Pine is such a beautiful wood, easy to work, finishes nicely, and makes great furniture. I make a lot of stuff out of pine, possibly because I can just cut it down off my property for free
Well I know this doesn’t necessarily predict the future, but just analyzing this gcode file, here’s every unique set of commands issued (after I ran the regex I posted):
G0
G0 X
G0 X Y
G0 X Y Z
G0 Y
G1 X
G1 X F
G1 X Y
G1 X Y F
G1 Y
G1 Y F
G1 Z
G1 Z F
G21
G90
M02
M03 S
M05
S10000
I previously missed the S10000 on line 24, that needs to be changed to a M03 S command, and M02 at the very end isn’t valid in Marlin flavor as well.
After further digging - Carbide Create outputs for GRBL firmware. GRBL allows you to set values directly, like we see with the S10000 command.
I found this project:
Allows for post processing Fusion360 into a variety of firmwares. There might be something out there that would directly convert from GRBL to Marlin…haven’t found anything yet.
FWIW, I managed to get CC to communicate directly with my SM1 and I did not have to adjust any of the GCode that was generated. I have searched my computer and cannot find the original code file that I used to create the carving of the letter ‘g’ in a cube. In any event, today I ensured my purchased of two items for CNC and a JTech laser device.
The laser I chose was the 4.2 Watt option. Luckily we have a dealer in the UK.
The CNC side of things will now be taken care of by a Carbide Shapeoko 3 with a 16 x 16 inch work area.
No spindle available in the UK (we do not use 110v mains electricity) so I have purchased a trim router that can take a shank size of 8mm for the endmill bits. It comes with a 1/4 inch and a 3/8 inch collet.
Checking out mill bits that have a bigger diameter 3.175mm was a real pleasure because it opens up a whole raft of milling options. for example…
This should have been a purchase of a Snapmaker 2 but the team are fully aware of why I can no longer support this manufacturer. I may hold onto SM1 for my relatives and may keep in touch because the group here in the forums is very friendly and much of the posted material is really informative.
It reminds me to ask has anybody here heard from @doug? I know that Doug was in hospital last Monday and he was expecting to be discharged on the Wednesday last week. I have sent him a PM… which was not answered and that does not seem to fit with his open and cheerful personality. I do hope that he is managing ok. If any news of Doug should surface, please would some kind soul let me know by private message, thank you.
Thanks Brent. I will possibly stay and try to contribute something to the laser and CNC folks. I guess I found out real early that 3D printing was not where it lived for me.
So, I did regex and replaced all the X,Y,Z’s with G1X,Y,Z’s and that seemed to work. And when I ran g-code through my SN2 (after watching it run the path +30 Z), I got this which isn’t great but that’s my fault for playing around with different tool paths. Now to go back fine-tune things and I still have 6 more test boards to play with
The tiny bit of CNC i did was exported from Freecad with the Linuxcnc gcode generator. Did t get to more until now. Maybe getting the 4th axis will open new options for model making.
Man, what a loss. I’m sorry to hear you’re leaving, @jepho. I’ve already benefited from your posts, would love to have worked alongside you once I got things running smoothly. Would love to hear what caused you to sour on SM (PM if you prefer). If it’s simply no interest in 3D printing, I’d get that, but it sounds like there’s more to it.
Thanks for your nice comments Aaron. I have done my best to make Snapmaker work for me because I am really new to this world. I have an analytical approach to all that I do (I am a recently retired healthcare professional) and I had a previous experience before my 50 years in healthcare, as a toolroom engineer. The issue for me can no longer be put down to being completely new to the world of 3D making.
I had a lot of difficulties trying to make Luban do what it should be doing and each time I thought I was being dumb. I would ask reasonable questions many of which would not be answered and sometimes I would be pointed to Fusion 360. As I looked at the forum questions for both SM1 & SM2, I began to notice consistent trends in the questions. I have no doubt that the hardware is well built. Some of the work decisions imposed upon the users are a little odd but I accept that team Snapmaker have a vision and we users all fit into that long term view.
Having been around the block once or twice (I am 72 years of age) I find the lack of interest in the problems expressed by users to be puzzling. The sales team have been permitted to override the needs of the development team. The situation is that the hardware is not supported by the software and many people are seeking alternative software. I am ok with that but team Snapmaker must stop pretending that Luban is a useable solution to complex engineering problems. It is really poorly written and is only a beta concept software at best. The CNC part (my own interest) is alpha software and tells all users that each time you try to do CNC work.
