Hack Manhattan Wiki - User contributions [en]

System Administration Group

2026-05-07T03:55:47Z

Citybadger: Dummy entries for sections and equipment, awaiting actual IP and socket assigments

Open Source System Administration Study Group

'''Main VLAN IP Assignments'''

000.000.000.000 Top Server (NIC 1) 
000.000.000.000 Upper Middle Server (NIC 1) 
000.000.000.000 Lower Middle Server (NIC 1) 
000.000.000.000 Bottom Server (NIC 1) 

'''Management VLAN'''

000.000.000.000 Power Strip IP 
000.000.000.000 Top Server (iDRAC) 
000.000.000.000 Upper Middle Server (iDRAC) 
000.000.000.000 Lower Middle Server (iDRAC) 
000.000.000.000 Bottom Server (iDRAC) 
000.000.000.000 Switch 

'''Switch Port Assignments'''

00 Top Server 
00 Upper Middle Server 
00 Lower Middle Server 
00 Bottom Server 
00 Uplink 

'''Power Socket Assignments'''

00 Top Server 
00 Upper Middle Server 
00 Lower Middle Server 
00 Bottom Server 
00 Switch

System Administration Group

2026-05-03T17:52:03Z

Citybadger: Created page with "Open Source System Administration Study Group"

Open Source System Administration Study Group

User:Citybadger

2026-05-03T17:51:24Z

Citybadger:

Alias: citybadger

Real Name: Stephen Lynch

Email: citybadger@gmail.net

Currently the Network Administrator at Grand Street Settlement

== Active & Upcoming Projects ==

[[System Administration Group]]

Enviromental Monitoring Station

RepRap Prusa Mendel 3D Printer - almost done

3D display - pico projector has arrived, ready to start early prototype

Bowling shirt - my first sewing project

Dark Golden Strong Ale - an extract brew - fermenting now

== Recent Projects ==

"Morning Gin Soap" hot-process gin-scented soap

"Studio Irish Red Ale" - my first homebrew, an extract brew

== Other Interests ==

Arduino

Simple Sewing

Gardening, Permaculture, Homesteading

Lockpicking

Woodworking

Cooking & Baking

Homebrewing

Soapmaking

Linux

Meeting 2026-02-25

2026-02-26T00:12:19Z

Citybadger: /* Member and Project Reports */

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Consensus Item 1
* Consensus Item 2

==Member Reports==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Election Nominations
|-
! Candidate !! Nominated By !! Accepted !! Notes
|-
| Robin || Pidge || Accepted || Example
|-
| Ellen || Pidge|| Declined || Example
|-
| Bufo Big Beef || Pidge || Accepted || Example
|-
| ASilver || Pidge|| Declined || Example
|-
| Machete776 || Pidge || Accepted|| Example
|-
| Pidge|| Robin || Example || Example
|-
| Space Heater || Robin|| Declined || Example
|-
| Clyde || Bufo Big Beef || Example || Example
|-
| LambdaCalculus|| Bufo Big Beef || Accepted || Example
|-
| Jay || Ellen || Accepted || Example
|-
| Example || Example || Example || Example
|}
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===
Lights have been fixed at a cost of about $100. There are a couple of bulbs that flicker occasionally and a couple fluorescent bulbs that will be replaced by LED spares we have.
-citybadger

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Meeting 2026-02-25

2026-02-26T00:11:42Z

Citybadger: /* Member and Project Reports */

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Consensus Item 1
* Consensus Item 2

==Member Reports==

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Election Nominations
|-
! Candidate !! Nominated By !! Accepted !! Notes
|-
| Robin || Pidge || Accepted || Example
|-
| Ellen || Pidge|| Declined || Example
|-
| Bufo Big Beef || Pidge || Accepted || Example
|-
| ASilver || Pidge|| Declined || Example
|-
| Machete776 || Pidge || Accepted|| Example
|-
| Pidge|| Robin || Example || Example
|-
| Space Heater || Robin|| Declined || Example
|-
| Clyde || Bufo Big Beef || Example || Example
|-
| LambdaCalculus|| Bufo Big Beef || Accepted || Example
|-
| Jay || Ellen || Accepted || Example
|-
| Example || Example || Example || Example
|}
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===
Lights have been fixed at a cost of about $100. There are a couple of bulbs that flicker occasionally and a couple fluorescent bulbs that will be replaced by LED spares we have.

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Meeting 2026-01-28

2026-01-25T15:10:01Z

Citybadger: /* Consensus Agenda */

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Reimburse Robin $52.53 for 75 Soldering class PCBs (6-9 months worth of supply)
* Spend up to $120 on bulbs, ballasts, and other necessary components such as connectors to repair the overhead lighting in the space

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

CNC Mill Operations

2025-11-29T22:34:59Z

Citybadger: updated after attempted fix to Geckodrive Y axis.

'''Status:''' Non-Operational

Controller and motor driver issues
----
The motor driver is a [https://www.geckodrive.com/product/g540-4-axis-digital-step-drive/ Geckodrive G540]. Reportedly the Y axis of the overheats. [[User:Cuebus]] tested the MOSFETs and was unable to find a problem, so he swapped the Y axis board with the unused A axis board. The endstops need to be wired. Note the RJ45 jack on on the back of enclosure is for the endstops. It is not an Ethernet port!

The controller is a ESP32 running [http://wiki.fluidnc.com/en/home FluidNC], currently version 3.9.9 with webUI version3, connected to the parallel port of the Geckodrive via a circuit board designed by [[User:Clyde]].

The ESP32 is connected to the wifi network ''hm-north_24'' at IP address [http://192.168.0.252 192.168.0.252]. Currently this is statically configured. This should be changed as it is on the DHCP range for the router without the router having been configured for it and may lead to address conflicts.

When you connect to controller with a web browser it will show the controls.
----
Much(if not all) of the documentation below needs revision. Ideally rewritten entirely with large chunks removed and trimmed.
---
There are many paths from point A to point Z. This document details a workflow that has been tested and is known to work on our present equipment.

CNC Mill Capabilities

===Materials===
<ul>
<li>Wood</li>
<li>Plastics</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals</li>
</ul>

===Dimensions===
There are three dimensions of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>X axis</dt>
<dd>left to right travel</dd>
<dt>Y axis</dt>
<dd>front to back travel</dd>
<dt>Z axis</dt>
<dd>up and down travel</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
and each of these axes has two or three diension of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>Maximum</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Effective</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Safe</dt>
<dd>maximum - fixtures</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
<table width=100% border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr>
<th width=10%></th><th width=30%>Maximum</th><th width=30%>Effective</th><th width=30%>Safe</th>
<tr>
<tr>
<th>X</th><td>400 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Y</th><td>228 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Z</th><td>depends on the motor and bit used. Measure after Homing All with the bit installed. Remember to subtract the thickness of your workpiece and the spoil board</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Spindle Speed===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 35,000 RPM fixed</li>
<li>Plastic: 0-15,000 RPM or 35,000 RPM depending on which motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 0-15,000 RPM</li>
</ul>
Spindle speed is a factor of the material being machined and the size and shape of the bit being used. Starting point guides can be found in "Speeds and Feeds" programs and Web pages.

===Collet Diameter===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 0.25 in</li>
<li>Plastics: depends on whch motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 1.2 mm - 3.18 mm depending on the bit-collet combination</li>
</ul>




==Prepare Your Computer==

To create the Gcode that will control the mill we will be using Inkscape to draw the shape and then the Inkscape extension Gcodetools to convert that shape to Gcode.
<center>Inkscape → Gcodetools → CAMotics → SSH &8594; LinuxCNC</center>
Will other toolchains work? Probably. But we have not tested them so have documented this one which we know does work.


===Inkscape===
Inkscape is a drawing tool much like Adobe IllustratorTM, only it is free. It produces
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files and can export Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It is not as finished as Illustrator but it gets the job done.
Could you use Illustrator instead? Probably. But, since this known working toolchain is based on using Gcodetools, which is an Inkscape plugin, you will need to use Inkscape anyway. So, you might as well bite the bullet and create your drawing in Inkscape rather than creating it elsewhere, and then importing it into Inkscape so that you can use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to create the Gcode file.

