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Post by jamesterm on Oct 23, 2018 8:56:46 GMT
I am a SEC in the US Army and have been on active duty for a little over 16 years now. Welcome to the forum and CNC world. Thank you for your service. Welcome, wow 16 years! Nice to meet a fellow veteran.
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Catamarack
New Member
Posts: 27
Machine: Power Route
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Post by Catamarack on Oct 25, 2018 21:37:49 GMT
So, I just purchased a Power Route yesterday and now awaiting delivery. Nice to join the ranks here as it appears to be an active community vs some of the other CNC forums I’ve checked out over the past few months.
A bit about myself. I’ve been working in the video game industry for the past 8 and a half years. I’ve recently left that industry and looking to put my skills to CNC and general woodworking. I’ve done a lot over the years but no CNC work. The past 6 months or so I’ve been researching what kind of machine I want vs price, etc, as well as learning multiple software packages. I’m looking forward to building this machine and have been reading over the various issues others have had etc.
Edit: removed a question so I can post it as it’s own thread.
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Post by Derek the Admin on Oct 28, 2018 19:41:05 GMT
Welcome aboard and thanks for the business.
I think working in the video game industry is probably every kid's dream. How did you get into it and what made you want to leave?
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Catamarack
New Member
Posts: 27
Machine: Power Route
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Post by Catamarack on Oct 28, 2018 19:54:28 GMT
I got into it simply by applying to companies I was familiar with in positions I knew I could do. It’s a lot of fun, but I’m leaving the industry because it’s a quite volatile and unstable as a whole, and rife with nepotism. I can take my knowledge and experience to something more stable and keep the fun.
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Post by ttabbal on Oct 31, 2018 23:56:49 GMT
I guess I should post here. I'm ordering a power route, the 2.8W laser, and a few extra bits. I'm really looking forward to the build and learning CNC. I'm a programmer working mostly in businesses software and recently started teaching myself manual metal machining with an import lathe and a Bridgeport mill. I also have been learning 3D CAD for 3D printing and to make plans for the manual machines. The plan is to do some wood work with the power route and once I dial it in, some aluminum. It should be a lot of fun. Is there something like thingiverse.com for CNC stuff?
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Post by Derek the Admin on Nov 2, 2018 3:14:19 GMT
Check out grabcad. That’s probably the closest parallel to thingiverse that I know of for freebies. It is not specific to CNC files, but they seem to have more than thingiverse last I checked.
There are a number of sites that sell files though. eBay of all places has inexpensive 3D files that are sometimes pretty good. There are also some subscription sites out there that offer access to hundreds of files in exchange for a monthly or annual fee.
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Post by ttabbal on Nov 2, 2018 4:05:59 GMT
Thanks, I'll check those out! I would like to do mostly my own designs, but it's always nice to have options.
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Post by engrteach on Nov 5, 2018 23:25:34 GMT
I teach high school - engineering and physics. Woodworking has always been a hobby, but the last few years seems like I don't find the time to get much done. I am thinking of buying a Carve King (even though I have almost no experience with CNC) - I plan to run in it my classroom, with the hope to introduce the students to that process.
Hopefully this will inspire me to do more personal projects - maybe even buy one of my own.
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Post by kevin on Nov 7, 2018 1:42:39 GMT
I teach high school - engineering and physics. Woodworking has always been a hobby, but the last few years seems like I don't find the time to get much done. I am thinking of buying a Carve King (even though I have almost no experience with CNC) - I plan to run in it my classroom, with the hope to introduce the students to that process. Hopefully this will inspire me to do more personal projects - maybe even buy one of my own. Welcome to the forum. It's great that so many schools are incorporating CNC technology into the curriculum these days. I think you and your students will all love the Carve King.
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jms
Full Member
Posts: 168
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Post by jms on Nov 7, 2018 22:54:52 GMT
Hi, I am interested in buying the Power Route, but I know nothing about CNC or all the software to run it. I am a home builder of 35 yrs and my body can't do it anymore. Looking to make money in shop where the work is lighter. I have a 13" LeBlond lathe and Mill Rite milling machine and a wood shop. Made many parts for motorcycles, telescopes and ccd imagers, and some race car parts. Also make vanities, cabinets,.. custom wood working. My question is as a complete novice to CNC and these CAD and CAM programs, is it hard to learn? My only experience with CAD is doing blueprints with Turbocad. I am afraid to purchase the machine if I can't use it to its fullest.
