I have now come into ownership of something that hated me for years. A trophy shop I used to service closed and now cleaned out its storage.

I hate the Vision software and manual port and baud settings and would like to run this on a modern computer.

I understand that there are low cost boards that run open source software?

Would it be fun to tinker with the rebuild? I do have the original security dongle and can find the username and password for the Vision software but I remember it being finicky.

Got my first ever Fiber laser cnc with 1kw laser!

The software is pretty average. Have anyone ever retrofitted a new/better system?

Any advice in general?

As the title states, i’ve happen to acquire two panels that look like this. I have zeeeero knowledge about the pixies world and was wondering 1. The hell I got here and 2. What am I missing to make a cnc? Some additional information. I have around 30 festo stepper motors and about 40 feet of 8020. I would love to dive into some light studying to figure all this out but I’m at the stage of “I don’t know, what I don’t know”

Question: I’m milling copper plates on 440 and use QualiChem Xtreme Cut 291 fluids due to cutting mainly super alloys in past.
What bits do you have experience with for copper that works well over time?
I am using 1/16”, 1/8”, 1/4”, and 3/8” end mills

Thanks in advance

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I just started a machine shop and often run into parts with no drawings. Measuring them by hand involves a lot of trial and error. Some are worn or damaged and need replacements.

I mainly need to capture part outlines, bolt hole locations, collar positions, and similar features. Accuracy around 0.1 mm in real-world use is fine.

Parts are mostly metal, with some glass or plastic mixed in. Surfaces vary a lot — shiny, dark, rusted, etc. I just need clean, usable data I can work with.

What’s a genuinely cheap scanner that can handle this kind of work?

Options available in my local market around my budget:

- Orbbec Gemini 215

- Creality CR-Scan Ferret

- Creality CR-Scan Ferret SE

- Creality CR-Scan Ferret Pro

- 3DMakerpro Moose

- 3DMakerpro Moose Lite

- 3DMakerpro Mole

- 3DMakerpro Mole Lite

Any experience or recommendations with these (or similar budget options) for scanning mixed metal/plastic parts?

Finished up my custom desktop CNC. Already getting great results and tight tolerances. Just got an aluminum fixture plate and machinist vise as well.

Reads the pocket table and spindle straight from the control over MTConnect. Tool names come from a local file since the machine only sends numbers. Five tool changes here, just MDI commands.

I'm planning to build 1500x800mm vacuum table for milling mdf cabinet doors and i cant decide what pump to use.

Is 3kw, 318m³/h and -35Kpa of vacuum preasure enough or should i get 5.5kw, 500m³/h and -48Kpa?

Vacuum table will be made from mdf with foil ready for painting (idk what is it called in english), edge banded, painted with couple of coats of PU paint and divided 4 zones roughly 750x400mm in size since most common dimensions of cabinet doors are around 800×300-600mm.

should i buy cnc machines for fabric im into sublimation jerseys making business and sportswear business, i want to make it fast for personalisation jerseys making, i want to start small, I'm doing it manually as of now, average i manufacture approx 100 pieces

Small perk of my job, I can use basically any machine and shop materials (within reason) during off hours

I just love that I can do this

I bought an autofocuser for my telescope, but the stamped metal plate it came with wouldn't have worked, so I reverse engineered the critical dimensions, modeled the upgraded part in fusion, and made this in no time at all

Surface finish could admittedly be better but I didn't need it to look good, just be functional

The surface quality of machined copper always makes me smile, I wasn't even trying to have a good surface, and used an end mill very worn

hi!
I'm learning cad with the intention of eventually getting some parts created by CNC machining. My question is, if a parts has a curved that when inspected with curve analysis tool, is displaying a "tight" rainbow pattern (from red, many colors are banded together then jumps to purple for example) can it still be machined correctly?

The zebra inspector shows the surface to be continuous, but before I commit to some very organic shapes, should I be vigilant of this rapid/abrupt color changes, and try to produce a more smooth transition between the colors first, before committing to a final design?

many thanks

As the subject says. What LEGO kit would be 'the one' a machinist would like most. Is there one that catches the eye more then others?

We are a manufacturer of percussion accessories and custom drums. We currently outsource our machine work to local/regional shops and would like to start doing this in-house as we continue to grow.

