MF70 CNC Conversion

joemcder
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by joemcder »

I went to the Mach3 Jog screen. The Y-axis LED blinks on Y+- The Z-axis LED blinks on Z+- The X-axis does not blink. It cannot be a simple port driver issue.

I'll checkout CNCZone. Has there been any discussion of this project over there?

Joe
joemcder
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by joemcder »

I checked the BIOS. I changed the setting from "PS2 mode" to "EPP mode".

The symptoms remain the same.
Could I have a defective Sainsmart board? How would I check it?

Joe
msimpson
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by msimpson »

I have purchased six of those boards at different times and all have worked perfectly. Take a picture of the board turned on and post it so IO can take a look at it.
joemcder
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by joemcder »

Good news!
With my multimeter, I found that the Parallel port cable had a defective pin :(
With a fresh cable and the EPP setting the Jog test now works on all 3 axis :)
msimpson
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by msimpson »

Thanks for the update. I will add a tip to my MF70 book to check that if you have problems.
joemcder
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by joemcder »

Thanks to your excellent instructions and easy to assemble hardware, my MF70 cnc project has been a success.

New to CNC, I now face the software workflow issues. I understand the theory well enough:
CAD --> CAM --> GCODE (Mach3). Unfortunately practical recipes are scarce. People post videos, equipment lists, etc. They rarely describe the software application workflows. I suggest you include some in your workbooks and on your site.

As one example, I liked you polymer clay discussion and video.
1. How did you generate the gear examples? Did you use CAD, Mach3 macros, or something else?
2. In the engraving example, what is you application workflow?

I am NOT lazy. I have been poking around CNC sites. Lots of hardware discussion, minimal application software usage detail. Is not one of the main points of CNC to reduce the problem to a software solution?
I have noticed the same problem on Robot forums. Lots of robot mechanics. Minimal (or no) software discussions.

Since your hardware descriptions are superb maybe you should branch out into instructing us on software workflows.
msimpson
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Re: MF70 CNC Conversion

Post by msimpson »

Here is a workflow I provided for my KRMx02 CNC. The design process is similar.
http://www.kronosrobotics.com/workflow/


As for the actual gear design, you will have to purchase software to help you design gears.
Involute is one and Gearotic is another.

I am working on a second MF70 book and in that book I will provide instructions for some basic upgrades and a set of operation instructions for the mill.

For my CNC CAD work I use corel draw. Any Decent CAD program that can export EPS files will work.
For my CAM software I use Cut2D and its bigger brother Vcarve pro. They import EPS files very well and allow you to easily set up the tool paths.

For a gear I would create the gear in one of my programs like Grarotic. I then export it in a format that Corel draw can accept. Once in Corel Draw I scale the gear as needed and add holes and spoke design. Once the design is complete I then export as an EPS and import into Cut2D or Vcarve PRo.

Note that Cut2D is an entry level CAM program but I used it for a couple years before upgrading to Vcarve Pro. If you do purchase Cut2D you get a credit towards Vcarve later.

I also have Cut3D which accepts STL files from a 3D CAD package like Autocard or Inventor.
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