I have used SketchUp to design 3D prints, an adative Gcode process, so I don't see why it could not be used to create the Gcode needed for controlling the mill, a subtractive Gcode process.

Autodesk® Fusion 360TM is another viable option. It has the disadvanatage that it is cloud based so you can only use it in places where you have Internet access.

====Install Inkscape====
<ul>
<li>Download Inscape from <a href="httphttps://inkscape.org.download/">https://inkscape.org.download/</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the Inkscape install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user you might want to tweak things.</li>
<li>Launch Inkscape</li>
<li>In File > Document Properties</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit the following
settings:</li>
<ul>
<li>General > Display units : mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Units: mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Width: 400 mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Height: 280 mm</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

====Install the Gcodetools Extension====

<ul>
<li>Download the Gcodetools extension from <a href="http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools">http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools</a></li>
<li>Decompress the archive and copy all of the files to the Inkscape extensions directory.
 Do not nest the extension files in their own subdirectory.</li>
<dl>
<dt>Windows</dt>
<dd>C:/Program Files/Inkscape/share/extensions<dd>
<dt>OS X</dt>
<dd>/Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/Extensions</dd>
<dt>Linux</dt>
<dd>/usr/share/inkscape/extensions</dd>
</dl>
</ul>

===CAMotics===

CAMotics' raison d'être is to let you visualize what your mill will do before you tell it to go and do something that might be destructive to itself, your workpiece, and/or you. Its capabilities are a bit limited as everything is shows you is predicated on the toolpath it reads from your Gcode, so it knows nothing about the size and shape of your workpiece or the location of holddowns that may be in the path of the tool.
<ul>
<li>Download CAMotics from <a
href="http://www.canotics.org">http://www.canotics.org</a> and install it
accepting the defaults.</li>
</ul>

==Create Your Gcode==

We will use Inkscape to draw the shape of the
object we want to cut on the mill and will then use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to generate the required Gcode. I will assume here that you already know how to use Inkscape and will only deal with the part about using the Gcodetools plugin to create the Gcode file. If you need instructions on using Inkscape search for any of the excellent (and some not so excellennt) tutorials on the Internet.

===Convert Your Object to a Path===
<ul>
<li>Select the object(s) to be acted upon.</li>
<li>Path > Object to Path</li>
</ul>

===Add Orientation Points===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Orientation Points</li>
<li>Edit Z depth to the depth at which the path will be cut.
 Depths should be expressed as negative numbers in mm.</li>
<ul>
<li>e.g. A 3mm deep hole would be written as -3.00000
 The entire path will be cut to the same depth. To cut paths of multiple depths you will need to create multiple Tool Paths and from them multiple Gcode files using a different Z depth in the Orientation Points of each file. This can probably be accomplished using layers but I haven't had a need to figure the procedure out yet.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Apply</li>
<li>A pair of orientation points will appear at the bottom of the Inkscape page in the format:</li>
<center><table>
<tr>
<td width=37%>↙(0.0; 0.0; 0.0)</td>
<td width=25%></td>
<td>↙(100.0; 0.0; -3.0)</td>
</tr>
</table></center>
These points we be used to create the relative positional references (mill offsets) for the mill. I Like to use the lower left corner of my workpiece as the touch off point (8.3.1.2.2.) so I move the control points to this location on my inkscape drawing.
</ul>

===Define a Tool===

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools> Tool Library</li>
<li>Select a tool type and Apply.</li>
<li>A colored box will appear beneath the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<li>Close the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Click the close button at the bottom of the dialog
 OR
 if you are feeling particularly energetic, move your cursor all the way to the top of the dialog box and click the X at the right end of the title ribbon.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the colored box and drag it somewhere convenient where it does not obstruct your drawing. I usually put mine beneath the Inkscape page boarder adjacent to the Orientation Points. However, I have not found it to matter where you put it as long as it is on the layer where your path is.</li>
<li>Use the Inkscape Text tool to edit the diameter line of the Tool box and enter the diameter of the tool you will be using in mm.</li>
</ul>

==Create a Tool Path==

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area
 Will cut everything out of the defined path, e.g. will cut oout a circle as opposed to cutting out just the border of the circle.</li>
<li>On the Area tab adjust Area Tool Overlap as necessary.
 Valid values are 0 - 0.9 and represent the % of the tool which will be over already removed material.</li>
<li>On the Fill Area tab set Filling Method to either Zig zag [that is the way they spell it in Russia so I didn't change it so you won't get confused when looking at the dialog box options] or Spiral as seems best.</li>
<li>Select the path you want to turn into a toolpath.
 You can leave the Area dialog box open while making this selection.</li>
<li>With either the Area or the Area Fill tab selected, press the Apply button.</li>
<li>A notification box will appear saying something about the program working.</li>
<li>The notification box will close and the toolpath will be drawn in blue inside the path you had previously selected.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it doesn't work:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Create the Gcode===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area</li>
<li>On the Preferences tab:</li>
<ul>
<li>You will have to edit the Directory item as the default value is to place the generated file in the /home directory of a Linux machine.
 I have found that Gcodetools has trouble with my nested directory file structure and have found that placing the file on my desktop works best (/Users/[username]/Desktop).</li>
<li>Edit File to give the saved file a name you will recognize.</li>
<li>If the Add numeric suffix to filename is checked, each time you create a Gcode it will have a serial number appended to the filename. This can result in having a directory full of versions of the same file but it might save your bacon if you trash the file but one of the older versions works.</li>
<li>Set units to mm.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the blue toolpath you created in the last step.</li>
<li>Open the Path to Gcode tab and click the Apply button</li>
<li>A notification dialog should appear saying something about the machine working on the conversion.</li>
<li>When the dialog closes, check the location on your computer where you told Gcodetools to save the Gcode file and it should be there.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it isnt working:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>




==Verify Your Gcode==
<ul>
<li>Launch CAMotics.</li>
<li>File > New Project</li>
<li>In the aptly named Dialog
dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Set Units to Metric (mm).</li>
<li>Set Tool Table to Empty.</li>
</ul>
<li>File > Add File</li>
<li>In the Create new project or add NC files dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select G-Code File</li>
<li>Press the OK button.</li>
</ul>
<li>In the New GCode file dialog, browse to the location of your Gcode file, Select the file and click the Open button.</li>
<li>Right-click in the Tool Table area and select New Tool from the context menu.</li>
<ul>
<li>In the Tool Editor dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit Number.
 Every tool has to have a unique number between 1 and 999. Since your Tool Table is empty, it does not matter what number you assign to your tool.</li>
<li>Edit Units to mm.</li>
<li>Edit Shape to the shape of the mill you will be using.</li>
<li>Length can be left unchanged.</li>
<li>Edit Diameter to the diameter of your bit in mm.</li>
<li>Click the Save button</li>

CAMotics will use whatever tool is at the top of the list in the Tool Table, but since you started with an empty list, and have only added one tool, that should not be an issue. If you did not set Tool Table to empty in the Dialog dialog box, and have multiple tools in the Tool Table list, delete all the extra ones until your tool is at the top of the list. I have not found a way to rearrange the list, so find it easiest to start with an empty list and add my one tool to it.
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Press the black, right-pointing triangle to start the simulation.</li>
<li>Use the double right-pointing and double left-pointing arrows to respectively increase and decrease the speed of the animation.</li>
</ul>
You can also use an online Gcode verifier such as the one at <a href="http://www.gcode.ws">http://www.gcode.ws</a> .





==Prepare the Mill==
To some this section might seem out of place, but my feeling is that when dealing with power tools, everything that can be done before the machine is plugged in should be done.

===Fixtures===
Fixtures are anything used to hold the workpiece in place on the mill's cutting bed.