I feel cheated because I was not told this would be the case. I expected a machine that has been produced for 5 years would have workable software. I have wasted inordinate hours trying to make Luban do simple things. The programmers have hidden some aspects really well and the user cannot discover the features unless they ask in the forums. The manuals and instructional videos are worse than useless.
Take bed gouging… no user should experience this when they are following the calibration methods laid down. This is the one time when the machine is being used as the manufacturer has requested. the problem is afflicting SM2 users but I see it was still the case some 3 years ago for SM1 users. Really? What has caused the team Snapmaker people to think it is ok? Either they are not bothered because the unhappy customers are no more than say… 5% or they have no ability to fix it.
My view is the latter. The Luban software program appears to have been written in great haste. Many of the impositions on the user stem from programming techniques that do not make it into commercially viable software. Coming from a healthcare environment, I can tell you that all software has to do what is required of it and if it doesn’t it is not used. I have written quite a few times on this subject, including in the lounge here which is locked to most users.
Occasionally someone says thanks for your critique, we are passing it along to the team and nothing happens. I am only one customer and to learn that other unhappy customers feel stuck because they were kickstarter backers, informs me that I am not the only person who wishes I had not wasted so much of my valuable time. I may not live for very long and so I want to pack in as much as I can in the days I have remaining.
The selective blindness of team snapmaker underlines a company with whom I no longer wish to have a business relationship. All of the companies I am dealing with now are easy to deal with and they do not make any excuses for performance failures. The Lightburn software is a great example… a team of two developed it and they have a similar forum set up to this one with over 7,000 users. I got important answers to my questions, from both actual software team writers, inside 24 hours. I see all users get treated like that so it was not exceptional. My laser supplier was quick to answer questions as was my CNC machine supplier. Nothing was hidden and I have obtained all of the instructional materials I needed to see if I could cope with the new machine and its software.
I have provided concrete examples of instruction manuals and video presentations to team snapmaker but they have persisted in doing nothing. I have seen many names that I recognise and if they are complaining that they are only a small workforce, they should employ more people or up their individual workrates. I never wanted or intended to purchase an ornament. The machine is well made but that is it. It cannot be driven unless one is prepared to use Fusion 360 or some other expensive CAD/CAM solution.
So that is it in a nutshell as to why the Snapmaker team have lost my almost £3,000 spend in the last few days. It is nothing personal, it is just they have not delivered what I thought I was buying into when I purchased my SM1. It is an expensive doorstop right now and soon as I have sold it, I will be happy.
@jepho, I understand all to well what you mean. I unfortunately am one of the Kickstart people and am sort of trapped. just making the best of the situation I’m in because I don’t have the money for a shapeko (or really much of anything now). It saddens me greatly to hear of your departure. You have been an amazing member of this community. You have helped so many of us and really made a difference here. I wish you the best of luck, and I hope you pop your head back in here every so often. Thank you Jeff!
I use Fusion 360 sometimes, but there is also an alternative that I have started liking for certain tasks: dmap2gcode (http://scorchworks.com/Dmap2gcode/dmap2gcode.html). It is a python script that converts grayscale images to cnc toolpaths; simple and works very well. On Windows, it is an executable; on MacOS and Linux, you need to run the python script from the shell or create an executable for the shell command. I don’t know what SM does not use this open sources code in Luban. I am attaching of a sample fractal print I did recently using dmap2gcode.
Note: You need to do some post-processing to the resulting file: (1) Replace the header with Luban type of header (defining bounds and spindle speed); (2) Add G1 at the beginning of lines; (3) Change the file extension to .cnc. Maybe I will make a script that does all this in one shot and post it here.
I want to thank you for your very kind comments, Adam. Like many folk here… I have struggled a bit to make SM1 do any useful work just because of the inexplicable disconnect between the hardware and Luban. It is frequently random and often unpredictable. The absence of the team Snapmaker staff over the last few weeks has not gone unnoticed. There may be a great reason for it but I felt bad about committing any more of my time or money into the Snapmaker project. I am no longer employed so I do not have a great deal of cash either. I wanted to put it where it would work hardest for me.
Today I joined the Carbide forum and I was impressed. I had a simple question to ask about the published footprint of the machine I purchased and whether I needed to make any allowances on the table I am building to hold it. I received lengthy, informative and helpful replies from 3 people. It says a lot to me that they were all Carbide staff. Another member provided me with a 307 page PDF file he had put together concerning operating a Shapeoko machine. Not an instruction manual as such but a book breaking down every possible operation of the machine and explaining how it works.
