My father bought one of the original Crossfire machines in late 2018 or early '19. He assembled it and got sidetracked with other projects. He would like to get it up and running.
Does the current software run the older machines or does he need the “legacy downloads” from here? Legacy Downloads | Langmuir Systems
Anyone close to Sacramento/Auburn California that would be willing to walk us through getting this up? Unlimited beer/bbq/cookies whatever you want. I struggle with this tech stuff!
Langmuir has some good videos on setup and running, along with instructions.
Might be a good idea to read the assembly instructions. Help you guys understand it a little better.
Welcome to the forum! The original CrossFire uses a Mach3 controller, so you will need Mach3 to run it and a CrossFire Profile to install into your Mach3 installation. The link you provide in your post is the correct link to the installation Software. Bear in mind, there is a fee to run Mach3. You can run very short programs in Demo mode so you can test your installation, but, to do anything useful, you’ll need to pay for a Mach3 license.
Depending on which CAM software you plan to use (SheetCam or Fusion 360), you will also need a CrossFire Post Processor to convert the design into G-Code.
Welcome to the forum. The advice that Tom and Sticks gave will help you get a better understanding of what you are getting into. As you narrow down your questions and concerns there is lots of help here on the forum but be prepared to supply photos and data so we can better help.
I think the workflow is what initially made me feel overwhelmed but as you learn each piece, it all starts coming together. Then there is the problem solving with the equipment: compressor/air quality, plasma cutter, the table electronics, your computer driving the table.
Langmuir has lots of good information on the support pages but sometimes the videos may have older additions of software. It is still valuable information if you pay attention to the words they call things: those seem to carry over to the newer updates.
Here is how you find it:
Click on the “Main Site” on the entry banner on the main menu of the forum:
And you can easily get to the main menu by clicking on the Langmuir symbol on any forum page:
Once you get to the main site, hover over [Support] and that will bring up this menu. I highlighted the ones that would pertain to you.
Hey Brian,
Welcome to the Forum!
The others in this thread provided some great info: Gen1 CrossFires use Mach3. Mach3 needs to be installed and set up in a very specific way in order to work with the CrossFire machine, as shown in the first video of our Mach3 tutorial series:
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/software/mach3
The Mach3 installer and the necessary supplemental files can be found at the link below:
https://www.langmuirsystems.com/downloads/legacy
The demo version of Mach3 will only be able to cut G-codes that are 500 lines of code or shorter. Licenses for the full version of Mach3 that remove this restriction can be purchased from the developer of Mach3 at the link below:
If you’re interested, you can upgrade to a FireControl-compatible Electronics Enclosure by purchasing a CrossFire Z-Axis + THC Upgrade Kit, which also includes a mechanical Z-axis and all the necessary components for Automatic Torch Height Control - just make sure you select “Gen 1 - Mach 3” under the “CrossFire Generation” dropdown menu, as this option lets us know to include the Gen2 Electronics Enclosure.
