Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Posts: 305
Location: Dandenong North Victoria
Cnc Routing
I was thinking of getting some motor mounts made but thing is, i dont want to pay $40 an hour to get it designed, converted and made so the guy said heel do it for free (on some conditions) if i can give him the file ready to be inserted into the cnc. Is there any easy way to convert a solidworks part into something i can put through a CNC? _________________ Viggy!
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Sat May 28, 2011 8:39 pm
Glen Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 9481
Location: Where you least expect
what format does his cnc cam software accept is the first thing you need to know
I imagine youd have to export it from solidworks as a DXF file, theres a metric ton of tutorials out there on it. I believe i did one on this forum somewhere too (maybe in the CAD thread). _________________ www.demon50s.com - Minimoto parts
http://www.youtube.com/user/HyzerGlen - Videoooozzz
Sat May 28, 2011 8:40 pm
Vignesh
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Posts: 305
Location: Dandenong North Victoria
Im going to have to ask him that but i know that he uses Mastercam _________________ Viggy!
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Sat May 28, 2011 8:46 pm
dyrodium Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 24 Aug 2004
Posts: 6476
Location: Sydney
Basically you have to feed your solidworks model through the cam software with the correct settings and then they put that through mach3 or emc2 which reads the Gcode and makes the part. Mastercam will do what you want but it might be a bit too complicated to understand... freemill is very basic and a free download, but might be good enough for a simple 2.5D part like a motor mount. _________________ ( •_•)
Hmmm do you know exactly what tools the machine has? What holders they are in? Where the machine origin is and what the co-ordinate frame is?
You really need to know the machine you are working on. _________________ Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com
Sat May 28, 2011 10:55 pm
Don Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Posts: 355
Location: Gladstone, Queesland
those parts dont have to be cnc'd they can be done on manually,and also it would really help if you know what machine hes using,because even if you covert it to g-code,there is still a bit of work needed to get it to run on some machines.
Sat May 28, 2011 10:59 pm
Vignesh
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Posts: 305
Location: Dandenong North Victoria
Unfortunately i have 0 idea on what the machine is. i was also thinking about doin it manually but i dont know how to _________________ Viggy!
1st Robot in progress!
Yeh well to be honest without knowing how it works manually I really don't think you can expect to write code for it to do it automatically. Might be a little too ambitious though saving money is always a priority.
Well what is the minimum radius in the drawing? Then say you need at least that radius end mill. Then write some Gcode for it. Take the guys the soldiworks/ other generic format file. And the G-code and see what they say. Odds are it will need to be modified and you may need to pay someone for their time but I dunno if you can expect to write G-code straight up with no knowledge of the machine or how it works or milling and get it to just work. I know mine didn't I milled the wrong side of the edge XD. _________________ Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com
Sat May 28, 2011 11:21 pm
Vignesh
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Posts: 305
Location: Dandenong North Victoria
O by manually i meant like use hand tools for it and well freemill actuallu created the gcode for me after i put the dia of the drill bit to 2 mm and tool step to 0.01. _________________ Viggy!
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I am pretty sure by manually don mean just move the machine manually not actually do it with hand tools. _________________ Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com
Sat May 28, 2011 11:36 pm
Don Experienced Roboteer
Joined: 21 Feb 2010
Posts: 355
Location: Gladstone, Queesland
if ur using a cnc what do u need the drill bit for? and yeh im pretty sure i just did the slot with a 14mm endmill when i did mine n milf and just steped it over .25mm eather side so it would fit
I just do mine all with a jigsaw. I mark it out cut the whole thing in half. Then cut out slots for motor and bolt the two halves together to clamp the motor in place. Easy. No mill needed. Die grinder as mentioned in other thread may not be best idea. _________________ Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com
Sun May 29, 2011 12:07 am
Vignesh
Joined: 17 Jan 2011
Posts: 305
Location: Dandenong North Victoria
I wouldve thought that you get more precision by using a dremel to carve out the shape on both sides. And with your method, dont you get bolts going across each other? Two going horizontally while the two other mounting holes go up _________________ Viggy!
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Sun May 29, 2011 8:54 am
Knightrous Site Admin
Joined: 15 Jun 2004
Posts: 8511
Location: NSW
I made drill mounts like this
I marked out the rectangle, drilled 4 holes, then used a jigsaw to cut between them. Afterwards I used a flat file to tidy it all up and make it a new press fit onto the drill gearbox. I also did similar on the rear mount, but used an adjustable hole saw to cut it close the the size of the drill motor. Can make a few sets in an hour once you get the hang of it. _________________ https://www.halfdonethings.com/
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