Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: just got my taig cnc mill need help

John,

Here is a very simple exercise that you can do to see how things work. Take
a piece of flat plate and mount it to the mill table. Use whatever size is
convenient for your machine and the scrap stock you might have. Place a
1/8" ballnose endmill in the mill and roughly center the endmill where you
want the center of your line drawing. Figure out how much room you have on
the part to move in the x-direction and the y-direction.

With a piece of paper and a calculator draw a triangle centered at the
origin. Calculate the location of the vertices of the triangle using simple
trigonometry. Write sown the X and Y coordinates of each point. Hand write
a G-code program to mill the outline of a triangle. Then move to a
rectangle (maybe start here since it is easier to find the points), then a
pentagon, hexagon. You will not need a CAD/CAM program to do this.

Here is an example for an isosceles triangle with vertices 1.000" from the
origin.
Point 1: (1.000, 0.000)
Point 2: (-0.500, 0.866)
Point 3: (-0.500, -0.866)

For the G-code program something like this will work after you set the
origin where you want it and just touch off the plate to get Z=0. This is
written for a depth of cut of 0.020", but you can vary that as needed. you
can also change the feedrate from the very slow 1 IPM to anything you want.

G00 Z0.050
X1.000 Y0.000
G01 Z-0.020 F1.0
X-0.500 Y0.866
X-0.500 Y-0.866
X1.000 Y0.000
Z0.050

And you are done.

Daniel J. Statman, Statman Designs
www.statmandesigns.com
dan.statman@...