I have been CNC machining for years now using Surf-Cam and a 3 axis Milling center. This is high production with very tight tolerances.
I make things out of thermal sheet plastic and use the CNC primarily to build my own molds and fixtures from aluminum and steel.
Recently I purchased a Wart Hog CNC Router to help with trimming operations of the molded plastic parts. It seems to be a fine machine however I’m not getting everything out of it that I would like.
First the controller (win CNC) is pitiful offering a very limited selection of features compared to what I’m used to.
2nd is that when trimming around a 3D part the thing is very inconsistent in the Z axis. I can’t put my finger on why. Any ideas about this? The Z axis holds fine and repeats fairly accurately when we are cutting 2D projects but not with flowing 3D edges.
3rd I need a good production nesting software. I need to be able to take several different shape parts, designate how many of each I need, get automatic tabs, and track the left over scrap geometry so as to use that for following projects. Anything like that out there?
4th I want to keep this machine running as much as possible so as to get my money’s worth. Surf-Cam is great for the CNC mill but I’m looking for something better suited toward the Routers. Something that will give us capability as far as graphics, such as signs and plaques, is intuitive, converts a broad range of file types, and offers quality tool path generation and post processor. What do you guys recommend?
Thanks