[ger21]

Try downloading a free CAD program , maybe A9CAD, and print them full scale. Try PrimoPDF which will let you print to PDF from any program.

[morphious69]

how about this suggestion. list what tools you have at your disposale and what tools you would be willing to buy to make this a reality. it will definitely help some of us understand what skills you will be able to put in to working and what ones would not.

[CptRyg]

Sure,
First of all baby steps for me.
At this point I don't own any of the required software much less know how to use it. That will come with perhaps a tax return.
I want to collect the templates that I can print out 1:1 on my home printer A4 paper. So far that's where Im running into trouble.
I'm testing out the a9cad program suggested previously. I can't seem to get it to print consecutive pages. Only one at a time.
It seems like a good program for getting my feet wet though.
Thanks

[morphious69]

well the issue I see is that if you are trying to make something as complex as say joes machine with only a jigsaw and a drill press you might not accomplish it. there are a lot of ways though to design a machine to be adjustable so it can be taken into account what accuracy in making the parts you lack. also don't worry about things like rigidity for the first machine for speed that is. you can run the machine slow to get accuracy and make parts to make a sturdier machine once you have something that will cut plotted courses. as long as it is ridgid enough to maintain tolerances at slower speeds you should do fine. I bought a controller from stepper world and to be honest for the price it is the best bang for the buck I have seen. but if you are going to run a rotary table later I would recommend something that is microstep capable. also get used to using radians instead of degrees HEH HEH, I have had a lot of trouble finding any sort of stepper for sale that is 2 degree per step, all this 1.8 stuff. it makes for good steppers for breaking things down into 10ths and 100ths and 1000ths but when you want to break something up into a degree fashion it is a nightmare. radians though are perfect for it ( basically the typical 1.8 degree stepper is exactly 2 radians since the circle is divided into 400 segments for radians as opposed to 360 segments in degrees.)

I would suggest reading john klienbaurs site for ideas on how to over come lack of high end tools. he seems to have wrote the book on it. His plans are a pretty good bargain I would say too. at least for your first machine. But this does not mean that with a bit of inginuity and looking around you can not design something your self. Just look at all the awesome designs people have made here.
Do you have a table saw, band saw, drill press? hand drills?

[morphious69]

oh I forgot for a control program you can just use turbocad and ACE to convert DXF to gcode. not really a good set up for 3d work but 2d work it is fine for. you will be able to use those to create parts for a better mill in no time. and all of it is free unless you want the source code from turbocad. I know not enough about writing code to be able to use it right now but some day I will take a better look at it. would be nice to have a bunch of machines all running at a shop and them be able to text me or call me when a problem happens HA HA

[turmite]

Sure,
First of all baby steps for me.
At this point I don't own any of the required software much less know how to use it. That will come with perhaps a tax return.
I want to collect the templates that I can print out 1:1 on my home printer A4 paper. So far that's where Im running into trouble.
I'm testing out the a9cad program suggested previously. I can't seem to get it to print consecutive pages. Only one at a time.
It seems like a good program for getting my feet wet though.
Thanks

ello cptn......do you guard the national treasure? if so, you will recognize my user name! Cooperative Project mean anything to you? You should have my email address. Since I am sure I know why you want this thing called cnc, Rhino is the absolute best choice for you, and you can download a free version though it is limited to 30-50 saves. Send me an email and I will give you some contacts that should help you along in your quest!

Mike

[CarveOne]

Try downloading a free CAD program , maybe A9CAD, and print them full scale. Try PrimoPDF which will let you print to PDF from any program.

ger21, don't know if you have seen this free CAD program or not. I downloaded HyCAD (and A9CAD) recently while looking for something to use on my new workshop CNC computer. Haven't explored either of them very much so far but HyCAD seems easy enough to use for 2D drawings. It can export to .pdf format in most common paper sizes.

CarveOne

[CptRyg]

Hycad isn't supporting .dwg It wants .gr

[CarveOne]

Hycad isn't supporting .dwg It wants .gr

.gr is the native file save output format. Look at the import and export menus and you will find the .dxf options.

CarveOne

[CarveOne]

I just created a simple drawing in HyCAD, exported it in .dxf and then imported it into A9CAD with no issues.

More complex drawings tend to muddy things up with features that don't play well with other programs and also version issues can happen as well. Import and export filters can cause a lot of lost time and frustration sometimes.

CarveOne