Axiom style machines

[Greg Parrish]

I think I’ve officially decided to walk away from this topic for a little bit. LOL

the more I read, the more I find that I’m not going to be happy unless I get a certain level machine setup (I know, I know but that’s just how I am though). To get into a machine like I want, it’s going to take more money than I can throw at it this year. So, as much as I’m having trouble walking away from the used Powermatic that I found, my gut tells me to wait until I can get a new Stinger or similar setup (maybe next year).

I had so many new tool acquisitions and changes this year that I need to not only recover from them but also continue learning to use them before I step neck deep into learning CNC. That said, the info shared has been great and will help guide me over the coming months and year while I pin down my approach.

Thank you.

[Gary Campbell]

I cant find the thread, but a wise man (Keith Outten) once said: (paraphrasing here) "Don't buy the machine you can afford, find the one that fits your needs and save til you can afford that one"

If more folks followed that saying, the "buy your second machine first" saying would almost be irrelevant.

[Bruce Page]

Greg, a few years ago I was standing in your shoes, I understand your dilemma. I ultimately went with the Camaster Stinger. Aside from the original “sting”, I have no regrets. The WinCNC controller is great and the machine is rock solid.

Best of luck on whichever way you decide to go.

[Jim Becker]

I cant find the thread, but a wise man (Keith Outten) once said: (paraphrasing here) "Don't buy the machine you can afford, find the one that fits your needs and save til you can afford that one"

If more folks followed that saying, the "buy your second machine first" saying would almost be irrelevant.

Those are wise words, indeed.

[Greg Parrish]

Well, I spoke too soon.

worked out a deal to pick up the like new Powermatic 2x4 unit. It doesn’t come with design software but otherwise has everything needed to get me going off the bat. And, I can start out with the rich auto setup and always upgrade to acorn or similar later if I feel the need. This gets me something to start learning with that brings a heavier duty quality than the diy units and builds on the Axiom units for support if needed.

It may not be quite as nice as the Stinger units but it’s half the price of the similar Stinger 2x4 or Axiom 8. Includes a 3hp water cooled spindle and almost identical specs to the Axiom Pro 8. Just need to work out the logistics to go get it in coming week or two.

Anyone know if Fusion 360 or other free hobbiest software will work on the rich auto units to get me going until I can afford vcarve pro or something?


couple of pics of unit sitting in storage:
CA05E03B-8834-4DD0-A3B9-75C1DD057D11.jpg

AA8419F0-7565-471A-B70B-DCDD3CA9D241.jpeg

[Jim Becker]

Congrats! Welcome to yet another addiction! LOL

In the Fusion 360 help forums, they mention that there may be a Post Processor for Rich Auto, so go there, do the search and check it out and see if that's true.

[Greg Parrish]

Thanks Jim. Of course as soon as I make a deal on the Powermatic someone offers me an 2hp Axiom Pro 6 for similar price too. LOL. But think the 2x4 Powermatic is more bang for buck size wise since it has a 3hp spindle and 4’ capacity.

I did did find a link to this post processor link on PM site but wasn’t sure what it meant.
http://www.powermatic.com/us/en/serv.../software-hub/

looks like Ike I need to make vcarve Pro a priority.........

Congrats! Welcome to yet another addiction! LOL

In the Fusion 360 help forums, they mention that there may be a Post Processor for Rich Auto, so go there, do the search and check it out and see if that's true.

[Jim Becker]

Greg, the link you provided is for the post processor for Vectric software. That's not going to work with Fusion 360, but I suspect you already knew that. If you go to the Autodesk site and do a little searching, you may be able to ascertain if there's a PP there for the Rich Auto control software. What the post processor does is take your drawing information and tool paths and turn them into code that your controller software (in this case, Rich Auto) can understand and feed to the machine. It's kinda critical. In the case of the Vectric software, Vectric requires the machine manufacturer to create and provide the post processor, but Vectric provides a very long list of Post Processors in their software that were in many cases, created by machine manufacturers. Rich Auto A11 is one of them. The version on the PowerMatic site may or may not be the same version or may be customized for their machine setup.

[bobby milam]

Congrats on the machine. I'd be shocked if thre wasn't a Rich Auto PP for you. Between the 2 I think you made the right choice. Rarely, if ever have I heard someone say that they wished that they had chosen a smaller table or a weaker spindle. Also, remember that you can buy a cheaper version of vectric software like desktop and when you want to upgrade to vcarve pro or Aspire they will only be basically charging you the difference between the versions. It's really nice how they have the pricing setup.

[David Buchhauser]

Here is a link to a Rich Auto pp.
https://cam.autodesk.com/hsmposts?p=...644.1564352720

[Greg Parrish]

Here is a link to a Rich Auto pp.
https://cam.autodesk.com/hsmposts?p=...644.1564352720

Thanks David. How did you find that as it doesn’t appear to actually exist when you search their website for it. Wondering the trick as it may help me find other related info. Thx. Greg

[David Buchhauser]

Thanks David. How did you find that as it doesn’t appear to actually exist when you search their website for it. Wondering the trick as it may help me find other related info. Thx. Greg

Hi Greg,
I did a Google search for "rich auto post processor Fusion 360".
David


Google rich auto post processor Fusion 360.jpg

[Greg Parrish]

I’m just not sure if fusion 360 is really going to be a workable option as it doesn’t appear they have an actual supported post processor for the richauto B11 unit that is in the Powermatic. The one above is for the A11 unit and it disclaims,that it isn’t for distribution, so I’m not sure if it would work reliably.

So so I started looking at the Vectric software site and it doesn’t look like there is a Mac version of it. I don’t have windows running on our Mac so now I’m thinking it will mean needing to purchase a computer on top of the software.

Sheesh. There just isn’t an easy way to accomplish what I’m working towards when trying to keep the budget on the cheap. Right now I’m looking for the cheapest computer I can find that would meet the specs. I’m also wondering if a touchscreen or tablet style computer would offer any benefit for software like VCarve Pro.

[Gary Campbell]

Greg...
Not a fan of F360 (Vectric fanboy). That said both Laguna and AXIOM use the Richauto controller, both distribute F360 with their product according to their websites, so I am sure there are postP's for the controller

[Greg Parrish]

Gary, that will be awesome if it works out. My plan was to use the free fusion 360 product on my existing 27” iMac to get started and keep my initial cost down to the machine and bits. Then I can work in phases to migrate to Vcarve Pro as one step and potentially centroid acorn in another step. All said and done, if it works as planned I will be thousands less than the Stinger 2x4 route and will be able to spend in phases. May not be quite the same level machine but I’m thinking for a Chinese product the Axiom Pro 8 and Powermatic 2x4 seem like nice quality machines for a hobbiest. Especially when the used price is low enough to compete with that of a shark HD4.

Thanks for the continued feedback.

Greg...
Not a fan of F360 (Vectric fanboy). That said both Laguna and AXIOM use the Richauto controller, both distribute F360 with their product according to their websites, so I am sure there are postP's for the controller