--- In mach1mach2cnc@..., "dk32544" <scoutxx@c...> wrote:
If you have a part, say a bracket, but don't have a drawing what's
a
good what to get it into mach1? I'm just talking about 1
dimensional
parts for the plasma cnc I'm building. I've seen different types of
scanners mentioned. I think they were optical or laser. Is there
some
reasonably priced hardware that will work? Maybe something I can
attach to the gantry? The gantry moves back and forth and the
scanner
traces it and feeds it into the computer. Obviously, I'm pretty
clueless
about this I hope you guys understand what I'm trying to do.
Your best bet is take the original part and measure it and draw it on
a simple CAD or illustration program. The issue is not ususally
duplicating a flat part although you have to cut it flat. Another
issue is how you lay it out on your material to cut it. You seldom
have something where just one fits on standard stock or even if you
do you won't have the right sized stock in house. (#26 in the LAw of
OBJECTS) Probing is best used for complex 3D objects that are more
difficult to measure and draw. If you are concerned about precision
and accuracy then plasma is the wrong tool to use. You could
probably lay the original piece down on a piece of paper and trace
the outline with a pen. Scan the tracing and do an auto trace using
one of the cheap or free packages available. You can get a cut path
pretty fast. Plasma is like carving wood with a chain saw, it cuts
fast but fine detail is a little hard to produce. I cut a series of
brackets for a guy. He brought me a sample and I measured it, drew
it in QuickCAD (10 minutes), imported it into the CAM and spent more
time figuring out how to get 48 pieces on each 2 X 2 sheet than it
did to draw it. Actual cutting time was less than a hour for 4
sheets.
If you can use something like CorelDraw (Vector drawing and
illustration package) simple shapes using squares, arcs, circles and
lines are quick and easy. Export in DXF or HPGL and import into
MACH2 and select the right import options, and you have a cut file
that will run your machine. Anything you can cut on a plasma table
you can draw in Corel in less time than it would take to setup and
probe it.
Just 2 cents from a guy that spends his time snorting black smoke and
metallic dust and dodging showers of sparks.
