Recomandation of CNC software.

[geggi1]

Hi!
I just bought a cnc mill off ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/272282164599?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
It has not yet arrived, so i have started to look for a software package to use with the mill.
For PCB design I'm uning Eagle.
What software is recomended to use, I'm pretty blank on CNC machining?
Is there any good tutorial for CNCmilling?  The ones i find is not an A-Z tutorial, it is mostly only showing a part of the process.

[DTJ]

Are you planning on isolation routing PCBs or just using it for general milling and routing?

I've a small router and get away with the free version of mach3 which is good for I think 500 lines of g code. It's great for routing plastic enclosures.

[IconicPCB]

There is an ULP for eagle which will generate the necessary G code ( I assume the mill will operate with a G code interpreter controller?).
The discussion group on Yahoo groups is particularly active.

[geggi1]

At first i plan to make PCB by isolation routing.
Further on I plan to do more complicated things like enclosures, small models and that kind of things.
Basically i just need to get started and as my knowlage expand I'll do more advanced stuff.

[DTJ]

Check out sites like cnc zone and have a search around.

There's freeware out there for taking a dxf drawing and converting it to g code. I've found it quicker and simpler to just directly create the g code. You might find you need a slower spindle motor speed for plastic enclosures to preventing melting instead of cutting.

For plastic and the odd bit of light aluminium cutting I use carbide two flute 2mm router bits with a 1/8 or 3mm shank off eBay for about $3 each.

[mikeselectricstuff]

For CAM toolpath generation for general machining, I found Cut2d to be quite good. Might also be worth  looking at Autodesk fusion 360, for which I believe there are some free options avalable, as this combines 3D Modelling and CAM.
For actual machine control I'd highly recommend a standalone controller - the 500 line limit on free Mach3 is too limiting.


I have just ordered the other one mentioned in this vid to compare, though there isn't much wrong with the ShaoGe unit.

[amitchell]

I did a Bridgeport conversion and used http://linuxcnc.org for the control software,  it's free.

Take a look at https://www.geckodrive.com for simple drivers.

[IconicPCB]

I too run with linuxcnc on a couple of machines.

Since You are going with stepper motor setup see if you can find an older AMD based motherboard with parallel port.

LinuxCNC comes with a utility to test latency performance of the board. Latency is time delay the computer exhibits in responding to interrupts.

If latency is not quite acceptable see if you can find a PCI graphics card which might improve the latency performance.

You will need a break out board and some drivers for the stepper motors.
Geckos have been mentioned... cant go wrong with them.

Good luck and feel free to ask as you inevitably hit the wall.

[amitchell]

I too run with linuxcnc on a couple of machines.

Since You are going with stepper motor setup see if you can find an older AMD based motherboard with parallel port.

LinuxCNC comes with a utility to test latency performance of the board. Latency is time delay the computer exhibits in responding to interrupts.

If latency is not quite acceptable see if you can find a PCI graphics card which might improve the latency performance.

You will need a break out board and some drivers for the stepper motors.
Geckos have been mentioned... cant go wrong with them.

Good luck and feel free to ask as you inevitably hit the wall.

I would use a Mesa 5i25 card if the budget allows it.

[IconicPCB]

I use mesa 5i20 cards to drive servo system.

However the OP has a steppermotor setup where the parallel printer port is adequate.