New from Ohio hoping to learn fast

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IronBear
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New from Ohio hoping to learn fast

Post by IronBear »

Hello
I am very new to CNC but just bought a Powermax 45xp for general use and hoping to build out a table for small business/hobby use. I am an Ironworker/welder so i hope to fab a lot of the components for a garage space.
I also have access to an 8x4 arclight 9600 setup at a local "maker" space/ member shop that i am tinkering with to learn and possibly even to make parts for my home table.

I have a thousand questions of course but for now, i seem to have problems getting consistency with the toolpath, specifically THC. I have just chalked it up to the fact that we are still running Mach3. I will try to post a more detailed question soon. I have been trying

What are the favorite products from those running small-time operations? What is your preferred control software?
Where are some good places to start to shop for gantry part/kits, controllers, etc.?
I am hoping to spend around $3K to get up and running. Again, this is assuming i can build as much as possible.
I have noticed that some apps, such as Vcarve have tried to work with the Maker community to make their software more accessible.

Thanks
robertspark
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Re: New from Ohio hoping to learn fast

Post by robertspark »

1) sheetcam
2)...... many options..... save your money on buying a mach3 licence and get updated motion control software and control
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acourtjester
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Re: New from Ohio hoping to learn fast

Post by acourtjester »

Welcome aboard, Many DIY tables and types here, lots of fun projects posted over the years, You can use the search function in the upper right to look around and download what you want. Good to have another table available to you for help learning and to get the big picture of the steps in the process from thought to a finished cutting operation. I have built many table in the past 9 years deep into DIY myself (sold all but the one I am using :Like now).
DIY 4X4 Plasma/Router Table
Hypertherm PM65 Machine Torch
Drag Knife and Scribe
Miller Mig welder
13" metal lathe
Small Mill
Everlast PowerTig 255 EXT
TJS
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Location: Fairfield, CT.
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Re: New from Ohio hoping to learn fast

Post by TJS »

Welcome. There are many builds on here as well. Here is what I learned the most when building my table. DO NOT build a picture frame water table. What I mean by that is most designs have a 3 x 3 angle to make up the frame. Then a sheet is used on the bottom of the frame to make the floor of the water table. Well you know there will be tons of warpage when welding the floor in. If I had to do it all over again. I would have material box brake bent and weld the corners up and be done with it.
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