The CNC and the Steep Learning Curve

Turns out building the CNC was the easy part. Going into the purchase I was a little apprehensive about putting it together, getting the wires in the right spot and just generally making sure it didn’t self-destruct when I turned it on.

But then the hard bit started…learning the software. I was already somewhat familiar with Fusion 360, the software I’m using to do the CAD models and then convert it to CAM. This software does it all in the same program, fantastically flexible and probably the equivalent of using a dial indicator to lay bricks…overkill but the output is fantastic. It then comes time to turn that CAM toolpath into gCode and that was where things started to unravel.

I’ve chosen to use Universal GCode Sender (UGS) as the grbl controller because that was recommended in the setup (these are all new acronyms and words that I know roll off the tongue like I’m a pro!). For the sake of brevity and so this story doesn’t become a Wilbur Smith novel lets fast forward three weeks, an unholy amount of cursing, four different gCode senders (including Easel) and I was a frustrated CNC Machinist ready to pack it in. I’d put probably 30+ into is so far.

Perhaps through sheer determination not to be outsmarted by a robot I’m supposed to controlling, I kept at it. Step by step googling what the error codes meant, researching why it wasn’t doing as it was told and taking it to obedience classes, I began to narrow down the problems. And like all good fairy tales, this one has a happy ending…Sunday the 9th December will be heralded as the day I took control of the robot overload and made it do something vaguely representative of what I wanted it to do! Whilst I’m still not pumping out mass produced parts I have made significant progress towards adding the tool to my workflow.

On reflecting about why this is important, its indicative of how I’ve taught myself most things. I’m a self confessed autodidact and I feel like that’s a useful skill to have in life. The amount of resources we have at our finger tips these days mean anyone can learn anything, and for the most part I mean that in a literal sense. If you have something you’d like to learn, good ‘how do I do……’ and you’ll have 1000’s of hits. Sure it takes a bit of intuition to sift the wheat from the chaff but that’s part of the enjoyment.

So if you are reading this…what will you teach yourself this week?