Thanks, Joe
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Post by Big Man Black T-Shirt(Patrick) on Nov 7, 2018 23:09:11 GMT
Hi, I am interested in buying the Power Route, but I know nothing about CNC or all the software to run it. I am a home builder of 35 yrs and my body can't do it anymore. Looking to make money in shop where the work is lighter. I have a 13" LeBlond lathe and Mill Rite milling machine and a wood shop. Made many parts for motorcycles, telescopes and ccd imagers, and some race car parts. Also make vanities, cabinets,.. custom wood working. My question is as a complete novice to CNC and these CAD and CAM programs, is it hard to learn? My only experience with CAD is doing blueprints with Turbocad. I am afraid to purchase the machine if I can't use it to its fullest. Thanks, Joe Joe, Welcome to the forum, you'll like it here, we try to be a helpful bunch and Derek (one of Millright's owners) is very active on here. Given your experience level I'd think you could pick up CAD and CAM fairly easily. I came here with zero milling, lathe, etc. experience and I picked it up within a couple of months. I suggest you download and start playing around with Fusion 360, it's powerful and it's free for startups, hobbyists, and schools. It's not the only CAD/CAM software, there's also Vectric and others but F360 being free is hard to ignore. When you have F360 installed and you're using it, search through these forums, there are many F360 questions and answers here, and don't be afraid to ask if you don't see your question addressed already. This guy has a great series of videos for F360 beginners Learn Fusion 360 (or die trying) link
Good luck!
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rowiac
Full Member
Posts: 230
Location: California
Machine: M3
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Post by rowiac on Nov 11, 2018 17:41:39 GMT
I recently acquired a partially assembled M3, and I'm working on getting it finished. I have a lot of experience with designing in 3D and 3D printing, but no experience with CNC machining/routing except for letting others make parts for me. So the M3 looks like a good option for me to try my hand at CNC for myself without it costing an arm and a leg. If I hadn't acquired the M3, I would probably have gone with a CarveKing because of the larger work area, but the M3 is bigger in person that I expected, so I should be able to do a lot with it once I get it figured out.
Regards, Roger
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Post by kevin on Nov 12, 2018 0:26:49 GMT
I recently acquired a partially assembled M3, and I'm working on getting it finished. I have a lot of experience with designing in 3D and 3D printing, but no experience with CNC machining/routing except for letting others make parts for me. So the M3 looks like a good option for me to try my hand at CNC for myself without it costing an arm and a leg. If I hadn't acquired the M3, I would probably have gone with a CarveKing because of the larger work area, but the M3 is bigger in person that I expected, so I should be able to do a lot with it once I get it figured out. Regards, Roger Hi Roger, welcome to the forum. You'll love the M3, it's a great machine.
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rcferguson
Full Member
Posts: 182
Machine: Carve King
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Post by rcferguson on Nov 15, 2018 18:58:07 GMT
Rob here. I've been 3D printing for a few years now, first with a Solidoodle 4, and more recently with a Form 2 SLA printer. I've got some smaller parts that I'm going to need in quantity, so I'm about to buy a small desktop plastic injection molding machine. I'll attempt to make molds with the Form 2 and hi-temp resin, but I expect the results will not be optimum, so I expect very shortly I'll be ordering a Carve King. I understand others have used it to make aluminum molds, and I imagine I will be able to get help from users here on the best way to do things! Can anybody suggest to me the add-on stuff I'll need for milling aluminum stock? I'm thinking different end mills, drills, etc. Also measuring equipment? I have a pair of digital calipers now, but guess I'll need some sort of indicator for centering/homing the machine at the very least. And for metal working maybe a mister to keep the bits cool? Anyway, hope to become a regular here, and look forward to interacting with this community.
Regards
Rob K2RG
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Post by Bruce on Nov 16, 2018 2:57:08 GMT
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