Not sure how old you are, but for me (real old)
Retaining what I learn is the problem. If I used it everyday it would help but man if a week goes by I sometimes feel like I am starting all over again.
I will say I probably have a much worse memory than most. I say if your older and just playing around fusion may not be the program for you!
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That’s a good point that I hadn’t though of. I’m not old but getting older.
If you ask me I’d say I have a good memory. If you asked my wife she would probably tell you I can’t remember a conversation from 10 min ago… and cant hear a thing.
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See when you get married you get a license that allows you to forget most things your wife says that is only kinda important.
No joke I am nearly deaf kinda. She says i have selective hearing or something like that. I wasn’t really paying attention.
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@Knick im the same way, if i go a little bit and dont use something its like i have to get a refresher to get my brain going. Getting older sure affects retention at times. Making a lots of cheat sheets helps at times.
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Definitely doable - use AutoCAD for the drawing and then use the resulting DXF or SVG in Sheetcam to do the tool paths.
You could do the same using AutoCAD and Fusion 360 but that’s seriously more work than you’d probably want to go through. Setting up Sheetcam is pretty easy and it will auto-set your toolpaths when you open a DXF or SVG drawing. I still go back and verify what it does because I might want to change what it decided was inside vs outside or even do a cut on the line depending on my design. But Sheetcam will make toolpathing far easier than you’ll find F360 if you’re not very familiar with Fusion.
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I don’t know what old is other than a number, but my number is 73… 
My wife says 73 going on 13 most of the time. I’ve been using AutoCAD 2D for over 25 years and very comfortable with it.
I downloaded the free trial SheetCAM this afternoon and finally, with the help of a YouTube video running along as I was doing the SheetCAM on my part, was able to complete the post processing and cut my part. I see now that I may want to tweak some of the settings a bit for a little smoother cut.
SheetCAM I believe will be my final post processing software. Not that hard to remember and the series of steps seems to be less than 360 too. I think I’ll be referencing the YouTube video from time to time as well.
The problem I have with the part I just cut is, I have the stock 1.1 size tip and I’m cutting at 40 amps on 16 ga. I’m thinking that the .8 tip is what I really need for thinner material, correct? I’ve contacted Dustin for his advice on the PrimeWeld table torch assembly I bought from them. I believe the the table torch and the hand trigger torch use the same consumables.
Lots of tweaking and learning from here on out. At least I’m now cutting metal…
I’m sure I’ll have tons more questions as I get more into the cutting of parts.
Thanks again all for the help!
Dan
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arc light has some great sheetcam youtube videos.
Having Autocad down is a big help!
Dan, I am an AutoCAD guy myself and use sheetcam for post processing…
one thing to note I I have found that you need to save files from AutoCAd in version 2013 DXF for Sheetcam to properly process them.
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Before I retired, we had a 5’x10’ OMAX water jet in the machine shop. I drew up many quick 2D parts and I had to save them as the early .dxf version, which is what I’m doing now too. SheetCam seems to work well with that version of .dxf.
I’ve cut several test pieces now. One of the problems I seem to have is, I have my plunge delay set at zero and the torch fires and just sets there for about one second firing before moving. I have my lift to clear Z move set at 1" and it’s going up a couple inches. I’ve check my TOOL builds I did for both 16 ga and 12 ga, but nothing changes.
At the moment I only have the 1.1 tip. When cutting 16 ga I get a big tapered edge, almost a step around the bottom of the cut. I’m running 45 amp and 60 psi. ipm is 110. I know, I need the smaller tips. What’s the rules of thumb for material thickness, amps, speed, pressure etc? When do I use each size?
I’m just guessing at this point in the settings. I’m very close to the Primeweld setting in the manual though.
In going to try other speeds and amps/pressure etc and see what happens.
Has anyone posted basic settings?
But first I need to figure out the piercing delay and the lift to clear height. It didn’t seem to do that with FileShare ready to cut downloads. So it has to be me and my settings.
Thanks again all, for the ongoing help…
Dan
Dan, I completely understand. Spent a lot of time drawing DXF’s for a FlowJet, and it required the same early versions from AutoCAD.
Quick question - Are you currently using SheetCAM? (Reading your post seems to confirm this.) To be sure of your issue, when you stated Plunge Delay set to 0, did you mean Plunge Rate or Pierce Delay? If Plunge Rate, set it to 60ipm. That seems to be a good starting point. Regarding the Z clear, I can’t find a setting for it in SheetCDAM, however all my G-code has a 1" Z move after each cut
Plunge rate should be over 50 IPM. For 16ga steel at 45 amps, start with a .5 second pierce delay and around 200 IPM.
The rapid retract height for the Z axis is set at 1" by default in the post processor. Nothing you can do in Sheetcam will change that.
If yours is retracting to 2", you are using the wrong post processor. There is a modified Firecontrol post processor in Sheetcam that is specifically for Thermal Dynamics plasma cutters. It adds 1.5 seconds to the first pierce delay and retracts to 2" for Z rapid clearance. It’s named something like “Firecontrol v1.6 TD mod retract”
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Simsworx and ds690, thanks for the SheetCAM information. I’ll check the version I have loaded, not knowing what I needed, I may have loaded the incorrect version.
Still got tons to learn and this forum is helping a LOT…
Thanks, Dan
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