I like the idea of a metal CNC in the space for more complex metal parts. I think it would need definitely more detail conversation from the cnc tech / metal tech overlap.
Maybe I’m mistaken but not sure if Vcarve is the right tool in a metal material context. So it would probably be a whole separate induction to the wood working CNC machines we have.
I assume we’re generating Gcode for this, so vcarve would work fine, freecad, fusion360 etc.
Could have the other desktop cnc as a prerequisite.
I’m not sure vcarve is well suited for ferrous metal machining.
I think folks will need a real sense of evaluating how well cuts are going instead of just pluging in existing cutting data. It’s much more “real machining” for lack of a better term.
@davidN - sounds great, we would love to have it on indefinite loan and will find a spot for it if that sounds good!
Thanks for offering!
Cheers,
Andy
Cool, well this sounds positive. I’m on my way back to Scotland and will probably bring the machine back with me.
Im thinking ‘long term’ would mean as long as I’m in London and I’ve been here for 7 years with only vague plans to buy a house which ain’t happening in this economy 
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I ripped out the usb controller it came with and am planning to replace it with a UC300, which also runs off Mach 3. Im with Kyle, VCarve would certainly work, but I think Fusion is more appropriate.
Usage by users who can use the big cnc seems reasonable… I’d really want to feel people knew what they were doing, know a bit about machining and the particular material they want to use.
Alu has always been my jam. I’ve never done steel on it, it’s a whole other level .
There is a bunch of improvements I’d like to do such an enclosure and a fog buster-like coolant system…. Many more.
Would nice to get together with one of the metal or CNC techs next time I’m around to discuss + anyone else who is interested. I’ll be back next weekend.
Sounds awesome, bring it along and I am sure we can make it work! For reference here are the donating / loaning guidelines. It doesn’t specifically mention long term timelines, but in my view we don’t want to invest time / effort into something that will be around less than a year or 2, obviously your circumstances may change, but as long as that is the plan, we should be good.
Don’t worry about the wish list - as you can see, it is a desired item!
Thanks!
Andy
Happy to say two years or more. I brought it back with me! Anyone around to help unload today? And is there some sort of wheeled thing that can be used once it’s out of the car?
Nice! There should be people there!
There is a homemade skateboard type thing in the back of Arch 2 somewhere that can be used to wheel it around, stick it in the new metal area somewhere!
I’ll be around in the afternoon to help if needed
Great, thank you! I’ll update with a more specific time later. Maybe try and aim for about 3.
@davidN any luck setting up this CNC mill? We will have a PC coming out of the Laser area if it is of use for this? Let me know!
Thanks,
Andy
Would love to play with that! I’ve been loosely speaking wanting to buy one to repair some of my antique boxes that have inlayed brass on wood. I’ve been collecting for a numbers of years so have an amount of it 
Cool - Brass and wood you can already do on the desktop CNC machine we already have! This one will allow harder materials like steel…
Very interested in this machine and happy to lend a hand getting it operational if it’s any help.
Still having some trouble with the new controller and the wiring. Got the axes moving with Romans help. I was trying to get the spindle going yesterday with no luck. By default the controller outputs an analogue 0 - 10v signal, but the drive in the machine needs PWM. The controller manual says it’s possible, but it’s very vague about how.
Another pair of eyes would help maybe, especially ones that have used Mach 3 befor.
The Mac that runs windows has Mach 3.
Ok gotcha
Sorry, just getting into the space for the first time in a good while. I went to have a look at the machine but it’s been completely overwhelmed by the clean room pile of miscellaneous none sense. Would probably be easier to get this thing commissioned if it was moved to it’s future home (I’m assuming in the new metals area?). I’m in tomorrow morning and all afternoon so I could help shift it then. Otherwise I could probably do Saturday morning as well.
I had a look at the manual for the control board which reads like a serial killer ransom note, but between that and some forums posts I had some things to try to get the spindle responding. As an alternative, analog to pwm converters are relatively cheap, perhaps we could go that route?
Heya!
Things have moved on in the past month or so!
We now have a Mesa card for this machine which will completely replace the control board - A Mesa 7I96S:
https://store.mesanet.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=374&search=7i96
Best to check with @davidN to see if he has started to integrate it…
Cheers,
Andy
