Bot did it

[Tim Lucas]

Getting a feel for using the bot doing something other than cutting out cabinets, made a little something for the duck hunter

[scottp55]

And THAT's how it starts
Next is waking up in the middle of the night with Ideas that won't let go

[dlcw]

And THAT's how it starts
Next is waking up in the middle of the night with Ideas that won't let go

Or waking up thinking

- how can I optimize those toolspaths to take less time
- how am I going to hold this material down
- wouldn't it be cool to have a vacuum hold down system
- maybe it's time to upgrade to an ATC
- maybe I need a second spindle or an air drill; etc, etc.

It just goes on and on, kinda like an addiction.....

[Mark Farris]

Glad to see your up and running. I don't know anything about the e-cabinets link but I am still willing to help out if you need anything.

Mark

[Tim Lucas]

Or waking up thinking

- how can I optimize those toolspaths to take less time
- how am I going to hold this material down
- wouldn't it be cool to have a vacuum hold down system
- maybe it's time to upgrade to an ATC
- maybe I need a second spindle or an air drill; etc, etc.

It just goes on and on, kinda like an addiction.....

- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes
- yes

[Tim Lucas]

Glad to see your up and running. I don't know anything about the e-cabinets link but I am still willing to help out if you need anything.

Mark

Thanks Mark,
eCabinets works really smooth - it even pauses for tool change - something I would like to figure out in Vcarve.

Tim

[dlcw]

Shopbot Link works pretty well. Thermwood is working on fixing the known problems and putting out a new release.

You just have to get used to the little things that you might think are kinda weird in their operation. Shopbot does things a little differently then the rest of the CNC world. Translating from IPS to IPM for one thing. SBLink uses only IPM. Then there is the sequence of how things are done in SBLink that you will need to learn and not fight (like I did). Accept it and go with the flow.

One thing I would highly recommend is when cutting parts out, cut leaving a skin in the climb direction. Then have SBLink do a final pass in the opposite (conventional) direction. This will leave your parts perfect size. Also, have a VERY reliable Z-Zero location to the table surface as this is the way SBLink works (much more accurate). This will make or break the joinery you decide to use to build your cabinet boxes.

There are several Shopbotters here who run SBLink. Just ask.

I would recommend contacting Gary Campbell about his SBLink training DVD's he put together. He was the master at SBLink. He has since gone on to other life adventures.

[barrowj]

Tim,

I Vcarve, what I do is separate toolpaths for different bits but save all the toolpaths to one file. Vcarve will notice the different tool bits and stop and let you change the bit and re-zero. It will even let you use the keyboard to move the tool to an easier location to change the bit.

Hope that helps.

Joe

[Tim Lucas]

Tim,

I Vcarve, what I do is separate toolpaths for different bits but save all the toolpaths to one file. Vcarve will notice the different tool bits and stop and let you change the bit and re-zero. It will even let you use the keyboard to move the tool to an easier location to change the bit.

Hope that helps.

Joe

Joe,
When I have different bits in vcarve it tells me it cannot save the tool path

I think I read in another post that they are using PP for manual tool changer but I don't see that listed

Thanks
Tim

[Tim Lucas]

Shopbot Link works pretty well. Thermwood is working on fixing the known problems and putting out a new release.

You just have to get used to the little things that you might think are kinda weird in their operation. Shopbot does things a little differently then the rest of the CNC world. Translating from IPS to IPM for one thing. SBLink uses only IPM. Then there is the sequence of how things are done in SBLink that you will need to learn and not fight (like I did). Accept it and go with the flow.

One thing I would highly recommend is when cutting parts out, cut leaving a skin in the climb direction. Then have SBLink do a final pass in the opposite (conventional) direction. This will leave your parts perfect size. Also, have a VERY reliable Z-Zero location to the table surface as this is the way SBLink works (much more accurate). This will make or break the joinery you decide to use to build your cabinet boxes.

There are several Shopbotters here who run SBLink. Just ask.

I would recommend contacting Gary Campbell about his SBLink training DVD's he put together. He was the master at SBLink. He has since gone on to other life adventures.

Thanks Don I will try that, I have only cut 1 cabinet so far and I did notice the edges were a little fuzzy - I thought it was from cutting in the climb.
I don't have vac hold yet so leaving a skin is a variable thickness deal.

I have been using ecabs for about 6 years now so I understand there setups but I had never used it on a cnc.

Tim