====Types of Fixtures====

=====Step Block Pairs=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>multiple sizes and adjustable heights for all thicknesses of spoil boards and work pieces </li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>can be fiddely to install until you get used to them</li>
<li>sit above the top of the workpiece and can be in the way of tool movement.</li>
<li>can leave an impression in wood of clamped too tightly</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Incra Clamps=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>tall studs so they can hold thick workpieces.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>high profile restricts areas of the mill cutting bed where they can be used so they aren't in the path of tool movement</li>
<li>if clamped too tightly they can dent the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Double Stick Carpet Tape=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>fairly secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>can hold any thickness of material while hardly adding any thickness to it</li>
<li>below the level of the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>when pealed off wooden workpiece it may pull up the grain of the wood</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Hot Glue=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width="50%">Advantages</th><th width="50%">Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>can be used to hold any thickness workpiece without adding much height to it</li>
<li>below the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>will start to congeal as soon as it contacts the substrate and lumps may form that prevent the workpiece from sitting parallel to the mill cutting bed</li>
<li>it may not go on in an even thickness bead depending on pressure applied to the gun trigger at any given time and may not spread to an even thickness when the workpiece is pressed in place, so the workpiece may not be parallel to the mill cutting bed and your cut may not be made to a uniform depth</li>
<li>when removed it may damage the surface of the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Fixture Placement=====
<ul>
<li>Four things need to be taken into consideration when mounting the fixtures:</li>
<ul>
<li>Vertical clearance
 The entire mill cutting bed is going to move forward and backward on the Y axis. Any attachments mounted on the back 2/3 of the cutting bed need to be short enough to pass unimpeded under the lowest X axis bar at the back of the mill.</li>
<li>Edge clearances
 The Y axis Home switch is mounted in the front left corner of the mill frame so the Incra clamps need to be kept clear of this area. Additionally, the clamps can not hang over the front or back edges where they might prevent full Y travel. So the Incra clamps must be placed on the front 1/3 of the sides of the cutting bed.</li>
<li>Tool path clearances
 Attachment hardware needs to be kept clear of the tool path and the bottom of the motor and mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Secure Holddown
 The attachment needs to be placed somewhere where it will have adequare grip on both the mill cutting bed and the spoilboard and/or workpiece</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Spoil Board===
A spoil board is a piece of sacrificial lumber that is placed between your workpiece and the mill's cutting bed. It is there to protect the cutting bed and the mill bit in case you inadvertently tell the mill to cut deeper than the thickness of your workpiece.
<ul>
<li>Attach a spoil board at least as large as your workpiece to the center of the mill cutting bed using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs
 A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps
 The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Workpiece===
<ul>
<li>Attach the workpiece to the spoil board using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs 
A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps 
The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Carpet Tape</li>
<li>Hot Glue
 This appears to be a dicey proposition as the glue will start to harden when it contacts the substrate and it may form bumps, which it will be impossible to flatten resulting in the workpiece not being parallel to the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Motors===
Different motors need to be used depending on whether you are milling wood, plastic or metal. Each of these motors has a spindle speed appropriate for its intended use.

===Milling Wood===
<ul>
<li>Check to be certain the controller power sitch, the emergency stop switch and the motor stop
switch are all in the OFF position.</li>
<li>The green Bosch router is used for milling wood.</li>
<li>It takes 1/4 in. bits and its spindle runs at a fixed speed of 35,000 RPM.</li>
<li>Insert the motor into the shiney, silver, aluminum mill motor collar.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench), loosen the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Be careful that you don't cut yourself on the multiple blades on the router bit.</li>
<li>The cutting surfaces of the router bits are brittle and easily chipped on contact with metal. Use care when directing the bit through the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Press the motor into the mill motor collar until about 1/2 in. of the silver metal motor nose extends below the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar using a 3/16 in. hex key.</li>
</ul>
<li>Insert the desired bit into the collet.</li>
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. router bits are located on the wooden shelf in the back right corner of the machine shop in a wooden box labeled Peter 506.</li>
<li>Loosen the collet nut with the silver Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>The bits fit snugly - use care that your fingers don't slip on the bit and get sliced open. Hold the bits by their non-cutting surfaces.</li>
<li>DON'T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut with the same Bosch #17 open-end wrench.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>

====Milling Plastics====
<ul>
<li>Either of the motors may be used</li>
<ul>
<li>see 6.4.1. Milling Wood and 6.4.3. Milling Metals for details
</ul>
</ul>

====Milling Metals====
<ul>
<li>A custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor is used for milling metals.</li>
<li>Collets are available to accept bits with shaft diameters of 1.2mm - 3.18 mm. They are located in the CNC Parts & Tools box, #931.</li>
<li>Install the custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor in the bushing.</li>
<li>Place the motor and bushing in the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap nut on the right side of the collar using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench)
<li>Loosen the collet nut using the Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>Slide the shaft of the bit into the collet being careful that you don't cut your fingers on the flutes.</li>
<li>DON"T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut using the #17 open end wrench</li>
<ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Tool===
The bits used in the mill are referred to as tools.

====Bits for Milling Wood====
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. shank wood bits are in the wooden box labeled Peter 5036 that should be on the wooden shelf in the right rear corner of the machine shop.</li>
</ul>

====Bits for Milling Plastic====
<ul>
<li> Bits for milling plastics are dependant on which of the motors is being used. See sections 6.5.1. and 6.5.3. for specifics.
</li>
</ul>

====Bits for milling non-ferrous metal====
<ul>
<li>A limited number of bits for milling metals are to be found in the CNC Tools & Parts box, #931.</li>
<li>If a specific bit size is required you may need to provide your own bit (and consider leaving it at the space for others to use).</li>
</ul>

===Controller===

There is nothing you need to do with the controller at this point, and it is indeed a simple device, at least outwardly.
The controller is the beige "black box" on the workbench over the CNC mill.</p?
There are only three physical controls on the controller:
<ul>

====Power Switch====
<ul>
<li>A medium-sized rocker switch at the top left edge of the controller, which controls all power to the mill (but not to the BeagleBone inside the controller which is continuously powered).</l1>
</ul>

====Emergency Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large, red, round, mushroom plunger switch in the middle of the left edge of the controller is used as an emergency stop.</li>
<li>Once pressed it must be rotated clockwise before it will pop back out and restore power.</li>
<li>
This switch just cuts power to the motors so the spindle and bit will continue to spin until they lose their momentum.</li>
</ul>

====Motor Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large black paddle switch in the lower left corner of the controller is the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>This is the best emergency stop switch on the mill becauses it engages motor brakes as well as cutting power to the motors so everything stops instantly.</li>
<li>Your hand should be on this switch at all times when the mill is in operation.</li>
</ul>




==Controlling the Mill==

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%" style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>The machine shop is a dusty place and you will be making more dust while running the CNC mill. You have to be at the mill at all times when it is running so your computer will be in that dusty environment too. Both you and your computer will be breathing that wood dust unless you take protective measures. If you have an old, mothballed laptop that might be the thing to use to control the CNC mill. Consider enclosing your laptop in a large plastic bag to limit dust incursion, but be aware that that could cause your laptop to overheat. As for protecting yourself, see section 8.1.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<ul>
There are three ways to control the CNC Mill: with a pendant, from a mobile device, or from a computer.

The pendant is the preferred method. Since it is directly attached to the BeagleBone there will be no lag between when you issue a command and when that command is carried out. This will be important in the event of something untoward happening which requires an immediate tool stopage. The pendant is a sealed device that is designed to be used with CNC mills and llathes so it will not be harmed by wood dust.

The second most preferred method is with a mobile device since these are also sealed devices and should not be terribly affected by dust although you will have to work to get it out of any cracks in the case. The device will have to log into the BeagleBone over a wireless connection so this may inject some lag.

Because computers often have fans that are going to suck in machine shop air and blow it into the lungs of your machine, this is the least preferred method of connection. It is the one that we know works right now.

===Pendant Control===
A pendant is like a wired, special purpose tablet. It has a display screen to tell you what the mill is doing, some buttons that allow you to tell the mill what to do, and a jog wheel to help you navigate on-screen menus and manually move the router around the cutting bed.

