What my project entails should be explained first.
This machine is dedicated to only ONE JOB. That job is plunge/drill into cast aluminum and make other frequent slots in existing aluminum items. For example drilling and modifying transmission valve body plates or cast aluminum valve bodies. That is it. The items are supplied in BULK and the machine (will have) a jig that stays in the machine until its life is over. In the simplest job a 1/4" end mill will fly to two locations and drill to the depth I have programmed it for. Boom, done. Two holes. On complex jobs it will drill up to 24 holes and 10 slots. These jobs will be repeated 100 times a year just alone on this machine.
Next. I am doing this bass-ackwards - I know I need a CNC (I am tired of DRO/Hand work - so I got one. It works. I am no stranger to Gcode - I can type it out by hand fairly well actually for the jobs in the example. However, I am very limited in my knowledge of CAD/CAM. Or any software for that matter. I have looked at Fusion (way to powerfull for what I need, and big learning curve), and have downloaded and played with just about any free program I can find. So far NONE of them really fit my needs that I can tell up front.
To build the program (because the parts are existing things already) I am going to have to fly around and find the X/Y points I need to mod. Drill locations and start/end slot coordinates. As far as I know this step will have to be done with Cut Control and all manual readout to gather the info. At this time there is no 1:1 images of the parts I will be modifying. There is no option to load a picture and fly around in the software to build code.
If you have another option, lay it on me. I am total noob when it comes to software or its capabilities.
Soā¦
With the assumptions suggested aboveā¦where do I start once I get the x/y figured out? What program do I insert the data and start playing with the speeds/feeds and depths, etc. How do I get the data from point A to B after that?
I am not creating 3d objects from raw stock - I donāt feel like I need to learn how to build artwork from an oak slab or cut a ashtrays from a cube of aluminum. WHat I need is pretty much all 2d stuff. I am open to learning all I can! Just lay it to me straight-no-chaser.
Did I make a bad purchase? The machine is literally the best size and shape and gantry style is perfect for my needs.
Hi Dan,
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but youāre going to need a CAD/CAM program of some sort to tell the MR1 where to drill the holes and make the slots. F360 is not that difficult to learn, but does take a little patience. There is a feature in F360m that allows you to import a photo of the valve body and then trace it out and add dimensions. Many members on this forum use F360 and could assist you is setting up a model to use for programing the changes to the valve bodies you seek. You idea of probing all the holes and noting the locations relative to a starting point would work, but seems to be much more work than using a CAD/CAM program. Maybe someone near you with an MR1 would be willing to assist you in getting your programs up and running. Iām in Texas.
I second Fusion. Even though itās overkill for your jobs, it gets pretty quick once you pick it up.
No need to really draw 3D in it either if itās not required for the job.
There are times I just draw a rectangle with holes and slots in the locations I need them to be in my actual part. One example was adding a hole pattern and key slot to a drive coupling. My real world X/Y zero was an existing hole I would dial in. In Fusion I used a corner of the rectangle as my X/Y zero and drew my hole and slot locations off of that. I think it took 5 minutes tops to lay it out and post the code for the machine. I had also used the MR1 DRO to get the locations beforehand so they would clear existing holes and slots. Similar situation to what you described above.
Bracket_Drill_1_T1.txt (245 Bytes)
Yeah Fusion would be the best from a user perspective and probably would save you the most time in the long run. However, you can technically create *txt files and change them over to *nc files to load to the machine. You would manually determine your X/Y coordinates and then can write simple Z operations for drilling, etc. This method would require a lot of knowledge of manual coding and you can get a start by reading some of the available online materials. The Mach4 manuals have a good overview of simple G Code that the MR1 uses. So depending on how much time you want to invest in education, meticulously reviewing your code to prevent crashing the machine and number of codes you will have to generate, you could potentially go this route. But for $400 or whatever promo price you can get Fusion for, you can have a year long license to tweak your processes and if it will be repeat work, then in theory you wonāt need it after that and you can even go back and edit the *nc programs you get from Fusion down the road as mentioned for small tweaks in the future.
I attached a simple program I made in Fusion for a bracket with two drilled holes, image attached as well. If you can follow along with that code and the image, maybe you could go the manual route. If not, get Fusion or pay someone with Fusion to create the programs for you once you have all the coordinates. Aluminum valve bodies, probably can go off the cutting parameters that Langmuir has created. I do notice the HSS drills cut oversize, so I always start small and work my way up, but again sounds like you are planning repeat work, so may be able to splurge on some nicer carbide drills for the specific sizes or something.
Thank you,
so to spur my confidenceā¦can you tell me how I set up the G54/55/56, and once the thing is done on the screen, how do i get it from my computer to the MR1 to I can hit go? I keep seeing you have to build it here, convert it here, load it here - like three steps?
If your part (plate or body) has a flat surface that you could get a really good photo or image (such as from a flat bed scanner) you could import the image as a āCanvasā in Fusion 360, then you pick āCalibrateā and pick two easy to identify spots that you measure:
If I understand the question correctly. You would probably only need G54 for what you are doing. That is essentially your start point for your program (Work Coordinate Offset WCS). I would make this an easily measurable feature on the parts you are modifying, i.e. a locating pin hole or some other easily measurable feature. This would be your starting point or orgin and your X/Y coordinates would be based off that.
Havenāt really discussed the tolerances you are trying to hold, but for arguments sake I will assume the probe that Langmuir sells is accurate enough. You can come in and probe the locating bore on your part after it is located in your jig and that would set the G54 in the machine for starting the program.
As for the second part of the question. If you are manually programming. You can simply use the notepad app on any Windows computer. Even the one that comes with the MR1 if you got that option. Then you would type in the code, being very careful of syntax and double, triple, maybe even quadruple checking or having someone else check your code. Then save the *txt file to the computer. Then change the extension on the file from *txt to *nc. Then start Cut Control. Then load the program and the newest version of Cut Control allows for āSingle Blockingā so you can run the code line by line as you watch the machine and make sure what you intended to tell the machine to do, is what the machine is actually doing, line by line to proof it out.
I just spent about 2hrs doing tutorials on Fusion Person use free and got the hang of doing what it told me to do on samples. However still not idea how I input a fictitious size part, here is the G54, move to this x/y, drill here. I am unable to find the system that allows you to input x/y. I will keep working with it. I know it is there - i have a very talented autocad guy here at work but he is a poor teacher.
Lot of good YouTube videos out there for this, but itās essentially a little further along within the training.
As you go through your sketches to āmock upā a fictitious size part on the Design side of Fusion, you then go into your Manufacture side of Fusion and select your WCS layout (usually based off something youāve already drawn up) select your drill operations and you can select what offset you want G54/G55.
Have you downloaded the MR1 post processor already?
For two holes, and the valve body locked in a fixed jig, Simple sketch in F360, rectangle, designate a corner as 0,0. Draw your circles where the holes need to be by giving dimensions from the dedicated corner in X and Y, extrude and then CAM the drill function.
No need to re-create the valve body if you can accurately measure from (for arguments sake) the left front corner. a.aa inches to the right, b.bb inches up.
Same with the slots.
the more crap you need to do, the more complex the drawing.
Test run on a scrap before you push the go button for real.
Fusion is complicated, but you donāt need to use the complex functions. You can create simple sketches with points and lines, and then use drill and trace operations. Fusion can also be very simple, if thatās how you use it. But itās a very fast way to create, and then edit, your needed machining operations.
