[Millerman]

I am going to be receiving a DynaCNC 5 x 10 plasma table in the next week. My brother in law has his own HVAC business. Which software should a person be looking into to work with the MACH 3?

This CNC stuff is 100% new. I have a LOT to learn.....

Thanks

[Switcher]

Which software should a person be looking into to work with the MACH 3?

Anything that can produce g-code.


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[locost_cam]

Do you have software to design the parts? There are some packages out there specifically aimed at HVAC design but you can use pretty much any cad package. When creating drawings for CAM you need to try to follow these rules:

When lines meet they should meet exactly. Overlaps or points that are close but don't quite meet are bad. They may look fine on paper or the screen but they can confuse your CAM. Snaps (snap to grid and snap to end) are very helpful here. If you aren't used to snaps, go through your CAD package's documentation. Once you get used to them they will save you a lot of time.

Don't let outlines cross over each other. Imagine the figure 8. Most CAM packages follow the line and offset to the right or left. Imagine what happens if you try that with the figure 8. When you cross in the middle, things get very confusing.

Make use of layers. This allows you to keep dimensions, construction lines etc separate from the actual drawing. Again if you aren't used to layers, have a look at your CAD package's documentation.

To convert the drawings to G-code for the DynaCNC machine I would of course recommend SheetCam. SheetCam's plasma functions are specifically designed to work well with Mach3.