===Mobile Device Control===

====Android====
The Web postings say this works but I haven't gotten it to work for me yet.
<ul>

=====Xvnc=====
<ul>
<li>Xvnc is an X Windows server that needs to be launched and be running in the background when ConnectBot is launched. You won't even know it is there -- or isnt.</lii>
</ul>

=====ConnectBot=====
<ul>
<li>ConnectBot is an SSH client for Android. It needs to be configured to connect to the BeagleBone, may require some port forwarding, and probably needs to be told to get the output of Xvnc.
</ul>

====IOS====

=====iSSH=====
iSSH is an SSH client for iOS deices that is supposed to automatically handle X Windows.</li>

===Windows Mobile====

=====MI/X=====
This is an abandonware X Server for Windows that was indicated as possibly working under Windows Mobile. It is the only X Servre I have found for Windows Mobile.

=====The SSH Client=====
This is an SSH client for Windows Phone 8

===Computer Control===

====Windows====

=====WinSCP=====
WinSCP allows your Windows computer to log into a Linux computer and provides a GUI interfaced file manager that supports drag-and-drop file transfers.
<ul>
<li>Make sure that the power switch on the controller is in the ON position.</li>
<li>Launch WinSCP</li>
<li>In the Login dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select the cnc.local or cnc.lan profile</li>
<li>Enter the</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Login button.</li>
<li>A split screen directory will appear with your laptop displayed on the left and the BeagleBone on the right.</li>
<li>Browse your computer's directory tree to the location where you have your Gcode file stored.</li>
<li>Browse the BeagleBone to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.
 By placing your file in this directory Linux will "remember" location and these instructions will work for subsequent users who might not be as adept at navigating a Linux machine, like me.</li>
<li>Click and drag your Gcode file from the left window and drop it in the right window to copy file to the BeagleBone.</li>
<li>Exit WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
 
<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style=background:yellow>
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>Do not leave the hackerspace with the expectation that your files will still be on the BeagleBone when you return. They may have disappeared for any number of reasons such as, but not limited to:
<ul>
<li>An accidental erasure</li>
<li>Space needed for the files of others</li>
<li>System maintenance</li>
<li>An act of [insert name of your preferred diety here]
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</ul>

=====Xming=====
<ul>
<li>Launch Xming
 Nothing will appear to have happened but Xming should be running in the background, and you will not know if it is active -- or not -- until you launch LinuxCNC a few steps later on and see -- or don't see -- a GUI.</li>
</ul>

=====PuTTY=====
<ul>
<li>Launch PuTTY</li>
<li>Select and Load the cnc.local profile.</li>
<li>In the Category list open SSH > X11</li>
<ul>
<li>Verify the following settings:
 Enable X11 forwarding is checked
 X display location: localhost 0.0
 MIT-Magic-Cookie-1 is selected</l>
</ul>
<li>Click the Open button.</li>
<li>At the Linux, Login as: prompt supply the username: machinekit.</li>
<li>At the password: prompt, supply the password: machinekit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Linux====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH</li>
<ul>
<li>machinekit@cnc.local -p 23</li>
<li>Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
</ul>

=====SSH=====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH and connect to cnc.local over the network.</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Copy your Gcode file into the remote directory 
/home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Launch LinuxCNC.</li>
<li>The LinuxCNC splash screen will appear followed by the LinuxCNC AXIS GUI in an X11 window.</li>
</ul>

====Android====

====iOS====




==Running the Mill==

===Personal Protective Gear===

===Hearing Protection===

The mill is loud. It uses a router for a motor and they are notoriously loud. And you are going to be using the shopvac during the entire operation and it is even louder. Be kind to your ears and use hearing protection. If you have not brought your own, there is generally a bottle of disposable in-ear canal earplugs in the smal, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop. Since these are a single use item, it is safest to bring your own pair to the space with you.

====Eyesight Protection====

The mill has a spinning blade that is going to throw wood/plastic/metal chips all around it. Additionally it is not unheard of for a bit to snap and to fly to parts unknown. And you are going to be staring at the moving parts of the mill the entire time it is in operation to make sure it is not tearing itself or anything else, up and needs to be emergency stopped immediately. So wear eye protection. If you have not brought your own, there is a supply of safety glasses and/or goggles in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop.

====Respiratory Protection====

There will be wood dust in the air of the machine shop and even the rest of the space. This fine dust can and will get into your lungs where it can do all sorts of nasty things unless you protect yourself. There is a communal respirator in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop, but I would not be inclined to want to breathe through a respirator everyone else has been breathing through. Sometimes there are disposable dust filters there, but you don't know if the one you grab is a new one or one that someone has used and returned to the bin. As with hearing protection, it would be best for you to bring your own particulate filter or respirator.
</ul>

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td align=center>You have been warned.</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Debris Removal===

It is important that debris be kept clear of the bit. This will provide a place for new material to go as it is cut from the workpiece, and keep it from bogging down the spindle. It will also help to reduce the amount of wood dust that fills the air of the entire hackerspace.

One of your hands should always be on the Motor Stop switch and the other one should always be holding the hose of the shopvac near the area of the workpiece the mill is cutting...carefully. Be mindful of sudden motor movements.

===Start the Job===

Everything has been building up to this moment. It is finally time to start the mill and make a big piece of wood/plastic/metal into a small piece of wood/plastic/metal. Let the chips fly!

====LinuxCNC====

Now we are up to the point the first C in CNC (Computer Numerical Control). This is the point when we have to start using software to control the mill. That software is LinuxCNC.

LinuxCNC is software that takes the commands embedded in your Gcode file and translates them into electrical signals that will actuate the various motors of your specific machine. That maachine can be a mill or a lathe and can operate on two axes, 2.5 exes, three axes, as our mill has, or up to nine axes, as big commercial machines have. So there is a lot this software can and will do. It is running on a lowly BeagleBone under Machinekit, a subset of Debian.

LinuxCNC is already installed on the BeagleBone running the mill and has alaready been configured to understand the components of the mill and how to control them. Its almost as simple as giving LinuxCNC your Gcode file and telling it to make your object. But it isn't quite that simple.

I started out by downloading the three pieces of LinuxCNC documentation. You can get them from <a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/">http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/</a>. They are
<dl>
<dt>LinuxCNC Getting Started</dt>
<dd>I figured this would be the place to go to get the quick and dirty instructions, but it turns out to be instructions on getting the software and installing it on the controller. It does have a Glossary which I found helpful.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC User Manual<dt>
<dd>A user manual sounds like the thing that would tell you what buttons to click in what order to get the job done, but I found it to be a guide to the various menu options in the numerous UIs. It also has a copy of the Glossary.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC Documentation</dt>
<dd>In this tome, which is almost 50 times as long as this long Wiki page, I found a in section III Using LinuxCNC, Chapterr 4 User Interfaces, section 4.1 AXIS GUI which is as close as I came to a PHD (Push Here Dummy) manual. This document also contains the useful Glossary.</dd>
</dl>
This stuff was written by engineers, for engineers who already know how to use a nine axis mill with cooling. I had a chemistry professor like them ages ago when I was in college. He could explain anything to another PhD, but he couldn't explain anything to me. Hence my minor in Psychology.

So what follows are the bare bones of what you need to know about LinuxCNC to convince it to make your object.

