[ukracer]

Probably not what it sounds but I am trying to get my head round CNC plasma to assist a mate of mine.

He has a torchmate table and electronics and can down load version 3 torchmate driver software. after that he is stumped.

WE dont know what is needed..

We have found sheetcam in the UK but it needs Mach3. we have asked for prices on torchmate CAD but got no where yet.

So could someone tell us what software is needed....not just titles but what is sheet cam what is mach3 what is torchmate driver software and what is torchmate CAD. etc etc etc.

thanks in advance..

[ukracer]

Probably not what it sounds but I am trying to get my head round CNC plasma to assist a mate of mine.

He has a torchmate table and electronics and can down load version 3 torchmate driver software. after that he is stumped.

WE dont know what is needed..

We have found sheetcam in the UK but it needs Mach3. we have asked for prices on torchmate CAD but got no where yet.

So could someone tell us what software is needed....not just titles but what is sheet cam what is mach3 what is torchmate driver software and what is torchmate CAD. etc etc etc.

thanks in advance..

86 views and no replies . Have I not asked the right question.??? I am confused now.

[Bubba]

Andy,
I am not into plasma, but will try to help a bit.
You use a cad program to make the drawing of what you want to cut. (I use Draftsight)
Save the drawing as a DXF file (I use Rel 14 ASCII format)
You then open Sheet cam and import the drawing and use that to define the operations. Depending on what your doing, you may want different operations on different layer of the drawing.
In the options, you select the correct post processor and yes, there are several torchmate post processors. The correct one for your control software will generate the appropriate G-code to run on the machine.
Control software. There are several software control products on the market and Mach is just one of them. Another one is linux based Linuxcnc and there are several more. A quick glance on the torchmate website seems to indicate their Accumove motion controller is another one and probably the post processors listed in Sheetcam are for it.

As I say, I am not into plasma, but the above dialogue is similar regardless of machine type be it plasma, router, mill, lathe etc.

Hope this helps.

[ukracer]

Andy,
I am not into plasma, but will try to help a bit.
You use a cad program to make the drawing of what you want to cut. (I use Draftsight)
Save the drawing as a DXF file (I use Rel 14 ASCII format)
You then open Sheet cam and import the drawing and use that to define the operations. Depending on what your doing, you may want different operations on different layer of the drawing.
In the options, you select the correct post processor and yes, there are several torchmate post processors. The correct one for your control software will generate the appropriate G-code to run on the machine.
Control software. There are several software control products on the market and Mach is just one of them. Another one is linux based Linuxcnc and there are several more. A quick glance on the torchmate website seems to indicate their Accumove motion controller is another one and probably the post processors listed in Sheetcam are for it.

As I say, I am not into plasma, but the above dialogue is similar regardless of machine type be it plasma, router, mill, lathe etc.

Hope this helps.

Thats very helpful thanks.

I think its becoming a little clearer now. The accumove software you speak of is a upgraded version of http://torchmate.com/uploads/downloa...Live_Setup.exe I am guessing???


Instead of needing 2 programs like I assumed you actually need 4 programs if I now understand it all correctly,

In my case I would need to use Draftsight-------to Sheetcam--------- to Mach3----------- to http://torchmate.com/uploads/downloa...Live_Setup.exe

AM I now understanding it correctly>

Sorry to be a pain but its way different to what I anticipated..lol

[Bubba]

IF I am reading this correctly, you can skip the Mach.
Mach and Their program essentially do the same thing. They require the g-code input to make the machine go. Also, It appears they have their own signal generator and that will NOT be compatible with Mach I don't think!

You might want to contact torchmate for their knowledge in what you really need to make the machine go. Have the model and SN available when you talk to them as it appears there are several different version.

I am not familiar with their product so hopefully someone will jump in an help!

Maybe Les can help you when he gets in touch.

[locost_cam]

To expand a little on Art's description, the sequence is as follows:
CAD Create the drawing of your part
CAM This works out how to cut your part and calculates the machine movements needed. It outputs a series of movement instructions in a language called gcode. You can use SheetCam or Torchmate's own Cad/Cam.
Machine controller This takes a series of movement instructions and physically moves the machine. For your setup this is the Torchmate driver software. Mach3 is another machine controller but it isn't directly compatible with Torchmate hardware.

Gcode is a very loose standard and just about every controller speaks a slightly different dialect. To get around this CAM has to have a bunch of different code generators or 'post processors' to generate the correct code for each type of machine. SheetCam has a couple of different post processors that will generate code that the Torchmate software will understand.

By the way I have enabled your account on the SheetCam forum. I'm not quite sure why it was disabled.

[ukracer]

IF I am reading this correctly, you can skip the Mach.
Mach and Their program essentially do the same thing. They require the g-code input to make the machine go. Also, It appears they have their own signal generator and that will NOT be compatible with Mach I don't think!

You might want to contact torchmate for their knowledge in what you really need to make the machine go. Have the model and SN available when you talk to them as it appears there are several different version.

I am not familiar with their product so hopefully someone will jump in an help!

Maybe Les can help you when he gets in touch.

Not had an email from Les yet so I guess I had better start looking for a sheetcam alternative lol

Thanks for your advice anyway..

