I am very very new, my table is half set up, i got the 30x30 i am not a woodworker, can anyone suggest, something to show me what each bit will do, and what speeds i need to input into the gsender for the router… do you recommend two programs or is there one that would do both the creating and sending to the machine?
Thank you very much
Michelle
Michelle, I was new to CNC 5 months ago and I went to YouTube to watch videos they have a lot of info for the beginner. Here is link to the ones I used.
Hope this helps!
Steve
Awesome thank you so much!!!
Hi Michelle. It is easiest not to use gSender for inputing your speeds directly. CNC machines require the software to complete three tasks.
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This is the design phase of what you want to do. Usually this part uses pieces of software for letting you plan out a sign and specify say… the size of the sign and the position, content and size of the text and drawings. This is the CAD part of Computer Aided Design.
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The next job is to use your design to generate toolpaths. These will tell the next piece of software what tools you are using, where the tools will cut the material and the speeds they will use. This software is known as CAM software. This is the Computer Aided Manufacturing part of the process. This is usually the easiest place to adjust the settings so that gSender will know what information (GCode) to send to the controller of your CNC machine. It is common to have both functions in one piece of software hence it is known as CAD/CAM software
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The third task is that your CAM software will have a place for you to specify what machine you have or what control system it uses (GRBL is common) and it will request you to state whether you want the GCode (generated from your selected toolpaths) in inches or metric measurements. After you have selected these things the GCode is generated by the CAM software by means of a process that is called post processing. (you may hear the term post processor) .
Now you can send your code to your machine via gSender, which is where you load the GCode. The sending process can be halted and additions or subtractions made to the GCode but it is not necessary to do this at an early stage (or any stage if you don’t want to learn GCode instructions). gSender will send the code which makes the router machine move left and right and forward and back (X & Y positions in cartesian coordinates) and up and down (Z positioning in cartesian coordinates).
Hope this helps
@msyniuk - Welcome Michelle. It’s really not terribly difficult but as Steve mentioned there’s a lot to learn before just jumping in. In the interest of your safety please watch as many beginner videos as you can. The two best, IMHO, are the ones Steve alluded to. Of course you can always ask questions here on the forum. There are so many experienced CNC users out here willing to help. These machines, even though hobby level, are extremely powerful and can be dangerous if not used properly. Now that I’ve scared you just be careful and think things through. It can be and is a load of fun. There are numerous people using Carbide Create and Easel. They both may be inclusive pieces of software but not totally sure (meaning they design and send gcode both). I do think more people use a single design program and a separate gcode sender (ie - gSender, UGS, CNCjs). Again, IMHO, gSender is the best. There are many free and paid design programs available. You just have to do some internet research. Have fun and enjoy.