=====Prepare LinuxCNC=====
<li>At the Linux $ prompt, type linuxcnc to launch the mill control program.</li>
<li>A Machinekit Configuration Selector screen will appear</li>
<ul>
<li>Select Xylotex.</li>
<li>OK
</ul>
<li>A Machinekit splash screen will appear</li>
<li>PuTTY will automatically capture the X11 LinuxCNC AXIS GUI window and redirect it to your laptop screen.</li>
<li>Load your Gcode file.</li>
<ul>
<li>File > Open.</li>
<li>Browse the directory tree to /home/machinekit.machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Select your Gcode file and Open</li>
<li>Your Gcode will be displayed at the bottom of the AXIS screen and a small depiction of the tool path will be displayed in the black window.</li>
</ul>

=====Prepare the Mill=====
<ul>
<li>press the orange power button on the toolbar</li>
</ul>

======Home all axes======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Press Home All</li>
</ul>

======Offset the Mill======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Use the buttons in the Manual Control tab to move the motor, and hence the tool tip, in all three axes.</li>
<li>Press Tool Touch Off</li>
<ul>
<li>Jog tool to the cornerr of the workpiece where you located your Inkscape Control Points.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using the buttons, select an axis.</li>
<li>Rotate the jog wheel clockwise or counterclockwise as appropriate to move to tool.
 The computer has a key ahead buffer so rotate the wheel slowly so you don't fill the buffer and cause to tool to move farther than you intended possibly doing damage to the mill or your, your workpiece, or yoourself.</li>
<li>Press Touch Off and in the Touch Off dialog box make sure 0.0 appears and press OK to log the tool position as the origin of that axis of the tool path for this cut.</li>
<li>Iterate for the remaining axes.</li>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>. . .</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Start Milling====
<li>Press the gray, right-pointing arrow to begin milling.</li>
<ul>
<li>To have the mill process the file one line at a time sequentially press the gray, right-pointing arrow.</li>
</ul>
<li>Watch the mill to be sure that it isn't doing anything untoward and be prepared to stop it if anything happens - i.e. keep one hand on the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>Keep the shop vac going to draw waste chips away from the tool.</li>
</ul>
If it all goes south and you are hopelessly lost and want a do over
<ul>
<li>Stop the mill.</li>
<li>Close the AXIS GUI window.</li>
<li> At the Linux $ prompt type sudo reboot ENTER</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>




==Cleanup==

Hopefully what you intended the mill to do and what you actually told the mill to do were in agreement and you got the item you envisioned. But the job isn't finished yet. Now it is time to put the CNC mill to bed.

<ul>
<li>Press the Motor Stop switch down to lock the mill
motors.</li>
<li>Press the Emergency Stop switch to disconnect power from the motors.</li>
<li>Close PuTTY to end your SSH connection to the BeableBone.</li>
<li>Delete your Gcode files from the BeagleBone.</li>
<ul>
<li>Start WinCSP and log back into the BeagleBone as previously.</li>
<li>In the right side directory pane browse to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.</li>
<li>Delete your files.</li>
<li>Close WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Power Switch to the off position.</li>
<li>Carefully remove the bit from the spindle and return it to its storage box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Remember that the bit shanks fit snugly in the box holes so don’t let your fingers slip down the tool face when pressing them into the box.
 Hold the bit by the non-cutting edges.
 If the end of the bit is not a cutting surface use one hand to align the bit with the hole while you press the shaft into the hole by pressing in the center of the cutting end of the bit.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove your workpiece and the spoil board from the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Place the Bosch open-end wrench ###>.</li>
<li>Return the hex wrench to Pliers/Hex Keys/Crimpers/Wrenches Box #464.</li>
<li>Check around the mill, workbench and floor for any
small parts that anyone might have been dropped.</li>
<li>Vacuum the mill, surrounding shelf, workbench top, surrounding floor and the exterior of your laptop to clean up any chips and sawdust.</li>
</ul>

CNC Mill Operations

2025-11-22T19:56:08Z

Citybadger: Added more info on Fluid NC configuration

'''Status:''' Non-Operational

Controller and motor driver issues
----
The motor driver is a [https://www.geckodrive.com/product/g540-4-axis-digital-step-drive/ Geckodrive G540]. Reportedly the Y axis of the driver is burnt out. The endstops need to be wired. Note the RJ45 jack on on the back of enclosure is for the endstops. It is not an Ethernet port!

The controller is a ESP32 running [http://wiki.fluidnc.com/en/home FluidNC], currently version 3.9.9 with web-UI-3, connected to the parallel port of the Geckodrive via a circuit board designed by [[User:Clyde]].

The ESP32 is connected to the wifi network ''hm-north_24'' at IP address [http://192.168.0.252 192.168.0.252]. Currently this is statically configured. This should be changed as it is on the DHCP range for the router without the router having been configured for it and may lead to address conflicts.

When you connect to controller with a web browser it will show the controls.
----
Much(if not all) of the documentation below needs revision. Ideally rewritten entirely with large chunks removed and trimmed.
---
There are many paths from point A to point Z. This document details a workflow that has been tested and is known to work on our present equipment.

CNC Mill Capabilities

===Materials===
<ul>
<li>Wood</li>
<li>Plastics</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals</li>
</ul>

===Dimensions===
There are three dimensions of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>X axis</dt>
<dd>left to right travel</dd>
<dt>Y axis</dt>
<dd>front to back travel</dd>
<dt>Z axis</dt>
<dd>up and down travel</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
and each of these axes has two or three diension of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>Maximum</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Effective</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Safe</dt>
<dd>maximum - fixtures</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
<table width=100% border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr>
<th width=10%></th><th width=30%>Maximum</th><th width=30%>Effective</th><th width=30%>Safe</th>
<tr>
<tr>
<th>X</th><td>400 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Y</th><td>228 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Z</th><td>depends on the motor and bit used. Measure after Homing All with the bit installed. Remember to subtract the thickness of your workpiece and the spoil board</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Spindle Speed===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 35,000 RPM fixed</li>
<li>Plastic: 0-15,000 RPM or 35,000 RPM depending on which motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 0-15,000 RPM</li>
</ul>
Spindle speed is a factor of the material being machined and the size and shape of the bit being used. Starting point guides can be found in "Speeds and Feeds" programs and Web pages.

===Collet Diameter===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 0.25 in</li>
<li>Plastics: depends on whch motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 1.2 mm - 3.18 mm depending on the bit-collet combination</li>
</ul>




==Prepare Your Computer==

To create the Gcode that will control the mill we will be using Inkscape to draw the shape and then the Inkscape extension Gcodetools to convert that shape to Gcode.
<center>Inkscape → Gcodetools → CAMotics → SSH &8594; LinuxCNC</center>
Will other toolchains work? Probably. But we have not tested them so have documented this one which we know does work.


===Inkscape===
Inkscape is a drawing tool much like Adobe IllustratorTM, only it is free. It produces
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files and can export Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It is not as finished as Illustrator but it gets the job done.
Could you use Illustrator instead? Probably. But, since this known working toolchain is based on using Gcodetools, which is an Inkscape plugin, you will need to use Inkscape anyway. So, you might as well bite the bullet and create your drawing in Inkscape rather than creating it elsewhere, and then importing it into Inkscape so that you can use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to create the Gcode file.

I have used SketchUp to design 3D prints, an adative Gcode process, so I don't see why it could not be used to create the Gcode needed for controlling the mill, a subtractive Gcode process.

Autodesk® Fusion 360TM is another viable option. It has the disadvanatage that it is cloud based so you can only use it in places where you have Internet access.

====Install Inkscape====
<ul>
<li>Download Inscape from <a href="httphttps://inkscape.org.download/">https://inkscape.org.download/</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the Inkscape install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user you might want to tweak things.</li>
<li>Launch Inkscape</li>
<li>In File > Document Properties</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit the following
settings:</li>
<ul>
<li>General > Display units : mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Units: mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Width: 400 mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Height: 280 mm</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

====Install the Gcodetools Extension====

<ul>
<li>Download the Gcodetools extension from <a href="http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools">http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools</a></li>
<li>Decompress the archive and copy all of the files to the Inkscape extensions directory.
 Do not nest the extension files in their own subdirectory.</li>
<dl>
<dt>Windows</dt>
<dd>C:/Program Files/Inkscape/share/extensions<dd>
<dt>OS X</dt>
<dd>/Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/Extensions</dd>
<dt>Linux</dt>
<dd>/usr/share/inkscape/extensions</dd>
</dl>
</ul>

===CAMotics===

CAMotics' raison d'être is to let you visualize what your mill will do before you tell it to go and do something that might be destructive to itself, your workpiece, and/or you. Its capabilities are a bit limited as everything is shows you is predicated on the toolpath it reads from your Gcode, so it knows nothing about the size and shape of your workpiece or the location of holddowns that may be in the path of the tool.
<ul>
<li>Download CAMotics from <a
href="http://www.canotics.org">http://www.canotics.org</a> and install it
accepting the defaults.</li>
</ul>

==Create Your Gcode==

We will use Inkscape to draw the shape of the
object we want to cut on the mill and will then use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to generate the required Gcode. I will assume here that you already know how to use Inkscape and will only deal with the part about using the Gcodetools plugin to create the Gcode file. If you need instructions on using Inkscape search for any of the excellent (and some not so excellennt) tutorials on the Internet.

