Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Deskncrt, CncPro,Master5 ,etc

Frank,
I am surprised to hear that yo mention CNCPro can only "crawl" under
continuous contouring mode. I have wanted to, but have not been able to try
it myself as of yet. I have not found anyone mention this as a problem. I
would sure like to know if that is the case, but again I'd be surprised to
hear that.

I myself has stuck with Flashcut. Their contouring has been plenty adequate
for my needs. Those who are not familiar with larger flatbed machines often
do not realize just how important Contouring is, at realistic feed rates. I
guess a Sherline doesn't run 400ipm very often eh? I can reach 600ipm if I
want to run on the edge.

Keep in mind how different gearing and machine resolution can affect travel
rates. If your shooting for .000000001 and 600ipm..... That's probably not
going to be a PC based control !

I have used Ah-ha, Microkinetics, and Indexer LPT prior to doing the Flashcut
thing. Rumor has it, that a new Chip being developed for the FlashCut signal
generator is going to make substantial increases in Steps per second output.
This too should contribute to even better contouring capability. Then of
course will be their 32 bit release. I assume all of your PC based control
desires will be wrapped up in this offering.

Microkinetics control...... Lets talk about that some other day.

I had Ah-ha on a flatbed once. Very stable and dependable control with tons
of options. The machine worked wonderful with typical lines and arcs but not
so well for mixed geometry with short line segments. Then again it was never
designed for a Router. When they did implement contouring, it did not do much
past 30ipm. Your particular settings could vary.

I would say that Indexer really had a pretty good look ahead routine. It did
run my particular motor/drive configuration very smoothly. The downfall has
always been the user interface portion. There are some DOS G-code interfaces
for it that I have not tried, both under $500. I prefer windows and still
have not figured out why no one has written one for this program. Then again,
I also heard that it now has some sort of dongle or software protection which
may interfere with using it's 6 axis capability. It's not that you have six
axis on the machine,...... you use some of the signals from the extra axis
for Jog control and I/O. I was told they themselves were working on a G-Code
interface about a year ago. Progress unknown.........

Can't think of the name right now.... It was and I think still is used by
Multi-Cam. Anyhow, I had worked with that quite a bit. Pretty robust, hpgl or
G-code. it contained a buffer where the files where transferred to the buffer
via serial port, then executed from there. It had some possibilities if
humans were calling out the "terminology" on the keypad instead of some
chinese to english converter book. I was not real impressed I guess.
FlashCut on the PC works much better for usability. Heck my kids can run that
!! $$$

Interestingly, I some years ago I semi-retro'd a Digital Tool router with a
newer, limited buffer version of Indexer. It went thru mixed geometry like
the wind. It was converted to FlashCut after the hpgl interface became too
cumbersome. My understanding is that the newest "front end" for Indexer,
though still hpgl, is much easier to work with. With the lack of G-code
capability however, Full 3d work is out. Unless you use the 3rd party Dos
Front Ends.

Flashcut held its own on that machine when it was converted. It actually does
an excellent job while running 2-1/2d work.

Full 3d can be equally excellent depending on how well you understand the
settings you make in the various ramp, start /stop, and contouring dialog
boxes. Getting that right and saving the "Setup" for future work is
beneficial.

Now I myself have an old Digital Tool machine converted to FlashCut. It works
very well. It has a 24" Z axis so it is great for 3d foam prototype work like
automotive body panels and RC aircraft.

I have been told that Master5 is doing a very nice job in queuing moves for
contouring with a hefty processor. I have yet to try it myself but just may
in the very near future. This winter, my project is a smaller footprint
desktop engraver. Master5 might be the ticket if it gets a new GUI. 4ips is
plenty fast for that.



Chris L



shymu@... wrote:

> Anyone using these and having any luck? I'm looking for software that
> will run in a "true" constant contouring fashion. Tried deskncrt but
> can't tune it. Cncpro will run it but at a crawl or it has a fit. Now
> Master5,.. nice but at 4 in a sec and a different motherboard,..
>
> Tried getting a copy of EMC but it never came, and even if it does
> what about tuning. After all I'm running servo/gecko combo,.. step &
> direction. Why in the world would this software care about following
> error in steppermod. And WHY would this software induce following
> error?? If my drives don't fault I'm happy. All other step and
> direction software seems to work without this following error pain. If
> software can handle a circle it should be able to chain arcs together
> a run them smoothly,...and fast.
>
> My problem is most of my jobs are large and highly contoured. Hard to
> baby sit all day, not to mention a power flicker.
>
> Anyway I'm frustrated. HELP
>
> Frank
> FRP Enterprise
>
>
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