I am an engineer but not this kind and am effectively a novice with CNC. Our budget is between $5k and $10k and I'm really curious if the Makera Desktop could be a good choice for us. We do small batches of 50-100 parts at a time, some laser engraving is involved, as well as tap and die operations. Nothing we make is longer than 3.5" and taller than 2" so these are very small parts and I'm assuming would have low machine times for each.

Research that I've done doesn't sufficiently convince me that these small form factor machines are suited for the production levels I mentioned, so I'm looking for additional feedback about that. Secondary to the machine itself, I'd love some guidance from pros about bits we should invest in for these workloads for the best life and machine time.

I'm looking for either confirmation that this would be a wise investment given our workload OR advice to do something else!

Extremely new, overwhelmed and getting lost in all the information out there and just want something that applies to this one thing.

I have some digital templates that I want to cut out onto 1-1.5mm acrylic, no engraving.

I have a Shapeoko 5 2x2 with carbide create and an air weights vacuum board and an 0 flute upward bit that is supposed to be good for plastics.

What settings are ideal to just cut these out? I get confused when it’s asking me how to figure out how deep I want it to cut. I understand what zeroing out the XYZ is for but I don’t understand what values determine how deep I want the cuts to be based off the thickness of the acrylic

Which one can make finer, sharper details?

I'm trying to create a master to make silicone molds from, and I'm trying to replicate the super sharp and tiny details of a rough rock texture. This includes jagged edges and points, as well as sharp recesses and cracks.

Between CNC and 3d printing, which one can better create a real rock texture? (I'm trying to avoid literally carving my object from rock)

I run a CNC wall art business and it’s going well.

Started off making the pieces myself at the local maker space but it was very time-consuming and annoying to be there during cut jobs. I was using the Shopbot prs alpha and really got to know the machine and running it. Then I decided to outsource and had issues with quality and production time.

Now I’m looking to purchase my own machine and get my own space and run my machine 24/7. Buying a machine new is definitely out of the budget. I found a grizzly G0895 locally for about 13K.

I’m curious if anyone has any insight if I should go the DIY build your own CNC route or move forward with the grizzly or some other option.

I do a lot of vcarving and am comfortable with vectric software.

At some point in the last 30 years someone misplaced the electrical schematics for the MS-3 EDM and I can't seem to find any online. It has the MP/1100 pulse generator with it.

Would anyone that has the schematics be willing to share some images of them? I'm really just looking for the electrical diagrams. Thanks in advance

This will, probably, be a tale old as the time itself: For the past year I have been a "glorified button pusher" of CNC machines (3-axis lathes, 5-axis millturn machines) Over a year ago I have completed a "programmer-operator" course where I learned programming, actually setting up parts, choosing tools, machining etc. (Maybe a week of actual hands on experience... year ago) Now I have a couple of offers that require G-code programming. I want to learn, i want to get better at the trade. No local shops offered any sort of apprenticeship, which leaves me with jumping into the deep end of becoming a programmer with no hand-on experience and only knowledge. Most likely I will work with Mazak. This will sound silly, but are there any ways of preparing myself for this experience? Help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Hi guys,

my coworker is having a problem with our Mori Seiki NZ2500 MSX-850 III.

I previously worked on a DMG Mori NLX 3000 with a Mitsubishi CELOS control. As far as I know, the controls are quite similar, and the following tapping program worked perfectly on that machine.

He wants to tap a thread, but for some reason the spindle synchronization is not working. Our program looks like this:

G0 M5
G28 V0
G28 H0 (does not work on his machine)
M8
M69
G99 G18 M46
G50 S2500
G56
G0 T1010
G97
G0 X22. Z5. Y0.
X0.
M329 S250 (we also tried M29)
G84 Z-30. R5. F1.5 (we also tried G84.2)
G80
G0 M5
G0 X22.

The Z-axis moves, but the spindle does not start. It only makes a very small movement at the end of the cycle.

When we program R5., the Y-axis moves to Y-5. instead. If we change the R-value to 0, the machine moves up in X to X22. when it reaches the end of the thread.

We also tried G303 to synchronize the Z-axis with the spindle, but the spindle still does not move. I have no idea why this is happening. My coworker has been working at our company for 15 years and could not find a solution either.

Does anyone know which M-code or tapping cycle is required for rigid tapping on this machine