===Convert Your Object to a Path===
<ul>
<li>Select the object(s) to be acted upon.</li>
<li>Path > Object to Path</li>
</ul>

===Add Orientation Points===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Orientation Points</li>
<li>Edit Z depth to the depth at which the path will be cut.
 Depths should be expressed as negative numbers in mm.</li>
<ul>
<li>e.g. A 3mm deep hole would be written as -3.00000
 The entire path will be cut to the same depth. To cut paths of multiple depths you will need to create multiple Tool Paths and from them multiple Gcode files using a different Z depth in the Orientation Points of each file. This can probably be accomplished using layers but I haven't had a need to figure the procedure out yet.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Apply</li>
<li>A pair of orientation points will appear at the bottom of the Inkscape page in the format:</li>
<center><table>
<tr>
<td width=37%>↙(0.0; 0.0; 0.0)</td>
<td width=25%></td>
<td>↙(100.0; 0.0; -3.0)</td>
</tr>
</table></center>
These points we be used to create the relative positional references (mill offsets) for the mill. I Like to use the lower left corner of my workpiece as the touch off point (8.3.1.2.2.) so I move the control points to this location on my inkscape drawing.
</ul>

===Define a Tool===

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools> Tool Library</li>
<li>Select a tool type and Apply.</li>
<li>A colored box will appear beneath the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<li>Close the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Click the close button at the bottom of the dialog
 OR
 if you are feeling particularly energetic, move your cursor all the way to the top of the dialog box and click the X at the right end of the title ribbon.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the colored box and drag it somewhere convenient where it does not obstruct your drawing. I usually put mine beneath the Inkscape page boarder adjacent to the Orientation Points. However, I have not found it to matter where you put it as long as it is on the layer where your path is.</li>
<li>Use the Inkscape Text tool to edit the diameter line of the Tool box and enter the diameter of the tool you will be using in mm.</li>
</ul>

==Create a Tool Path==

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area
 Will cut everything out of the defined path, e.g. will cut oout a circle as opposed to cutting out just the border of the circle.</li>
<li>On the Area tab adjust Area Tool Overlap as necessary.
 Valid values are 0 - 0.9 and represent the % of the tool which will be over already removed material.</li>
<li>On the Fill Area tab set Filling Method to either Zig zag [that is the way they spell it in Russia so I didn't change it so you won't get confused when looking at the dialog box options] or Spiral as seems best.</li>
<li>Select the path you want to turn into a toolpath.
 You can leave the Area dialog box open while making this selection.</li>
<li>With either the Area or the Area Fill tab selected, press the Apply button.</li>
<li>A notification box will appear saying something about the program working.</li>
<li>The notification box will close and the toolpath will be drawn in blue inside the path you had previously selected.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it doesn't work:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Create the Gcode===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area</li>
<li>On the Preferences tab:</li>
<ul>
<li>You will have to edit the Directory item as the default value is to place the generated file in the /home directory of a Linux machine.
 I have found that Gcodetools has trouble with my nested directory file structure and have found that placing the file on my desktop works best (/Users/[username]/Desktop).</li>
<li>Edit File to give the saved file a name you will recognize.</li>
<li>If the Add numeric suffix to filename is checked, each time you create a Gcode it will have a serial number appended to the filename. This can result in having a directory full of versions of the same file but it might save your bacon if you trash the file but one of the older versions works.</li>
<li>Set units to mm.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the blue toolpath you created in the last step.</li>
<li>Open the Path to Gcode tab and click the Apply button</li>
<li>A notification dialog should appear saying something about the machine working on the conversion.</li>
<li>When the dialog closes, check the location on your computer where you told Gcodetools to save the Gcode file and it should be there.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it isnt working:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>




==Verify Your Gcode==
<ul>
<li>Launch CAMotics.</li>
<li>File > New Project</li>
<li>In the aptly named Dialog
dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Set Units to Metric (mm).</li>
<li>Set Tool Table to Empty.</li>
</ul>
<li>File > Add File</li>
<li>In the Create new project or add NC files dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select G-Code File</li>
<li>Press the OK button.</li>
</ul>
<li>In the New GCode file dialog, browse to the location of your Gcode file, Select the file and click the Open button.</li>
<li>Right-click in the Tool Table area and select New Tool from the context menu.</li>
<ul>
<li>In the Tool Editor dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit Number.
 Every tool has to have a unique number between 1 and 999. Since your Tool Table is empty, it does not matter what number you assign to your tool.</li>
<li>Edit Units to mm.</li>
<li>Edit Shape to the shape of the mill you will be using.</li>
<li>Length can be left unchanged.</li>
<li>Edit Diameter to the diameter of your bit in mm.</li>
<li>Click the Save button</li>

CAMotics will use whatever tool is at the top of the list in the Tool Table, but since you started with an empty list, and have only added one tool, that should not be an issue. If you did not set Tool Table to empty in the Dialog dialog box, and have multiple tools in the Tool Table list, delete all the extra ones until your tool is at the top of the list. I have not found a way to rearrange the list, so find it easiest to start with an empty list and add my one tool to it.
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Press the black, right-pointing triangle to start the simulation.</li>
<li>Use the double right-pointing and double left-pointing arrows to respectively increase and decrease the speed of the animation.</li>
</ul>
You can also use an online Gcode verifier such as the one at <a href="http://www.gcode.ws">http://www.gcode.ws</a> .





==Prepare the Mill==
To some this section might seem out of place, but my feeling is that when dealing with power tools, everything that can be done before the machine is plugged in should be done.

===Fixtures===
Fixtures are anything used to hold the workpiece in place on the mill's cutting bed.

====Types of Fixtures====

=====Step Block Pairs=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>multiple sizes and adjustable heights for all thicknesses of spoil boards and work pieces </li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>can be fiddely to install until you get used to them</li>
<li>sit above the top of the workpiece and can be in the way of tool movement.</li>
<li>can leave an impression in wood of clamped too tightly</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Incra Clamps=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>tall studs so they can hold thick workpieces.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>high profile restricts areas of the mill cutting bed where they can be used so they aren't in the path of tool movement</li>
<li>if clamped too tightly they can dent the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Double Stick Carpet Tape=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>fairly secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>can hold any thickness of material while hardly adding any thickness to it</li>
<li>below the level of the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>when pealed off wooden workpiece it may pull up the grain of the wood</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Hot Glue=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width="50%">Advantages</th><th width="50%">Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>can be used to hold any thickness workpiece without adding much height to it</li>
<li>below the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>will start to congeal as soon as it contacts the substrate and lumps may form that prevent the workpiece from sitting parallel to the mill cutting bed</li>
<li>it may not go on in an even thickness bead depending on pressure applied to the gun trigger at any given time and may not spread to an even thickness when the workpiece is pressed in place, so the workpiece may not be parallel to the mill cutting bed and your cut may not be made to a uniform depth</li>
<li>when removed it may damage the surface of the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Fixture Placement=====
<ul>
<li>Four things need to be taken into consideration when mounting the fixtures:</li>
<ul>
<li>Vertical clearance
 The entire mill cutting bed is going to move forward and backward on the Y axis. Any attachments mounted on the back 2/3 of the cutting bed need to be short enough to pass unimpeded under the lowest X axis bar at the back of the mill.</li>
<li>Edge clearances
 The Y axis Home switch is mounted in the front left corner of the mill frame so the Incra clamps need to be kept clear of this area. Additionally, the clamps can not hang over the front or back edges where they might prevent full Y travel. So the Incra clamps must be placed on the front 1/3 of the sides of the cutting bed.</li>
<li>Tool path clearances
 Attachment hardware needs to be kept clear of the tool path and the bottom of the motor and mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Secure Holddown
 The attachment needs to be placed somewhere where it will have adequare grip on both the mill cutting bed and the spoilboard and/or workpiece</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Spoil Board===
A spoil board is a piece of sacrificial lumber that is placed between your workpiece and the mill's cutting bed. It is there to protect the cutting bed and the mill bit in case you inadvertently tell the mill to cut deeper than the thickness of your workpiece.
<ul>
<li>Attach a spoil board at least as large as your workpiece to the center of the mill cutting bed using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs
 A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps
 The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Workpiece===
<ul>
<li>Attach the workpiece to the spoil board using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs 
A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps 
The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Carpet Tape</li>
<li>Hot Glue
 This appears to be a dicey proposition as the glue will start to harden when it contacts the substrate and it may form bumps, which it will be impossible to flatten resulting in the workpiece not being parallel to the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Motors===
Different motors need to be used depending on whether you are milling wood, plastic or metal. Each of these motors has a spindle speed appropriate for its intended use.

