SheetCAM is designed so lead-ins and lead-outs are defined with a click of a button. one for computer one for CandCNC controller.talk to electrician about isolating circuits. Practical ound everything with the overkill mode even make it e uninterruptible power supplies on all electronics.
The plasma table was 8'x10' used a CandCNC controller, wiring and steppers, and a Hyperthern plasma torch, run by MACH3, so all the electronics were hardwired together.touch height, xoyo, plus the cutting speed, height and all the other parameters that are needed for efficient plasma cutting. My perspective on this is from having owned a CNC plasma cutter as well as a 3-axis router, and having used CAMBAM, and SheetCAM. It is inexpensive as well, plus there are several add-ons that will helps speed production. Instead of trying to make CAMBAM function with a CNC plasma cutter, I strongly suggest that you use SheetCAM as it was designed from the ground up to be used with a plasma cutter. This "solution" may get me in trouble but here goes. It also show the behavior when optimization = none and changing the start point of the polyline itself (in this case the new start point of a polyline is always on a polyline point of course) The toolpath filter is used to show the order used to cut the shapes This other video show the behavior with 2 shapes in a MOP with optimization = 0.98 and optimization to none. the start point for each shape is the first point of the polyline The first machined object is the first in the ID list of the MOP If the optimization property is set to none, the rules change and start point is ignored. So, I think that for plasma cutting, the best way is to use one MOP per shape so you can set the start point for each shape as you want. Note that if more than one shape is used in a MOP, only the start point for the first shape can be set the start point (and the cut order) for other shapes is the closest position from the end of the toolpath of the previous one. This video show start point on a polyline (closed) and on a circle.
If you do not have SketchUp Pro, you will need to install a plugin to allow you to export in dxf format.For me, changing the start point works well, and it's not needed to insert extra point in a polyline.
From here, you can modify the original model (which will update changes in the components laid out onto the virtual stock material) in order to occupy the remaining space on the stock material.Īt the end of the CAD process, we export a dxf file that we will import into CamBam. With your model mocked up in 3D, you can create copies of all the components and lay them out flat onto a rectangle the size of the stock material you will be cutting from. This can be useful when designing for lossless manufacturing (manufacturing with near-zero waste product). It will allow you to painlessly select, move, and modify the parts independently from the rest of the model.Ĭomponents in SketchUp are also useful because when you create a copy of a particular component and make a change to one, those changes are automatically updated in all of the clones of that component.
Doing so will make your life much easier in the CAD process. Notice that as we are modelling the separate pieces, they are made into components. We will be using 4ft x 8ft sheets of 3/4 inch birch plywood for the main structure material, joined with machine screws and cross dowel nuts. This cart will allow us to store materials and easily move the machine from place to place. In this example, we will be fabricating a cart for our blackTooth laser cutter ( ). So, keep in mind that this tutorial is one of many different ways of going from CAD to final product. You may be using a different CAD program, CAM program, CNC control program, CNC machine, material sizes and fastening methods, and you will likely be fabricating a wide variety of products in the end. Keep in mind during this tutorial that the particular hardware/software tools, materials and application of these instructions will vary from person-to-person, region-to-region, and project-to-project. The tools we will be using are SketchUp for CAD, CamBam for CAM, Mach3 for gcode reading/CNC control, and a CNC router (greenBull from ) for part fabrication.
This video series shows how to get from CAD, to CAM, to a CNC fabricated product.