Happy New Year All! I need to machine a 1" wide on the top vee-groove that has 45 degree sides. I only have a 1/2" wide 90 degree cutter. What is the best way to rough and finish with the same tool? I drew the part as a solid but I can't get the 90 degree tool to work. I can only get a ballnose endmill to work. Do surface toolpaths only work with ball / bull nose cutters? What is the fast way to do this simple groove? Thank you...Steve

I need to help a student build a cam that has a 3.55" OD with a throw of 1.25". Does masterCAM have a Chook for this? If not, what should be my next step? I have AutoCAD and RHINO but not sure of anything built into these softwares to design a cam. Thanks in advance...Steve

These are great tips that I didn't know about. My mistake,my geometry is a solid not a surface. Is draging and dropping the best way since you can't choose drive or check geometry by color using solids? Steve

Hello all, If I do a surface rough tool path and have to select a large quanity of surfaces how do I save the surface selection for a future finish operation? Or if I choose one tool path and don't like the cutting results and want to change it to another style of tool path can this be done? There has to be a faster way... Thanks...Steve

Hello Jack, It was drawn as a solid model. Used surface contour tool path. Comp. was in the computer only. The student didn't leave any stock for roughing and the tool deflected causing the part to go undersize. The finish pass with the ball nose endmill cleaned up 90% of the part. I was just curious what was the best way to proportionally size the part down so we could get 100% clean-up and salvage the part. Steve

Hello All, I have a 3D part that has a couple degrees of taper all around it with blending radi. Basically rectangular in shape. I am using a 1/4" ball nose cutter. My question is the part did not clean up 100% (Student roughed it undersized if I regen the cutting path but fake out the cutter size with a .235 end mill will it work? Will this give me strange results? Or do I need to scale the part and use the correct cutter size? Finished part size is not critical. Thanks in advance...Steve [ 05-27-2004, 04:01 PM: Message edited by: Stephen ]

Hello All, The Servo II CNC retrofit that I teach on, not only has a clunky DOS interface but also has no override for rapid speeds. If I slow down the feeds with the hand held pendant control to test the first part it still rapids at Mach I. Since Servo tech. support said there is no way to change this setting can I make the post output G01's for all G0's? I would like to substitute G01 at 50IPM for all G0's Thanks in advance, Steve

The most we get into at school is 2D & 3D plus some solids using MC. I also run AutoCAD and Rhino. I'll start looking around and compare some of my local dealers with the big names. I wish I had more of a budget, but will make sure I can expand the system for video, etc. Thanks for all the good info.

Unless I missed an old post somewhere I was looking for more of a turnkey system. I haven't built a system before and didn't think it would be a good idea to start from stratch. Steve

There has been a lot of discussions on specific hardware (video cards, etc.) for computers. I'm in the market for a new computer. Can you folks recommend a new box that works well with MC? I would like to spend $750 or less. I don't need a monitor. Should I look at brands other than Dell or Gateway? Thanks for the input, Steve

Murlin, I see where you are coming from. Two computers hooked up would would cut down on the frustration factor. Would Radio Shack have the switch that you're talking about? I don't think I have ever seen one of these items. Can MC-9 run on windows 95? When I installed it on the old box it would crash immediately upon opening it up. Steve

Iskander, I just have a "C" drive directory. It sounds like a good idea to put an extra HD in the system(I have an extra one). I am familiar with that process. I will need to set the jumper on the new HD to slave and leave the original alone, correct? With this setup, while in XP mode will I be able to "see" the other HD on the directory and cut and paste NC files to it? That way when I reboot it will be ready to go. Steve

Hello Iskander, I'm not much of a computer hardware guy, what do you mean by logical / physical disks?? The XP system is NTFS on 40G hard drive. Just one hard drive on a desktop(basic computer). The mouse is not USB. It has a small round plug-in connector. I would like to install it the best way. If thats means reformatting the HD or adding to the existing setup that is OK. Let me know if you need any more info. Thanks...Steve [ 01-30-2004, 12:53 AM: Message edited by: Stephen ]

Thanks for all the good tips and suggestions. Here is where I am so far. No settings work to configure the serial port and the compatibility setting don't work either. Since it is a PC based controller you are not really DNCing to the machine. After talking to Servo tech. support some more I realize that I need to give up and install a DOS program. The software does not use the serial port in a conventional fashion. They use proprietary code that reconfigures the serial port to their specs.,hence why my changes have no effect. Since I'm cramped for space I would like to have it reside on the newer computer. I think I need to proceed with the FREEDOS idea. Since the computer is already up and running with XP what is the easist way to proceed? I'm not much of a computer geek, so do you know of a link that might have a step by step outline to do this? Thanks again...Steve

Where do I get a copy of DOS?

Is there something I still might be missing? I hooked up the old box with Win95 to make sure everything (cables, etc.) is working. Worked fine. I hooked up the new system and switched all the files from XP to win95 compatibility as suggested(any other check boxes that need to be selected?). I also sent data to serial port 1 & 2 to be sure I got the right port. The computer still doesn’t see the controller.

The DOS version is installed but the XP DOS system is not compatible with the Servo software. Tech support said it will only run under windows 98 or older.

Harry, What would you replace the spindle with? Any name brands you could recommend? Thanks

Yea, I wish. Have you read anything about Oregon's budget problems? If measure 30 fails next week I will be finishing out the school year running existing dull endmills and probably be out of a job next fall. This will be a 9 million $$ hit to our school district's annual budget or about 10% of the total budget.

Upgrading computer technology can be a pain! I just put Windows XP Pro on a newer computer that runs a Servo brand retro-fit on a Bridgeport II mill. Now I can't talk to the controller because Servo's version 4.3 controller software is DOS based and won't work on XP. I can upgrade to their windows driver for over $ 1K (irritating). Servo tech. support said I should dual boot the computer or upgrade the software. Has anyone run into this problem or have any advice on how I should proceed? Thank you

Hello, Can you folks recommend a good quick change manual tool system for a Bridgeport Servo CNC retrofit machine? The Z axis is on the knee. Quill has standard R-8 collets. It would be nice not to have to re-touch off tooling all the time. Their are several on the market, what have you had the best luck with?

Hello All, I'm 38, but my lower back makes me feel older at times. I worked as a job shop machinist, CNC operator/programmer for about 7 years after graduating from college. I've been teaching at the same high school for the past 6 years. I teach general metal shop, MC, AutoCAD, Photoshop, Corel Draw, & Rhino. I get a lot of excellent info. from this site. Definitely the best e-group I belong to. Wish I could contribute more, but my skills/knowledge are a fraction of the best in here. Maybe I will get up to speed one of these days. The search engine rocks! Steve

What are the pros and cons of DNC vs. RS232 communication when using just one machine. I am transmitting at 19200 (Max @ controller) baud rate on an RS232 cable. The DNC can't go any faster can it?

If the lettering is going on a flat surface, use create, next menu, letters. It will prompt you for lettering on an arc. Just answer the questions and it should work. If it is going on the round you need a 4th axis. I have better luck drawing text in Corel Draw or AutoCAD then importing it to MC. Corel has very fast and easy to use text tools for lettering on arcs and curves. Steve [ 12-16-2003, 02:30 AM: Message edited by: Stephen ]

OlympiaHS, I'm using the same Techno machine everyday and know it well. The #2 error can be corrected by turning of the machine and manually turning the offending axis of the limit switch. The table travel is so small it is easy to over travel with parts over 8" X 8" depending on what model you have. Also it is critical where you set up 0,0 on the machine and the part. I would home the machine and then measure your travel for all the axes so you know the total travel available. Let me know if you need any help with the communications or getting it up and running.