===Milling Wood===
<ul>
<li>Check to be certain the controller power sitch, the emergency stop switch and the motor stop
switch are all in the OFF position.</li>
<li>The green Bosch router is used for milling wood.</li>
<li>It takes 1/4 in. bits and its spindle runs at a fixed speed of 35,000 RPM.</li>
<li>Insert the motor into the shiney, silver, aluminum mill motor collar.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench), loosen the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Be careful that you don't cut yourself on the multiple blades on the router bit.</li>
<li>The cutting surfaces of the router bits are brittle and easily chipped on contact with metal. Use care when directing the bit through the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Press the motor into the mill motor collar until about 1/2 in. of the silver metal motor nose extends below the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar using a 3/16 in. hex key.</li>
</ul>
<li>Insert the desired bit into the collet.</li>
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. router bits are located on the wooden shelf in the back right corner of the machine shop in a wooden box labeled Peter 506.</li>
<li>Loosen the collet nut with the silver Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>The bits fit snugly - use care that your fingers don't slip on the bit and get sliced open. Hold the bits by their non-cutting surfaces.</li>
<li>DON'T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut with the same Bosch #17 open-end wrench.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>

====Milling Plastics====
<ul>
<li>Either of the motors may be used</li>
<ul>
<li>see 6.4.1. Milling Wood and 6.4.3. Milling Metals for details
</ul>
</ul>

====Milling Metals====
<ul>
<li>A custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor is used for milling metals.</li>
<li>Collets are available to accept bits with shaft diameters of 1.2mm - 3.18 mm. They are located in the CNC Parts & Tools box, #931.</li>
<li>Install the custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor in the bushing.</li>
<li>Place the motor and bushing in the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap nut on the right side of the collar using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench)
<li>Loosen the collet nut using the Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>Slide the shaft of the bit into the collet being careful that you don't cut your fingers on the flutes.</li>
<li>DON"T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut using the #17 open end wrench</li>
<ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Tool===
The bits used in the mill are referred to as tools.

====Bits for Milling Wood====
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. shank wood bits are in the wooden box labeled Peter 5036 that should be on the wooden shelf in the right rear corner of the machine shop.</li>
</ul>

====Bits for Milling Plastic====
<ul>
<li> Bits for milling plastics are dependant on which of the motors is being used. See sections 6.5.1. and 6.5.3. for specifics.
</li>
</ul>

====Bits for milling non-ferrous metal====
<ul>
<li>A limited number of bits for milling metals are to be found in the CNC Tools & Parts box, #931.</li>
<li>If a specific bit size is required you may need to provide your own bit (and consider leaving it at the space for others to use).</li>
</ul>

===Controller===

There is nothing you need to do with the controller at this point, and it is indeed a simple device, at least outwardly.
The controller is the beige "black box" on the workbench over the CNC mill.</p?
There are only three physical controls on the controller:
<ul>

====Power Switch====
<ul>
<li>A medium-sized rocker switch at the top left edge of the controller, which controls all power to the mill (but not to the BeagleBone inside the controller which is continuously powered).</l1>
</ul>

====Emergency Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large, red, round, mushroom plunger switch in the middle of the left edge of the controller is used as an emergency stop.</li>
<li>Once pressed it must be rotated clockwise before it will pop back out and restore power.</li>
<li>
This switch just cuts power to the motors so the spindle and bit will continue to spin until they lose their momentum.</li>
</ul>

====Motor Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large black paddle switch in the lower left corner of the controller is the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>This is the best emergency stop switch on the mill becauses it engages motor brakes as well as cutting power to the motors so everything stops instantly.</li>
<li>Your hand should be on this switch at all times when the mill is in operation.</li>
</ul>




==Controlling the Mill==

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%" style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>The machine shop is a dusty place and you will be making more dust while running the CNC mill. You have to be at the mill at all times when it is running so your computer will be in that dusty environment too. Both you and your computer will be breathing that wood dust unless you take protective measures. If you have an old, mothballed laptop that might be the thing to use to control the CNC mill. Consider enclosing your laptop in a large plastic bag to limit dust incursion, but be aware that that could cause your laptop to overheat. As for protecting yourself, see section 8.1.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<ul>
There are three ways to control the CNC Mill: with a pendant, from a mobile device, or from a computer.

The pendant is the preferred method. Since it is directly attached to the BeagleBone there will be no lag between when you issue a command and when that command is carried out. This will be important in the event of something untoward happening which requires an immediate tool stopage. The pendant is a sealed device that is designed to be used with CNC mills and llathes so it will not be harmed by wood dust.

The second most preferred method is with a mobile device since these are also sealed devices and should not be terribly affected by dust although you will have to work to get it out of any cracks in the case. The device will have to log into the BeagleBone over a wireless connection so this may inject some lag.

Because computers often have fans that are going to suck in machine shop air and blow it into the lungs of your machine, this is the least preferred method of connection. It is the one that we know works right now.

===Pendant Control===
A pendant is like a wired, special purpose tablet. It has a display screen to tell you what the mill is doing, some buttons that allow you to tell the mill what to do, and a jog wheel to help you navigate on-screen menus and manually move the router around the cutting bed.

===Mobile Device Control===

====Android====
The Web postings say this works but I haven't gotten it to work for me yet.
<ul>

=====Xvnc=====
<ul>
<li>Xvnc is an X Windows server that needs to be launched and be running in the background when ConnectBot is launched. You won't even know it is there -- or isnt.</lii>
</ul>

=====ConnectBot=====
<ul>
<li>ConnectBot is an SSH client for Android. It needs to be configured to connect to the BeagleBone, may require some port forwarding, and probably needs to be told to get the output of Xvnc.
</ul>

====IOS====

=====iSSH=====
iSSH is an SSH client for iOS deices that is supposed to automatically handle X Windows.</li>

===Windows Mobile====

=====MI/X=====
This is an abandonware X Server for Windows that was indicated as possibly working under Windows Mobile. It is the only X Servre I have found for Windows Mobile.