Regards Andy T

[ukracer]

To expand a little on Art's description, the sequence is as follows:
CAD Create the drawing of your part
CAM This works out how to cut your part and calculates the machine movements needed. It outputs a series of movement instructions in a language called gcode. You can use SheetCam or Torchmate's own Cad/Cam.
Machine controller This takes a series of movement instructions and physically moves the machine. For your setup this is the Torchmate driver software. Mach3 is another machine controller but it isn't directly compatible with Torchmate hardware.

Gcode is a very loose standard and just about every controller speaks a slightly different dialect. To get around this CAM has to have a bunch of different code generators or 'post processors' to generate the correct code for each type of machine. SheetCam has a couple of different post processors that will generate code that the Torchmate software will understand.

By the way I have enabled your account on the SheetCam forum. I'm not quite sure why it was disabled.

Ah if I am guessing right you are Les.. So I was a little impatient and therefore hasty ....especially as your expanded reply told me everything I need to know and as I just had a price for Torchmate CAD at 874 dollars I reckon sheet cam is a much more sensible option for a hobby user..

If you are Les or not thank you so much for your reply...

Regards Andy T

[Bubba]

Andy,
Yep, that was Les that responded to your post! He doesn't visit the zone that much so that is why he was unaware of your posts here.

Sheetcam is a CAM program that takes your drawing and uses it to produce the g-code.

You need a Cad program to make the drawing. I use Draftsight which is an autocad clone and it is FREE! DraftSight - Dassault Syst
You need an internet connection to register it, but I seldom get any mail from them.

By the way, he activated your user id on the sheetcam forum so you can post there now also.

[ukracer]

Andy,
Yep, that was Les that responded to your post! He doesn't visit the zone that much so that is why he was unaware of your posts here.

Sheetcam is a CAM program that takes your drawing and uses it to produce the g-code.

You need a Cad program to make the drawing. I use Draftsight which is an autocad clone and it is FREE! DraftSight - Dassault Syst
You need an internet connection to register it, but I seldom get any mail from them.

By the way, he activated your user id on the sheetcam forum so you can post there now also.

Educated guess I thought it might be. lol

My issues with sheet cam are support. It looks like trhe sheet cam forum is old not got much traffic and I did not want to waste time learning something out of date. But if its still the best for a budget hobbiest I will be happy to go with it. I have downloaded draftsight.

I went on sheetcams forum and posted but I saw some spam .......... stuff like that usually mean its not used a lot .... or it could mean sheet cam does its job and no one has problems and just gets on with cutting lol

Again thanks for your time and assistance.

[Bubba]

Andy,
That forum was setup when yahoo was having problems and it was thought everything might be lost forever. The main traffic is on the mail list and has had over a dozen messages in the last week. In fact, there have been several just today!
I see where Les has responded to your posts on the forum today. As for the video problem, I can't supply an answer.

[Beefy]

Andy,

has the Torchmate table got a torch height control already. If you stick with the TM controller software/electronics then to add torch height control will cost another 3K (US dollars), don't know how much in our pounds. A THC is pretty much not an option in my opinion. I don't think you can "tack on" an aftermarket THC with a TM system, but you can with Mach3.

Another type of CAD you may want to consider is "arty" type cad. Inkscape is a free one but I prefer and use Coreldraw ($600-700). Even though it's an arty / freeform type 2D cad I still use it to design relatively simple mechanical parts. As a matter of fact for simpler mechanical parts I find it quicker than mechanical cad packages.

I think Les is just a one man band but he brings some great CAM software to us at a great value price. He's generally always answered questions on the forums. I would not be too quick to put Sheetcam aside. I would certainly like a higher end CAM but then I'm pretty sure I'd be into 4 figures with a 2 or 3 at the front, maybe more. For the price Sheetcam has some very good features.

I wouldn't be too hasty with everything, there's quite a long learning curve in this game to get proficient and speedy with all the different stages.

Good luck,

Keith.

[ukracer]

Andy,

has the Torchmate table got a torch height control already. If you stick with the TM controller software/electronics then to add torch height control will cost another 3K (US dollars), don't know how much in our pounds. A THC is pretty much not an option in my opinion. I don't think you can "tack on" an aftermarket THC with a TM system, but you can with Mach3.

Another type of CAD you may want to consider is "arty" type cad. Inkscape is a free one but I prefer and use Coreldraw ($600-700). Even though it's an arty / freeform type 2D cad I still use it to design relatively simple mechanical parts. As a matter of fact for simpler mechanical parts I find it quicker than mechanical cad packages.

I think Les is just a one man band but he brings some great CAM software to us at a great value price. He's generally always answered questions on the forums. I would not be too quick to put Sheetcam aside. I would certainly like a higher end CAM but then I'm pretty sure I'd be into 4 figures with a 2 or 3 at the front, maybe more. For the price Sheetcam has some very good features.

I wouldn't be too hasty with everything, there's quite a long learning curve in this game to get proficient and speedy with all the different stages.

Good luck,

Keith.

Thanks for all your advice. Its a lot clearer now. But when I saw lots of old post and could not get verified I started to get jumpy.


Its a mate who have the gear but knows little about computers. I think he will get bored and I will end up buying the table off him. lol

The picture I posted shows a box which I think is torch height controller..