Need basic help with DeskCNC (Plasma)

The school in which I am attending for welding has a CNC Plasma water table that has been sitting there unused and broken because no one in the school knows anything about it. I absolutely love the endless possibility of CNC so I have repaired the table, (coupler for z-axis motor to screw shaft was broken) and now spend every second I have playing with it trying to learn how to use it.

I am able to cut out simple parts that I can do with only one tool path but I am having trouble running the file when I need two different tool paths.

I watched a video on youtube and I create two tool paths the same as they do and everything appears fine until I run the file. It will only run the first tool path and will not continue to the next.

I am drawing the parts in AutoCad and the plasma is ran with DeskCNC. I open the files as a dxf file. Then set machining order. Select items for first toolpath, contour, then run file and create the nc file. I then go back to the cam screen, clear the tool path, deselect all. I then select the next items for the next toolpath and "append" that nc file to the first and continue until all cuts have been done. However when I run that NC file it will only cut the initial tool path and will not continue to do the rest. I think I am missing something very basic here.

Thanks for the help!

When you append it adds an entire new gcode file to the end of the first, you have to manually edit out all of the M stop and start codes between the files.

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So I have to manually take out the stop from the first file and the start of the second? Then it should continue on to the next?

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Originally Posted by osmond.mark

So I have to manually take out the stop from the first file and the start of the second? Then it should continue on to the next?

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Yep, I do it all of the time, sometimes 5 or 6 times in a file.

I think it appends like that so you can add your tool change scripts between the files if you need to.

Why do you need to append files on a plasma? I only need to when I contour and pocket with the same bit, or I need to cheat on the cutter diameter instead of re drawing certain features to get parts the right size.

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Like I say, I am just learning and have picked everything up so far on my own so I maybe doing everything totally wrong!

For example if I want to cut a 1" hole for a pin or bushing and in cad the hole is drawn 1" then if I contour it with no copensation or as cutout then the hole does not actually measure 1". On a shock tab for a simple example I was going to make one toolpath for the 1" hole and use left as a compensation and then another toolpath using cutout for the outter shape. I am thinking this is probably the wrong way to do it but I have not figured another way out yet.

for something like a shock tab, select your cutter diameter to offset the Kerf of the cut, select the whole part as a region so the inner hole is an island, and select cutout instead of right or left when contouring. It will cut the inner hole first.


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