/diy/ - Do It Yourself

[Anonymous No.1296475]

How hard is it to learn manual cnc programming?
How long will it take me to master?

[Anonymous No.1296486]

>>1296475
is there really a market for this?
do people draw shit out on a napkin then ask someone to fucking CNC it for them?
can't afford to pay the software to generate paths lol.?

[Anonymous No.1296489]

>>1296475

Not that hard. I know a decent bit of LinuxCNC's code without having put in any real effort, just by learning what I need as I need it. Ironically, this means I use it less and less, because I've written a bunch of scripts that cover 90% of my manual programming with just sub-program calls.

Couldn't say how long you'd need to "master" it, as that would depend almost entirely on the individual in question. If you've got a mind for the rote memorization of what code does what, it's more an issue of how well you design your code (which itself is greatly dependent on how good a machinist you are).

Disclaimer: I'm just a hobbyist who built a few CNC routers and a half-finished lathe.

[Anonymous No.1296491]

>>1296486

From what I hear, not much anymore. More advanced controllers and CAM software has eliminated most of manual coding. It's still something you should be familiar with though, if only to glance over code or really simple "I need to make some slots in this part" type deals.

[Anonymous No.1296501]

>>1296491
>r really simple
>make change to part that isn't reflected in design files
sounds like a recipe for disaster!
fiddle some things to perfect a prototype, files never get updated because lazyness, next run nothing works and nobody knows why

[Anonymous No.1296507]

>>1296501

I don't mean editing anything. I mean, literally, some guy walks into the shop, says "I need some grooves routed in these 50 parts" and fucks off.

Why bother going over to the computer and hassle with setting up a program, when you can just G0 X0Y0Z1, Z-0.1, G1 F80 X10, Z1, M2?

[Anonymous No.1296514]

>>1296501
fuckin a, that's literally every shop ever
>dgn files aren't named or even timestamped, only sequentially numbered
>all files are dumped to a single-folder network share
>file metadata and version control are in a proprietary database
>with no export function
>written in 1992 by a vendor who has literally died
i can't think of a worse IT job that didn't involve a printer

(during a round of layoffs at that shitshow, an especially salty bastard stole all the copy protection dongles, knocking out the drawing database, most of the cnc machines, and the weighbridge)

[Anonymous No.1297107]

I just took a course at my university that taught the basics of machining. About half the class was dedicated to learning G-codes but if i had a half-decent professor that kept me motivated I would know a large deal about it. Teaching yourself part time on your own should only take a month or two.

I used this website called CNCcookbook that has a lot of good reference materials if you have any questions. I also have a nice powerpoint that you could look over to teach you some of the basics. Just reply back an i could email it to you.

In the real world though... you dont really need to know how to do it manually. All machine shops just use various softwares. I learned it all on MasterCAM. Its not to difficult to learn on that but im not sure if theres any better softwares out there anyhow.

Good luck in your efforts.

[Anonymous No.1297173]

>>1296475
>0/110

Pick something else.

[Anonymous No.1297504]

>>1296491
>>1296486
I wont sit down to model a slot or some simple cut in CAD CAM it, when i can write 10-20 lines of gcode in 3 minutes.

This: >>1296507

[Anonymous No.1298552]

>>1296475
10000 hours

[Anonymous No.1298934]

An hour or two is all it really takes to get work done, however to do it fast you need to practice. It is much like morse code, a cheatsheet is all you need but you can't always rely on it nor can do stuff efficiently and quickly unless you practice