Sheet cam firecontrol problems

There are a few more things to decide like dealing with the support items, torch power requirements, and compressor system to think about as well. However James is on point with his right up. Do your research everyone.

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OK Bravo the man said and he could not have said it better. If you think something looks easy because you watched somebody doing it then just go to a Holiday inn express and you too can do that without LEARNING ! Please for goodness sake just look around hear and you can learn things even if you have never used a cnc system before. Thank you James at least he knows what it is all about.
Doug L

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What really surprises me is the number of people who post on here that they are not good with computers. Do they not realize they bought a tool that you can only operate with a computer?

Basic troubleshooting skills are required. Even minimal research into plasma cutting and Cnc operation will reveal its a complicated process. I too was intimidated by the initial workflow, but after time and trial and error I had it worked out before my machine got here.

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Good point and, in that regard, it’s actually amazing how many people are able to use it successfully. A good testament to the work that went into making it useful for the ‘common person’.

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I agree there too. The understanding of the workflow is intimidating at first, but once you get it, it’s smooth sailing.

I had zero CNC experiance when I started less than a year ago…
I did have some basic …decent PC skills…
did a lot of reading and videos…

Inskscape and Autocad for design…Sheetcam for post process…Fire Control to cut…Web to sell…make money…have fun

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I have been using computers for a number of things in the past bunch of years. But i started back in 1991 and thats when you had to learn how to even start the darn things with floppy disk’s. That being said i haave tried my best to keep up on things and have discovered that by just touching on something to see what it does can be very insightful. These days I have been operating and programming CNC press brakes and laser machine’s. They all do tyhe same thing and that is exactly what you tell them to do. So go ahead and play with the programs ,you can’t hurt them but you can learn what they do. Happy Hunting guys and girls

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Wow! I have been working with CNC controlled machines since I was about 25 and I am now 69 years experienced. I have had to learn the in’s and out’s of about 8 different controllers. I read about all the problems people are having. Just think, when I started programming, the CNC was a tape reader. James has the good point. Research before you buy. Don’t get your panties in a bunch; just ask for help first! That is what I have done! I have been helped a couple of times, and I take a little pride in that. If I don’t know how to do something I have learned to ASK. I didn’t have access to a CAM feature when I started. I had to use a calculator or a pencil and the Machinery Hand Book to figure lead in’s and out’s for curves and adjacent lines. Following curves. The first controller didn’t have offsets so you figured that out yourself. So the way I see it is that I am lucky to have all the stuff that some take for granted. There are some Pretty Smart fella’s here!! And do not forget Langmuir! OH YEA! I haven’t worked on a CNC controlled Machine that at one time or another it didn’t have some kind of hiccup or 2…

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That’s what I used to tell students I was teaching to use a Shopbot CNC. They’d not set the origin correctly or they’d screw up the offsets or direction in VCarve and the mill would go slamming into an end stop. They’d be sure they broke it. I had to point out they weren’t the first or the last to do that and asked them to try and bend the frame of the Shopbot. It was qtr inch steel and wasn’t going anywhere.

That’s when they started really pushing themselves and doing all sorts of creative things. Just needed to get over their fear of breaking it.

LOL! While we’re reminiscing about the way it was in the ‘early’ days, I was reminded about sharing an aisle where early work in manufacturing robotics was taking place. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a rogue robot arm slamming into the wall next door! Now that was thrilling! Plasma misfirings? Pshaw! That ain’t nothin!

I think that still happens occasionally in Amazon warehouses now. I’ve seen reports about how they have to segregate certain robots from workers so the workers don’t get hurt from the random robot running amok.

what are you talking about…computer programming is perfect and there is no such thing as random code…or robots running amok…
image

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Thank you Vonzep for speaking your mind, and not just worshipping the arrogant jamesdhatch like most of the others .
Actually the rant I emailed to them was aimed at poking them to see what kind of person he is, as well as what kind of company that are. Poke a bear and they will show you the monster inside, poke a mutt and they walk away and ignore you, poke a GOOD leader and they will ask questions and unpack what the problems you are having and try to help. And you Vonzep are a leader.

Guys look at Vonzep’s first line, agreement to the problem, asks for more information, offers help , empathizes with my problem , agreement, more information, adds line of direction for the problem , and even thanks (for the detailed info) jamedhatch in the solution to the problem and again offers to help. That is a leader.

jamesdhatch on the other hand uses a different strategy.
Name calling: whiner
Rebuttal ; this is not our problem
Degrading : you should have been smarter and had a better skill level before you tried to do something difficult. Shame on you for paying better attention in the videos, you’re dumb.
Degrading : your dumb for dropping 3-4k on a machine you don’t understand.
Impatient and hurtful : At any rate, done with my rant (admits he is ranting at a customer)
Denegrating : Because there is a global disease I should be more thankful that I have the ability to buy the machine and be more thankful and less demanding.

There’s your answer folks jamesdhatch is that kind of leader and company rep. Goodness I would fire him if he worked for me.

