Mach3 CNC Mill Tutorial:

The CNC Mill machine is capable of cutting almost any material including wood, wax, metal, foam, and plastic. With this machine, you are able to take a CAD design that you or someone else made in Pro Desktop and cut out the product. In order to cut out your design you must convert your CAD file into G-Code which will allow the CNC milling program to read the design.

This following link will guide you through the process of converting your Pro Desktop CAD file into the code that you need to cut out your design:

http://dhscad.pbwiki.com/MillWizardTutorial

The G-code will be saved as a file. Once you have saved the code that you have just made, open up the program Mach3. This program uses the code to cut out your part and controls the process. Make sure that the CNC machine is turned on. DO NOT turn on the DRILL part of the machine yet. The switch to turn on the machine is located on the back of a black box next to the computer.

Once the program is running, hit the red flashing RESET button on the bottom left part of the screen.

The machine is now ready to load your part code. At this point you can manually jog the machine both ways in the X, Y, and Z axis. The LEFT and RIGHT arrow buttons on your keyboard control the X axis. The UP and DOWN arrow buttons on the keyboard control the Y axis. The Z axis is the verticle axis and is controlled by the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN buttons on the keyboard. Try moving each axis around to get a feel for the machine.

Once you have got the hang of it, go to FILE and click on LOAD G-CODE.

A box will open up and ask you to select a file. The code is saved as a (.tap) file. Select your file and click open.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO RUN THE PART put a piece of foam in the clamp on the cutting bed of the machine. It is best to cut out your part on foam first because it is cheap and it allows you to inspect the final product for any mistakes so that you dont waste a piece of wood, metal, wax block, etc.

Once the foam block is clamped down, you must ZERO EACH AND EVERY AXIS. Jog the drill bit to the center of the foam block so that the tip of the bit is pretty much touching the surface. Once you have done this, click the ZERO X, ZERO Y, and ZERO Z buttons on the top center part of the screen. This is the point where the machine will start its cut. If you dont think you will have enough room for your part from this point, move the bit to where you think you will have enough room and zero all of the axis's there.

The machine is ready to cut. Before you do however, it is always good to jog the Z axis up just a tiny bit away from the surface of ur material so that when you turn on the drill nothing goes flying. DO NOT ZERO THIS POINT.

TURN ON THE DRILL. There is a switch located ON THE MACHINE that will turn it on.

PUT ON EAR AND EYE PROTECTION.

Hit the CYLCE START button on the left side of the screen.

Watch the machine carefully while it is cutting out your part to make sure it is not cutting anything other than your foam block.

When the machine is finished cutting, turn off the drill. Jog the machine vertically away from the surface and unclamp your product.