Now I know a great deal more about climb milling, feeds and speeds, CNC workflow, tool deflection, runout, stickout, depth of cut, width of cut, slotting, squaring, tramming, wasteboard surfacing, dust collection, chip load, chip thinning, chip evacuation, clamps, threaded tables, T tracks, workholding, toolpaths, GCode, peck drilling, lead in, lead out and much much more. I have just about reached halfway through this fantastic free e-book.
I was made to feel really welcome on Carbide’s forum. (More importantly, it was 3 members of Carbide staff who extended their hand to me) It has impressed me greatly. No drama, no struggling, appropriately answered question and I felt as if I had come home.
There is no lack of friendliness on this forum. It is the lack of commitment to change the bad for the better that is so frustrating here. It makes me conclude that the staff on the team here know nothing about the users nor do they care. They have focussed on sales, which is to be expected when a company is young but this shortsighted view of their business has caused me to vote with my wallet and my feet.
My experiences with Carbide, Lightburn, JTech and RoboSavvy have made me feel as if I am exiting a tunnel. Professional, helpful and friendly. I could not ask for anything else when we are all living in times we thought we would never imagine and see. If businesses are to survive the global economic downturn, then they absolutely must find different ways of engaging with their customers and user bases. Selling boxes of stuff and not supporting it is not the best way to keep one’s customers.
Maybe I was wrong to expect that small expenditure with the Snapmaker company was important to them… it certainly was to me. I wanted to be seen as more than a data point on a sales chart. Whatever motivation is driving the Snapmaker company, it is not something I wish to be a part of. i cannot stand seeing another excuse in print yet all across the forums, people are experiencing the same issues. The management need to wake up and actually do some work to correct the legacy of the really dreadful software that is Luban.
So, in the final analysis, it is nothing personal against Snapmaker. I feel that they could learn many lessons from other companies who are in the same business. I just do not feel like wasting anymore time and money on a project that is not progressing and appears to me to be sinking before my very eyes.
I know that I have become increasingly frustrated of late and now, I believe that I waited far too long to make this move. In my mind I kept saying, surely they understand all of the complaints I made and my gentle critiques. Sadly, I now see that it meant nothing to the Snapmaker team because some corporate decisions will not or cannot change. To my mind, if it walks like a duck… if it is the colour of a duck… and if it quacks… it is a duck!
I may drop in from time to time and possibly pass on some newly acquired CNC information. I have had to buy some router cutters and even there, the company I used only make router cutters as their main business. They are the people to go to when trying to learn about cutters. After an interesting conversation with one of their router engineers, I ended up spending a fair bit on a beginner set of 30 different cutters. Here is a great one for surfacing… not especially cheap but look at the corner chamfers that prevent the cutter from leaving score marks on the work from the sharp edge of the blades. What a great innovation that is.
I have just had another lengthy correspondence on the Carbide site. Another member of the site has suggested that I look at the option of making a Torsion Table to house my machine. Now I have a lot more reading to do. Anyway, It has always been good talking to you Adam. I hope that the Snapmaker team understand that their inaction and lack of commitment to their own product is what has driven me away. Take care of yourself in these curiously troubled times.
Jeff, just keep your @ notificatuons on so when I need you for some difficult cnc work (which I know is in my future), I will know i have a brilliant, knowledgeable, and most of all understanding person to help me through those complexities. I know SM has let you down, I’m my opinion they have let us all down. That is why I’m sad to see someone with your dependability an knowledge leave.
Ok, will do so Adam. I will provide my personal email address for you by PM. (done) Yes, you are always welcome to chat. I don’t know your part of the USA at all. I have been to SF and I spent a bit of time working in GA, NC and AL. I think my all time favourite place to visit was Savannah GA.
I’m from Michigan, but GA is beautifully certainly my favorite of the mid southern US. And I have been to almost all 50 states (I belive i’m at 43) and have been to several other countries as well, including Hong Kong and Japan. So maybe we will run into each other sometime
I have been lucky enough to live and work in about 30 countries. The virus meant I was not permitted to work again because of the risks that my employer was unwilling to take. I no longer have the freedom that comes with a disposable income. Once things have stabilised, I may earn some income from simple woodwork making. then you may be unlucky and we may meet.
Mu understanding is that MI can get rather cold at this time of the year and winter time. Take it easy.