Anyway it worked ! We got the workflow and decision tree problem solved. Maybe jamesdhatch can remove some of the rudeness, sarcastic, holier than thou sentences and post this on their website so other people don’t have to go through the same frustrations and I did .

I did actually lean my rant at Langmuir at getting a response, (after poking them) partially because I would have to wait long periods of time to get a response and I wanted them to improve thier response time.

What I love about my crossfire pro

  1. Very accurate and consistent.
  2. Very good instructions on how to assemble. It was very easy to assemble
  3. Parts were all included in the kit except
    A. the bolts to mount the motors , there were only 2 or 3 left. So I went to hardware bought some no biggie , I probably used the wrong bolts in an earlier step
    B. The bolts for the lead screw nuts were not long enough. So I went out and bought some again no biggie . I probably used the wrong bolts in an earlier step
  4. Very sturdy construction.
  5. Could be a production machine.
  6. Very good price.
  7. Fireshare is cool
  8. Forum is very nice.

Cons

  1. Delivery was almost 3 weeks late,
  2. Back order time is almost 10 weeks. I don’t understand this at all.
  3. Long wait times to get replies for problem through email. This is not a big deal for me , as this is is a prototyping machine for me, I can’t imagine having to wait that long if I was a production company . Although this forum is a pretty good resource, I think the company that makes the machine should have less than 1 hour responses to all emails.
  4. A very rude and arrogant tech (?) jamesdhatch.
  5. The x tubing brackets (?) should be ¼-½ inch above the cutting slats so you can put a big sheet through the side and be able to cut the ends off larger sheets. This could be accomplished by me cutting out taller gussets and raising the y tubing …maybe later.

Big shout out to Langmuir Systems for designing an entry level cnc machine. I really appreciate it.
P.S. I will be removing my rant as I have accomplished what I set out to achieve.

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Thank you for the kind words and your take on the situation.

There are people here who individually or together as a group will have the answer to just about every question.

Sometimes it’s hard to remember the frustrations of a person new to any task or job when you have years or decades of experience.

I gave up on nano Cad and freecad and buckled the fusion 360 overlord and bought a year subscription… I’m a little disappointed in myself but I had to get projects completed and needed a way of getting them drafted.

And got my first referral paid jobs knocked out! It was nice to have a couple builders hit me up for timber brackets because they heard the machine shop now had a plasma cutter (my first jobs were existing customers and neighbors in the middle of the night emergency repair stuff for the farmers who needed some parts cut to keep harvesting)

Thanks to all who helped!

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glad you are up and running.
I really do not think people ever forget the frustrations when fist starting out,…that is why we all try to help.
I remember my first contract like it was a couple of months ago…wait it was a couple of months ago…feels good to be able to help and provide a service and get paid for it.

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I’m glad you’ve let us know who you really are…
Now, where is that Mute button…

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Ok maybe worshipping was the wrong word, maybe adoring would be more appropriate. I didn’t intend to insult…
Why do people up vote and “like” disparaging remarks? I don’t understand that

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First - ALL HAIL @jamesdhatch

With that out of the way…

It seems self awareness is in short supply.

Please re-read your original post. Your rant made it clear you didn’t understand basic CNC workflow, let alone specifics to the Crossfire Pro. On top of that you demonstrated a lack of understanding of basic computer knowledge. I’m not saying that to be mean, that is fact. You turned that around and blamed Langmuir for your lack of knowledge.

Now image if you instead had worded your post something like:

Hi guys, I’ve got my Pro setup but I’m struggling with the software end. I’ve watched the Langmuir videos but I’m still confused what to do. I’m not sure what I do after I’ve designed the part in Fusion. Do I need Sheetcam? Actually this has me really confused, because I’ve tried to use it but each time I get to the step to install the post processor I can’t find the file. Actually I don’t even understand why I need this file?

You probably would have got the same response from James minus the sarcasm. BTW James doesn’t work for Langmuir. He’s just some random guy on the internet who spent a bunch of time trying to help you. You can recognize Langmuir employees on the forum as they will have “Langmuir” as part of their username.

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You, sir, are dead to me. @jamesdhatch is an incredibly generous and thoughtful forum member that has helped countless folks out on here including me. I came into plasma cutting and CNC with zero experience about a year ago. His especially, and many others on here have helped me immensely get going with my table. He doesn’t work for Langmuir (as far as I know) and also doesn’t have to help folks out on here, yet he does. Despite your comments - I hope he continues to help the community and he deserves thanks, not the crap you posted.

would know not to infer tone from forum posts (or emails) and would know what to do next…

Yea read my post from today again . I said i ranted to poke the beast. To see what came out.
I’m not savvy with how all this works. I am a beginner.
That he isn’t with Langmuir is not believable. Usually this type of response is a company rep that creates a fake account so they can rant back. Maybe he is maybe not …

There is an ancient story that goes like this. If a person was carrying a cup of coffee and would get jostled, and coffee spilled out the reason coffee spilled out is BECAUSE THE CUP HAD COFFEE IN IT. What is inside of you spills out when you are jostled.

Of course I should have been more civil, I tried that and it didnt work.