Mach 3 & Sheetcam?

[tentonjj]

Are they together when I get my stuff from candcnc? Do i need one do run the other? forgive my dumbness. still trying to learn the new program that i never used yet.

[jeeplogic83]

They are 2 different programs. But they both come with your stuff. Mach 3 is really only a control program however you can load DXF's directly in to it and it will generate its own g-code. Tom should give you the license for mach 3 but you will have to buy the license from sheet cam. I got all my stuff from Tom and everything has been working very well.
Good luck

[tentonjj]

They are 2 different programs. But they both come with your stuff. Mach 3 is really only a control program however you can load DXF's directly in to it and it will generate its own g-code. Tom should give you the license for mach 3 but you will have to buy the license from sheet cam. I got all my stuff from Tom and everything has been working very well.
Good luck

So it wont cut without sheetcam?

[plain ol Bill]

You import .dxf files into Sheetcam, place them on your work sheet which is shown on screen. You can rotate them to help in nesting, copy them, duplicate them all in Sheetcam. You then process the file and Sheetcam ouputs a G code file. You then import the G code file into Mach3 to operate the machine and cut your file. Mach will not generate a G code file itself - it is a controller program to run the G code on your machine.

[tentonjj]

You import .dxf files into Sheetcam, place them on your work sheet which is shown on screen. You can rotate them to help in nesting, copy them, duplicate them all in Sheetcam. You then process the file and Sheetcam ouputs a G code file. You then import the G code file into Mach3 to operate the machine and cut your file. Mach will not generate a G code file itself - it is a controller program to run the G code on your machine.

aahhhh..........so i need to spend more money......wonderful, wouldve been nice if they told me that.

[FiveORacing]

Sheetcam generates the G-code. Mach runs the G-code. That's all you need, other than a Cad Program to modify and create drawings. I use Turbo Cad, it came with my machine, but I hear it's relatively cheap. I been using mine about a month now, and with help from this site, I'm getting better at creating, or at least modifying my own DXF files.
I've found hundreds of free dxf files online, many of them need a little modifying which is a good way to leard CAD, and I also just purchased a boatload of files from Sign Torch.

What I found most helpful is to import a drawing(dxf) into Sheetcam and run "simulation" on the computer screen, to see if it runs properly. After you've cut a few things with your machine, you'll know what Sheetcam files are supposed to look like. If they aren't right I go back to tha CAD drawing and work on it and then try it again. Definately a learning curve for someone that never took CAD classes., Frustrating at times, but possible. I'm still in basic mode but I've cut a few really nice things already.

Since a lot of this real basic stuff is fresh in my mind, feel free to reach out to me if you need help, I can share some of the baby steps with you.

Joe