If you share your f3d file then we can see everything that we need to help you. Some of the folks on here can understand nearly anything you might describe and be able to tell you how to correct it. Tin is one of those people.
I know my way around Fusion but I can’t follow your issues with your descriptions. When it comes to most 2D drawings, 90% of us can help you pretty quickly if we can look directly at the file you are working on.
(Trust me, none of us want to steal your design. After you have done this for awhile you will quickly find that most of us can just have a picture of what we want and can turn it into a functional cut design. If there is something private that you don’t want us to seem then mock up another design and create the same issue. Once you figure out what the problem was you can work backwards on your ‘private’ design.)
Ok, I saw that before, directions to load my file. I have been working on this all day and thought I would get through it. Too late tonight for any more of this, I will start over in the morning fresh.
Think I will print your directions tonight so I have them tomorrow. I need two computers, one to work within Fusion and the other to get help on the forum.
Thanks for your help,
Bob
Wow!
I did not know you were such a resource, very informative. It is a two computer operation. one to be logged into my work piece and the other to be on Youtube logged in to your site for the step by step directions.
Very helpful.
Thannk you.
Happy Holidays!
Mike, K1FNX near Boston here
my advice is to throw away Fusion and go with a simple 2D CAD program like Qcad which is what we use… in Qcad you create your drawing as a .dxf file, then you load that file into SheetCAM and create the G code (.TAP) file for Fire Control…it sounds complicated but after a learnig curve it will be straightforward. is a continual leaning process but well worth your time CnC plasma cutting will change your life…
Thanks for the tip.
If someone were to ask my advice prior to buying a CNC Plasma table I would emphasize the learning curve. It is easy to buy, the hard part is learning the the program to use the thing.
I will google Qcad and SheetCam, check for YouTube videos and take a look at how they operate.
Thanks for the tip.
Bob
Whatever you choose to go with, you will learn it and probably be happy. The challenge is to find a program that the work flow works for you and then commit to learning it.
take a look at Arclight Dynamics Sheetcam videos they were good. I believe there are limited free versions of both you can play with before you buy…neither is very expensive in the grand scheme of things…
I have been using Fusion 360 for a couple years for my Hobby Machine Shop, just the CAD portion. I bought the small Crossfire CNC table during the Black Friday special. It was one of those impulse buys, I never really looked into what all it takes to bring the whole thing together. I did buy all the additional accessories to go along with it. The rest of the stuff should be here tomorrow, Monday. My old plasma machine wouldn’t work for CNC, or at least not very easy. So I bought a new one. Then I had to learn CAM or I should say learning CAM. I did purchase a license for Sheetcam, I like it, it a nice program. I have also been learning Inkscape. I don’t even have my table put together and I am planning the mods for it.
Interesting. I also bought mine on an impulse and Black Friday sale, but just the reverse. I had worked on CNC routers for years, various CAD programs, and knew what CAM meant. So, in my case, I didn’t feel daunted by this system, I knew I would figure it out and get some useful metal cutting out of it. Maybe knowing the workflow is the key. You KNOW you need to create a ‘Design’, you KNOW you need to convert that design to GCODE, and then the rest is just tweaking the parameters to meet your needs/requirements. Hmmmm…
Understanding workflow is EVERYTHING! - Uh, you can quote me on that.
I’m feeling pretty confident about the whole process at this point. There are only a couple things I haven’t been able to play with, the actual table and Fire Control. Looking forward to getting it all together.
