SuperCam is the original program, which combined a user CAD interface to machine tools. It works by creating motor control and step and direction signals at the parallel port connector on the host computer. It is DOS and Windows 98 compatible. Program development has stopped in that the core components have been ported to the SuperCamXp program.

SuperCamXp is a three-axis machine control program that runs on the Windows XP or Vista host computers. It is a basic CAD user interface customized to act as the graphic control panel for milling machines, computerized routers, plasma torch tables, engraving machines, and general purpose XYZ tables. The mechanism is attached to the host via the USB port, which is connected by a cable to a CamPod or one of the Super Tech USB CNC Controllers.

XYZ Machine motion control is as simple as drawing the part, add offset lines to reflect the tool path, import the tool path layer into SuperCamXp and cut it. The attached machine follows the lines in the imported drawing file, rapid prototyping is a snap without having to create the traditional G-Code files.

The USB cable is connected to the CamPod. The CamPod has two connectors on it, B type USB and a Female DB25 connector, which is the common Parallel Port connector. The CamPod has microprocessor that generates step and direction signals, additionally it controls two relays, controller enable, high current signal, home mode signal and +5 Volts. It also handles home switches and servo fault status signals. The CamPod is plug and play compatible with the Super Tech step and direction Motor Controllers. The signal pin assignments can be hardwire jumped to match just about any three-axis step and direction CNC motor controller that is run by Mach3.

Drawings can be imported using HPGL or DXF formats. The machine can be made to follow all the drawing or individual graphic items can be selected. There are also commands for exporting the contents of the current drawing to HPGL or DXF formatted files.

There are commands for creating graphic items. You can draw arcs, circles, lines, points and text. The attached machine will follow the centerline of the drawings you make. This lets you draw and cut with out the need for creating G and M code files.

There are features in SuperCamXp that enable you to change order of events, change the direction of movement along a path. You can select individual items in the drawing to do over. The main part of the screen is a graphics display area, which is used to display the tool path of the machine, which is the drawing.

There commands for editing graphic items. You can move, mirror, array, copy, erase, rotate and scale drawing items. This lets you manually nest parts to be cut out of sheets of material.

There are commands for moving the attached machine's tool around. The MoveTo command lets you use the mouse or the keyboard to provide a destination for the machine to move the tool to. When using the mouse it becomes a point and click operation. The arrow keys on the keyboard will jog the X and Y axis motors. The PageUp and PageDown keys jog the Z-axis.

There are commands for managing the graphics display area. ZoomL will zoom to the limits of the attached machine. ZoomW will zoom to a windowed area specified by the mouse. ZoomC will zoom the graphics area to be centered on a point specified by the mouse, then the height of the area to be displayed is entered by the keyboard. The ZoomC command is most useful for viewing items outside the machine's boundary of movement.

Commands are entered by clicking on pull down menu items, clicking on menu items in the sidebar menu or entering them in the console area at the bottom left area of the main screen. The prompt 'Command:' is displayed in the console area when SuperCamXp is ready for the next command. When a command is in progress it will prompt you in the console area for the next expected action to be taken by you.

The G-code interpreter works on files generated for the Fanuc 6M CNC controller. For 3D work, if the file will run on Mach3, it will run on SuperCamXp.

There are two ways of using G-code files with SuperCamXp.

With the G-code Import, G-code files can be imported and executed or viewed. Depending on if the controller is selected or deselected.

With the G-code Edit Execute, G-code files can be edited and executed in whole or in parts. G-code in the editor is also displayed graphically. When text is highlighted in the editor the corresponding tool path parts are highlighted graphically.

There are global OFFSET and SCALE in the G-code Settings. The OFFSET parameters are added to tool path to permit moving the tool path execution around and up and down. The SCALE parameters are multiply factors applied to the tool path permitting resizing the tool path execution.

With the G-code Export, the drawings can be used to generate G-code files. The whole drawing or selected items can be used to generate code. The code generated can be single or multiple passes to final cut depth.

This makes SuperCamXp compatible with most common CAM programs.

The unique aspect of SuperCamXp is it’s direct control of the attached machine tool. For most operations the need for G & M code files are not required, the drawings become the tool path.

Dennis Bohlke
http://www.super-tech.com