CNC machines

[BIG_T]

RD, what type of machine do you use to make your products. I assume you have a couple, and they are CNC, right?
I'm guessing you have a CNC lathe and a CNC 3-axis mill. What brands/models do you have? I have extensive experience on the Haas TM-1, as well as a couple other Haas machines, though I have limited experience with a number of other makes.
What CAM and CAD programs do you use, or do you program G-code manually?

[Rubberdown]

We use Mastercam for programming our machining centers. We have 3 CNVC Fortune lathes, and 2 Fadel 4 axis mills here where I work, and to be honest, i can not program any of them LOL. I program 5 axis CNC tool and cutter grinders, but I design and draw all the prints for my parts then I let one of the experts run the programs. i also make a lot of the smaller components on manual mills and lathes and all my prototype work is done hands on by me on manual machines.

I used to make everything on manual mills and lathes...EVERYTHING, but when I got more exposure and more busy, I couldnt keep up so I now have to pay to have parts made, but they are all inspected by yours truely and given my stamp of approval before I take them home.

[Dirtbmw20]

Man...... I need some MAJOR help on this. OR at least I think it is pertaining to this. I have our Team XXL logo that I want cut out in real thin metal, something like 1/16" and NO thicker than 1/8" but it needs to be 12" long X 8 1/2" high. I emailed the pic to a place that does cnc work and they said they needed it to be in a DXF, DWG, or IGES file and not the jpeg I emailed them, so NOW it's gonna cost about $140.00 bucks JUST to have the file converted over, not counting what it will take to have it cut out. Can one of you guys help me out and tell me what it will take to have this logo cut out in the dimensions I listed above.
http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h260/Dirtbmw20/TEAMXXLLOGO.jpg

[CinciMudLuvr]

Dirt,

I have AutoCAD Lt, but it won't let me scan images in and convert to DXF or DWG. It would have to rendered in AutoCAD initially (unless I am totally missing something).

You should look into embroidering (sp?) shops in your area, the ones that have the machines do it or "automated". They might be able to scan the image in and give you either one of the file types you need. This might help save some money to spend on the machining.

[Dirtbmw20]

Digger, I'm real confused with all this mainly because I have absolutely no experience with cnc machines or what it takes to run them. From what I understand from the guy I'm dealing with, AutoCad won't convert the file over. I don't know what the hell converts it over, other than a computer junkie, I just know he said it had to be converted over in order for AutoCad to read it so I'm pretty sure it's a special program that has to convert it over, especially since it is so exspensive to convert them over too.

What I would like to know from Paul, BigT, You, or ANYBODY that runs a cnc machine, is WHAT it will take to have that logo cut out in 1/16" thick steel 12" long X 8 1/2" high.

[CinciMudLuvr]

Here you go....teamxxlLogo.dxf in the TEAMXXLLOGO.zip file.

[Dirtbmw20]

Here you go....teamxxlLogo.dxf in the TEAMXXLLOGO.zip file.


It won't let me open that, it says I don't have the right program to open it. I had Jon (Polaris425) from the HL forum convert it into a DXF file but the guys at the cnc place said he was WAY off and it didn't work. They have been extremely nice and helpful but he said he could tell my buddy (Jon) wasn't use to converting files over,lol. I am dealing with a place called ASSOCIATED METAL PRODUCTS, a guy by the name of Peter that works there. He sent me to www.formatconversion.com, and they wanted $140.00 JUST to convert the file over for me. I am at my wits end with this project right now, I'm having to go through WAY too many people to get what I want and it just makes it more confusing for me since I don't have any clue about it anyways. I'm at a point now that I want someone that does cnc machining to carry this from start to finish because I am so confused about WHAT is needed now. I've got a guy locally here that is gonna try and cut it out using a water jet machine but I don't think he's gonna be able to scan the pic.

[CinciMudLuvr]

Dirt~

The DXF is in a zip file. If you have Windows XP, XP will unzip it for you. Save the file to your desktop, right-click it and tell it to unzip to current location. If you dont have XP, go to Winzip.com and download their freeware version of WinZip, that will allow you to Unzip it. Also WinRAR will do it too. Both are compression software so that the file being sent is not as big. Usually it is a 2:1 or 3:1 compression ratio.

Now you will not be able to open the DXF file without an associated viewer.
Click HERE (http://www.solidworks.com/pages/products/DWGgateway/eDrawings-Free3Dand2DCADViewerandPublisher.html) to download the viewer.


I'm sure the $140 convert is a "slower" conversion process than what I did for you. The "slower" conversions will pull all metadata from the original JPEG and try to include it in the DXF (CAD) image. With both they will still have to tweak it to get it to work for sometype of CNC process.

There's always the quick way and the expensive way to do things, doesn't mean the expensive way is alway the best.

Send me the actual Logo in an email please...I will figure out how to convert it for free! (It's a challenge now!)

[Dirtbmw20]

I've got Windows XP but it still won't open it. The computer says it has to search the internet for the correct program to open it, heck, maybe I'm trying to open the DXF file, I dunno. This is what is getting SO aggrevating and frustrating about the whole thing, I'm in STOOOOPID mode now, I don't have a fricking clue as to any of this, I'm so lost. Shoot me your email address and I'll email the photo to you.

[Rubberdown]

Lee, you would need a cad progrma to view it yourself, something that can see it and convert it back into something you can see. i tried to open it but I can not see anything at all. I'll try again later, I am running late right now, sorry.

[Dirtbmw20]

Paul........Take that logo to work with you and cut it out for me !!!!!! This is getting to be more of a pain than it's worth.

[Riven]

What CAM and CAD programs do you use, or do you program G-code manually?

I hate G-code:yuck::boxing:
Thank god our cnc plasma & laser cutters are only 2 axis & dont reguire any code mods on the spot.

What program do you use to convert .gif files to cad files? I can export as .bmp but cant go the other way.

[BIG_T]

Here's a rundown of file types:
IGES is a generic 3D model file. This will have an actual model in it.
DXF is a generic 2D file.
DWG is an AutoCAD 2D file.
All three of these files are vector images, which means the file actually has the information in the form of a circle of this size goes, here, a line goes here, etc. The advantage of this is that it doesn't matter how much you zoom in or out, it doesn't get blurry or pixelated. The down side is that the files get huge when you get complicated curves.
JPG, GIF, BMP files basically just say what color each dot should be. Imagine a big board like at a baseball game, with all the different colored lights. The information is in the file to say what color each of the bulbs should be. The upside is the files can be small, the downside is they get blurry when you zoom in, just like you're zooming in on a single bulb.
CNC machines have to have things in the form of a vector, because that's how they are programmed. The G-code says to the machine "start at this point, go to this point in a straight line" or curve or whatever.
Other forms of vector art which can be easily converted to a dxf are files from adobe illustrator and some files from adobe photoshop.
What forms do you have that logo in?