NeilP
Plastic
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2012
- Location
- Jersey , Channel Islands
Hello everyone.
groping in the dark here a bit, and hoping some of you good people may either be able to help, or at least point me in the correct direction. I am looking for info on the machine pictured, its software and file types the software accepts. Sorry do not have name of machine to hand, Possible CamTech...though that could be software name.
Sorry, I waffle on a bit here, but little blurb here first in way of "setting the scene"
i will put my actual questions/requests at the end in a numbered list.
Recently helped a very non-tech savvy friend to order and fit a new laser to the cutting / engraving table as pictured below. Original laser no longer available so a bit of a hack to get it firing with the new laser PSU and variable power control etc.
It is now working fine, and he is up and running with his business again., using the software on the "built in" Win XP computer.
But he uses it in the way your Grandmother might use a Video Cassette Recorder " A set of basic instructions, "do this do that, and it will work". He is not massively computer savvy,
As an example, I sent him a dxf file the other day for laser cutting some thin ply as prototype cuts for some Custom motorcycle parts that will eventually be cut in 5mm. 318 stainless plate at local water jet cutter.
I sent the file to two different water jet cutting companies to get idea of cost and , they both said, " Yes, file type is good, get back to us when you have final design complete"
Yet my mate with the laser table, that specified dxf files, said the files I sent him were duff..they were wrong, did not load....I knew he was wrong, as the two other companies could see and load my files correctly. I went to see him. It turned out his computer did not like the non standard file names and characters in them. His machine would only accept the old DOS standard 8.3 format file names. As soon as I renamed the file , it worked fine. That conversation totally lost him. So that gives you an idea of his level at computing.
It it has taken me maybe a month of pestering him to actually pry the info out of him, that it was a dxf file that I had to send him to load in to his machine. He kept telling me he needed bmp or jpg images. Someone else told me PDF.
So with my dxf file not working (due long name ) I went to see what more info I could get. He is rather like the "Grandmother with the VCR " I mentioned earlier..."Don't change anything as he will be totally lost"
Seems what he does is load the dxf file on to the WinXP machine on the laser table with a USB stick, Open it in Corel Draw, take the dimensions off that, Export the file as a .plt file from CorelDraw, then open the plt file in the CamTech software, manually setting dimensions and Home axis settings in Cam Tech from the dimensions he has read manually from CorelDraw. CamTech software then creates an .ncc file to do the cut,
all seems bloody connvluted to me. And I am sure he is over complicated how he is doing it.
I have reasonable idea of other hobby open source 3-d printer software, Cura, Slic3r, Repetier etc have been tinkering with home 3-d printers like Creality , MakerBot Prussia and various clones
So, now to my questions.
1), Does any one recognise the machine in the pictures
2), Cam Tech Software, any one come across it ? Helpful links appreciated
3) Ultimate goal..Fit new PC to it and upgrade software and add router/mill head. Wiring is already there's on the table for the extra axis.
Any one up for the challenge of that lot ?
Laser table — Postimage.org
groping in the dark here a bit, and hoping some of you good people may either be able to help, or at least point me in the correct direction. I am looking for info on the machine pictured, its software and file types the software accepts. Sorry do not have name of machine to hand, Possible CamTech...though that could be software name.
Sorry, I waffle on a bit here, but little blurb here first in way of "setting the scene"
i will put my actual questions/requests at the end in a numbered list.
Recently helped a very non-tech savvy friend to order and fit a new laser to the cutting / engraving table as pictured below. Original laser no longer available so a bit of a hack to get it firing with the new laser PSU and variable power control etc.
It is now working fine, and he is up and running with his business again., using the software on the "built in" Win XP computer.
But he uses it in the way your Grandmother might use a Video Cassette Recorder " A set of basic instructions, "do this do that, and it will work". He is not massively computer savvy,
As an example, I sent him a dxf file the other day for laser cutting some thin ply as prototype cuts for some Custom motorcycle parts that will eventually be cut in 5mm. 318 stainless plate at local water jet cutter.
I sent the file to two different water jet cutting companies to get idea of cost and , they both said, " Yes, file type is good, get back to us when you have final design complete"
Yet my mate with the laser table, that specified dxf files, said the files I sent him were duff..they were wrong, did not load....I knew he was wrong, as the two other companies could see and load my files correctly. I went to see him. It turned out his computer did not like the non standard file names and characters in them. His machine would only accept the old DOS standard 8.3 format file names. As soon as I renamed the file , it worked fine. That conversation totally lost him. So that gives you an idea of his level at computing.
It it has taken me maybe a month of pestering him to actually pry the info out of him, that it was a dxf file that I had to send him to load in to his machine. He kept telling me he needed bmp or jpg images. Someone else told me PDF.
So with my dxf file not working (due long name ) I went to see what more info I could get. He is rather like the "Grandmother with the VCR " I mentioned earlier..."Don't change anything as he will be totally lost"
Seems what he does is load the dxf file on to the WinXP machine on the laser table with a USB stick, Open it in Corel Draw, take the dimensions off that, Export the file as a .plt file from CorelDraw, then open the plt file in the CamTech software, manually setting dimensions and Home axis settings in Cam Tech from the dimensions he has read manually from CorelDraw. CamTech software then creates an .ncc file to do the cut,
all seems bloody connvluted to me. And I am sure he is over complicated how he is doing it.
I have reasonable idea of other hobby open source 3-d printer software, Cura, Slic3r, Repetier etc have been tinkering with home 3-d printers like Creality , MakerBot Prussia and various clones
So, now to my questions.
1), Does any one recognise the machine in the pictures
2), Cam Tech Software, any one come across it ? Helpful links appreciated
3) Ultimate goal..Fit new PC to it and upgrade software and add router/mill head. Wiring is already there's on the table for the extra axis.
Any one up for the challenge of that lot ?
Laser table — Postimage.org
I referred to the Hobby stuff, to indicate my low level basic knowledge of this stuff, . G-code etc I gave up on the Turdomatic and other shit Prussia clone machines last year. 
