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| Gears generated in CamBam |
Thursday, November 8, 2012
CamBam post processor working!
Just a quick post to say I got a basic laser post processor working for CamBam. The picture below is of some gears I cut by using a gear maker in CamBam. With the post processor working there was NO manual editing of Gcode. I made the gears, created the Gcode, and cut in Mach3.
I need to figure out how to export the post processor and I'll post a link to download. For those without CamBam, I need to either make a wizard for Mach3 or write a simple stand-alone post processor.
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Very cool. What can you cut with this laser? How thick?
ReplyDeleteExcellent job converting to Mach3.
Thanks, personally the thickest material i have cut is ~.2". It should be possible to cut up to .25" on a 40W cutter. You can cut woods, plastics, fabric, paper. Not metals on a 40 W machine.
Deletehey, very cool stuff. great job on the PCBs also.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to hear more about the laser cutter itself-
how's the repeatability, the accuracy, does it jam or go crazy sometimes? is a .2" cut in acrylic as accurate as you'd hope?
I myself have a "cheapo" ~$400 CNC and I've found it's not nearly comparable to higher priced machines.
how do you like these $700 laser cutters compared to $5,000 "hobbyist home machines"?
what are the downsides that come with the cheap price?
Thanks for the comments, .2" is not the measure in accuracy, .2" thick acrylic sheet is the thickest material I have cut. The machine can cut up to .25" thick acrylic. The machine is VERY accurate. When I make a cut the cut width(kerf) is .004"! I haven't measured pieces I cut vs the dimension in the drawings (so I can't give an exact number) but they have seemed accurate. I can get this number for you tonight. No jamming and it only went crazy with the Chinese controller board. Once I changed to mine it has been very reliable.
DeleteI would say the only downsides compared to expensive machines is the software/controller board it comes with and maybe the lack of more advanced features. (movable Z axis, no EStop, some don't come with air assist, cut area) for me these weren't and haven't been much of an issue.
I've found that the Chinese can make the mechanical side of these CNCs (lasers, mills, etc) very well. The problems usually arise when they write drivers, or software, or firmware. Sometimes their electronics are questionable too.