angle. you could try nesting only one square and the triangle and then see if there is enough room to drag the triangle to another spot and then delete the original and copy the second square. also, in the main screen in mastercam, before nesting or toolpathing, you can draw the size of the sheet and then create your parts, move them inside the sheet, and rotate them as necessary. make sure u leave enough room between them to toolpath. you can email me at [email protected] if u need more help.

depends on the parts u are cutting as to the way u approach it. by using your setup, you cannot cut into the table unless you use a negative in front of your number to go below z zero. any positive numbers will alway get u further from the top of the table. we are cutting plywood parts for furniture and all of our cuts are through two sheets of osb/playwood. because of small differences in thickness of the material, i set my cut depth at -1.5708 and then when i post it, i raise the z height to 1.5 with the clearances and approach set at 1" . have thermwood routers, using mastercam x5 router level 1 u can email me at jim dot huskey@yahoo dot com if u like.

grandson is taking cnc at a local college and this is his second year. he needs a model that needs four or five axis work as a project. they have hass machnes and are teaching on mastercam x7. if u have a small (hand size) non proprietary model i would appreciate it. guess he doesnt need anything extremely complicated. dont know what format model to ask for. u guys are the experts. thanks

i am using mastercam x6 router level 1 so dont know where the settings are for x2. turn off lead in/lead out. also looks like u are using ramp in. turn this off also. u have to make sure the cutting bit is designed for plunging into the material as the bottom of the bit will do the cutting when plunging straight down. bits that are not designed for plunging use the side for cutting into the wood while ramping in.

would it be possible for u to post the file? i dont quite understand what u are doing/asking. i am using mastercam x6 router level 1.

hi. i know most users here do not use nesting, however i have a problem wit it and maybe someone has ran across it before. using mastercam x5/x6 router level 1 and same problem with each. i nest multiple square or rectangle geometry parts and set the spacing. when i go back and measure the spacing, all vertical distances are correct, however, all horizonal distances are off by .05. regardless of the number i set the spacing at, it is always the horizonal distance that is off by .05. is there a setting i am missing thanks

i have a 3 axis industrial router and we cut two .75 thick sheets of plywood at once. we run the router spindle at 18,000 and feedrate of 450 inches per minute. router head is 18 hp. no vibration at all, however, our machine weighs 12,000 pounds. now your five axis machine might vibrate if u are cutting too deep and it also depends on how rigid your setup is. you do not want any vibration as the cut will not be the right depth and smoothness.

i have not heard of this company. some of the things u need to consider is what programs will u use to do your design, artwork, toolpathing, and of course the machine. all of this has to work in tamdem. i have bought a thermwood router for industrial use from thermwood corp in dale, indiana and a used thermwood router. they have the tools and machinery. google them and get their phone numbel. very helpful company and they can give u a quote on a complete setup.

take a look at thermwood routers in dale, in. we purchased a thermwood c-53 router with roller holddown. cutting two .75 inches of plywood at a time at 500 ipm. u can watch this machine in motion on utube. it is a beast, lol. their controller is based on win 7 and works like a champ. we also purchased a used thermwood that was 13 years old and they still had parts for that machine. very knowledgeable staff with excellant parts delivery. you can email if u need help jim

thank you

i have mastercam x5 at work and recently installed in on my home computer to do work. i just carry the dongle back and forth. what ini files do i need to copy so i have the exact same configuration (tools, colors, etc) at home as i do at work. thanks

hi, i am using x5 for a thermwood cnc router. i need to automatically insert a "m0" at a place in the cnc file to halt the router. any help is appreciated.

i am using router level 1. have noticed a few things not working right, and am lookiing to see if others have a fix. i have slimmed down the tools to one cutter and one drill bit and taken all the different routers control definations and post files out except the one machine i use and its post. 1. the speed changes for the cutter all the time. i use one cutter and one speed only but it still changes. 2. in the posting process, the machine forgets the post it is is suppose to use and tells me the post is invalid. after showing it where the post processer is, this works for a while and then goes back to not being found. i only have one control defination, one machine defination, and one post processor. i have checked the control and machine defination and everything is ok. any fix for this? thanks

using version x5 router level one. i need to contour cut a five inch circle with a .5 cutter. i cant just contour cut the inside of the circle as the vaccum system sucks the plug up. i need to plunge the bit to depth and then step over .25 until the entire circle is cut out as dust. no complex cutting patters or entry is needed as i am cutting plywood. thanks for any help

thanks for the reply. maybe i am going about it the wrong way. i am designing the part. toolpath it, select tool, ramp in, click on dual head, then nest the part on a four by eight sheet of plywood. the second head is not fixed at a certain distance. i can set the distance anything i need to. should the pp as me for the distance, etc? when i setup one head with the tool, click on dual head, and then try to post, this is when it says the second head tool number is a minus and posting will stop. will try to play with it more. thanks