Taking the PLUNGE

[shanep]

Recent Global events have provided the impetus to convert my kneee mill to cnc after many mnay of procratination.

i have struggled for a long time to filter through the minefield of decisions to make the conversion happen.

I hope that MASSO and this forum will guide me through the minefield.

Thanks for the opportunity

 

[breezy]

@shanep

Shane,

Welcome to the world of MASSO.

There have been many posts on this forum about machine conversions. If / when you get stuck we are here to help you.

Regards,

Arie.

 

[evermech]

@shanep

Welcome aboard, sounds like a perfect project to stick a Masso on. I have a cnc knee mill ( not a Masso control on it ) and you can do a lot of work with it. Good luck

Guy

 

[shanep]

Thank you.

i must admit that i m struggling to find information at my beginner level.

i understand the basics (basically), but i am fearful of making a mistake in terms of compatability of software and hardware. I cannot afford to make a mistake.

i have so many questions and have searched forums and youtube for assistance, but there does seem to be a support solution or video that suits my current understanding or lack thereof

im certain that i am not the only one in this position.

 

[evermech]

No you are not. I'm not sure who said this but there was a Masso user that basically said you just have to take the project on one step at a time so that your not overwhelmed with the build. What kind of knee mill do you have? Are you going to install ball screws on X and y axis?

Guy

 

[shanep]

I upgraded to a hafco hare forbes BM63.

The specs say that it already has ball screws on x and y.

my biggest concern is software compatability.

i have been using turbocad for drafting and engineering design for 25 plus years.

i need to know what file type formats the masso will import from turbocad

thanks

 

[breezy]

Shane,

i need to know what file type formats the masso will import from turbocad

Don't know anything about Turbocad, but does it output Gcode, if so then you are limited to the G & M commands that are listed in the MASSO documentation.

Supported G-codes​

If you know how to edit post processor code, you can adjust the output of your CAM software.

Regards,

Arie.

 

[supman]

"i need to know what file type formats the masso will import from turbocad"

if you have available to save as NC file extention. there should be no problem. I did read this at turbocad.com website. So if you don't have it already you be able to at least.

CAM Plug-in for TurboCAD Pro 2017​

The CAM Plug-in for TurboCAD Pro is the machinist s choice for 2.5D CAD. This powerful plug-in generates native G-code for your machining equipment with no post-processor. The CAM plug-in includes a built-in communication module which allows you to set-up your CNC controller!

ALSO Peters video Jump to Line - Masso Edition 01 at 1:57 shows the file type "NC" being loaded

 

[cncnutz]

Don't confuse the file extension with the contents of the file.

NC was chosen because the autoload feature uses NC files but no matter whether you use TXT, NC, TAP or any of the other file extensions that Masso reads the actual contents of the Gcode file is identical.

Not sure how TurboCAD can produce a Gcode file without a post processor as every machine uses it's own flavor of Gcode and Arie said you can only uses the G & M codes that Masso understands. They must also be in the right format.

@shanep if you want a CAD / CAM package that works with Masso you could consider Fusion 360. It's free for hobby users and of you want to ease into it you can draw in TurboCAD and import into Fusion for the CAM portion. As you use it I'm sure you would soon start to use the CAD

Cheers Peter

 

[shanep]

There is a CAM plugin option available for turbocad. It has built in wizards and will produce the G coding for use in Masso or Mach.

but has anybody tested the G Code format fron turbocad CAM for compatability with MASSO..?

 

[breezy]

Shane,

I found a Mach3 post processor for TurboCAD CAM plugin, had a quick look at it and it shouldn't be to hard too modify it to produce correctly formatted Gcode for MASSO.

But reading TurboCAD's website, it seems that the post processor can be "adjusted" from within the plugin.

Regards,

Arie.

 

[shanep]

ok.

so worth taking a step forward with turbocad/turbocad CAM/MASSO

now the motors

thanks