=====The SSH Client=====
This is an SSH client for Windows Phone 8

===Computer Control===

====Windows====

=====WinSCP=====
WinSCP allows your Windows computer to log into a Linux computer and provides a GUI interfaced file manager that supports drag-and-drop file transfers.
<ul>
<li>Make sure that the power switch on the controller is in the ON position.</li>
<li>Launch WinSCP</li>
<li>In the Login dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select the cnc.local or cnc.lan profile</li>
<li>Enter the</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Login button.</li>
<li>A split screen directory will appear with your laptop displayed on the left and the BeagleBone on the right.</li>
<li>Browse your computer's directory tree to the location where you have your Gcode file stored.</li>
<li>Browse the BeagleBone to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.
 By placing your file in this directory Linux will "remember" location and these instructions will work for subsequent users who might not be as adept at navigating a Linux machine, like me.</li>
<li>Click and drag your Gcode file from the left window and drop it in the right window to copy file to the BeagleBone.</li>
<li>Exit WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
 
<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style=background:yellow>
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>Do not leave the hackerspace with the expectation that your files will still be on the BeagleBone when you return. They may have disappeared for any number of reasons such as, but not limited to:
<ul>
<li>An accidental erasure</li>
<li>Space needed for the files of others</li>
<li>System maintenance</li>
<li>An act of [insert name of your preferred diety here]
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</ul>

=====Xming=====
<ul>
<li>Launch Xming
 Nothing will appear to have happened but Xming should be running in the background, and you will not know if it is active -- or not -- until you launch LinuxCNC a few steps later on and see -- or don't see -- a GUI.</li>
</ul>

=====PuTTY=====
<ul>
<li>Launch PuTTY</li>
<li>Select and Load the cnc.local profile.</li>
<li>In the Category list open SSH > X11</li>
<ul>
<li>Verify the following settings:
 Enable X11 forwarding is checked
 X display location: localhost 0.0
 MIT-Magic-Cookie-1 is selected</l>
</ul>
<li>Click the Open button.</li>
<li>At the Linux, Login as: prompt supply the username: machinekit.</li>
<li>At the password: prompt, supply the password: machinekit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Linux====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH</li>
<ul>
<li>machinekit@cnc.local -p 23</li>
<li>Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
</ul>

=====SSH=====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH and connect to cnc.local over the network.</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Copy your Gcode file into the remote directory 
/home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Launch LinuxCNC.</li>
<li>The LinuxCNC splash screen will appear followed by the LinuxCNC AXIS GUI in an X11 window.</li>
</ul>

====Android====

====iOS====




==Running the Mill==

===Personal Protective Gear===

===Hearing Protection===

The mill is loud. It uses a router for a motor and they are notoriously loud. And you are going to be using the shopvac during the entire operation and it is even louder. Be kind to your ears and use hearing protection. If you have not brought your own, there is generally a bottle of disposable in-ear canal earplugs in the smal, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop. Since these are a single use item, it is safest to bring your own pair to the space with you.

====Eyesight Protection====

The mill has a spinning blade that is going to throw wood/plastic/metal chips all around it. Additionally it is not unheard of for a bit to snap and to fly to parts unknown. And you are going to be staring at the moving parts of the mill the entire time it is in operation to make sure it is not tearing itself or anything else, up and needs to be emergency stopped immediately. So wear eye protection. If you have not brought your own, there is a supply of safety glasses and/or goggles in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop.

====Respiratory Protection====

There will be wood dust in the air of the machine shop and even the rest of the space. This fine dust can and will get into your lungs where it can do all sorts of nasty things unless you protect yourself. There is a communal respirator in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop, but I would not be inclined to want to breathe through a respirator everyone else has been breathing through. Sometimes there are disposable dust filters there, but you don't know if the one you grab is a new one or one that someone has used and returned to the bin. As with hearing protection, it would be best for you to bring your own particulate filter or respirator.
</ul>

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td align=center>You have been warned.</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Debris Removal===

It is important that debris be kept clear of the bit. This will provide a place for new material to go as it is cut from the workpiece, and keep it from bogging down the spindle. It will also help to reduce the amount of wood dust that fills the air of the entire hackerspace.

One of your hands should always be on the Motor Stop switch and the other one should always be holding the hose of the shopvac near the area of the workpiece the mill is cutting...carefully. Be mindful of sudden motor movements.

===Start the Job===

Everything has been building up to this moment. It is finally time to start the mill and make a big piece of wood/plastic/metal into a small piece of wood/plastic/metal. Let the chips fly!

====LinuxCNC====

Now we are up to the point the first C in CNC (Computer Numerical Control). This is the point when we have to start using software to control the mill. That software is LinuxCNC.

LinuxCNC is software that takes the commands embedded in your Gcode file and translates them into electrical signals that will actuate the various motors of your specific machine. That maachine can be a mill or a lathe and can operate on two axes, 2.5 exes, three axes, as our mill has, or up to nine axes, as big commercial machines have. So there is a lot this software can and will do. It is running on a lowly BeagleBone under Machinekit, a subset of Debian.

LinuxCNC is already installed on the BeagleBone running the mill and has alaready been configured to understand the components of the mill and how to control them. Its almost as simple as giving LinuxCNC your Gcode file and telling it to make your object. But it isn't quite that simple.

I started out by downloading the three pieces of LinuxCNC documentation. You can get them from <a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/">http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/</a>. They are
<dl>
<dt>LinuxCNC Getting Started</dt>
<dd>I figured this would be the place to go to get the quick and dirty instructions, but it turns out to be instructions on getting the software and installing it on the controller. It does have a Glossary which I found helpful.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC User Manual<dt>
<dd>A user manual sounds like the thing that would tell you what buttons to click in what order to get the job done, but I found it to be a guide to the various menu options in the numerous UIs. It also has a copy of the Glossary.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC Documentation</dt>
<dd>In this tome, which is almost 50 times as long as this long Wiki page, I found a in section III Using LinuxCNC, Chapterr 4 User Interfaces, section 4.1 AXIS GUI which is as close as I came to a PHD (Push Here Dummy) manual. This document also contains the useful Glossary.</dd>
</dl>
This stuff was written by engineers, for engineers who already know how to use a nine axis mill with cooling. I had a chemistry professor like them ages ago when I was in college. He could explain anything to another PhD, but he couldn't explain anything to me. Hence my minor in Psychology.

So what follows are the bare bones of what you need to know about LinuxCNC to convince it to make your object.

=====Prepare LinuxCNC=====
<li>At the Linux $ prompt, type linuxcnc to launch the mill control program.</li>
<li>A Machinekit Configuration Selector screen will appear</li>
<ul>
<li>Select Xylotex.</li>
<li>OK
</ul>
<li>A Machinekit splash screen will appear</li>
<li>PuTTY will automatically capture the X11 LinuxCNC AXIS GUI window and redirect it to your laptop screen.</li>
<li>Load your Gcode file.</li>
<ul>
<li>File > Open.</li>
<li>Browse the directory tree to /home/machinekit.machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Select your Gcode file and Open</li>
<li>Your Gcode will be displayed at the bottom of the AXIS screen and a small depiction of the tool path will be displayed in the black window.</li>
</ul>

=====Prepare the Mill=====
<ul>
<li>press the orange power button on the toolbar</li>
</ul>

======Home all axes======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Press Home All</li>
</ul>

======Offset the Mill======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Use the buttons in the Manual Control tab to move the motor, and hence the tool tip, in all three axes.</li>
<li>Press Tool Touch Off</li>
<ul>
<li>Jog tool to the cornerr of the workpiece where you located your Inkscape Control Points.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using the buttons, select an axis.</li>
<li>Rotate the jog wheel clockwise or counterclockwise as appropriate to move to tool.
 The computer has a key ahead buffer so rotate the wheel slowly so you don't fill the buffer and cause to tool to move farther than you intended possibly doing damage to the mill or your, your workpiece, or yoourself.</li>
<li>Press Touch Off and in the Touch Off dialog box make sure 0.0 appears and press OK to log the tool position as the origin of that axis of the tool path for this cut.</li>
<li>Iterate for the remaining axes.</li>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>. . .</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Start Milling====
<li>Press the gray, right-pointing arrow to begin milling.</li>
<ul>
<li>To have the mill process the file one line at a time sequentially press the gray, right-pointing arrow.</li>
</ul>
<li>Watch the mill to be sure that it isn't doing anything untoward and be prepared to stop it if anything happens - i.e. keep one hand on the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>Keep the shop vac going to draw waste chips away from the tool.</li>
</ul>
If it all goes south and you are hopelessly lost and want a do over
<ul>
<li>Stop the mill.</li>
<li>Close the AXIS GUI window.</li>
<li> At the Linux $ prompt type sudo reboot ENTER</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>




==Cleanup==

Hopefully what you intended the mill to do and what you actually told the mill to do were in agreement and you got the item you envisioned. But the job isn't finished yet. Now it is time to put the CNC mill to bed.

<ul>
<li>Press the Motor Stop switch down to lock the mill
motors.</li>
<li>Press the Emergency Stop switch to disconnect power from the motors.</li>
<li>Close PuTTY to end your SSH connection to the BeableBone.</li>
<li>Delete your Gcode files from the BeagleBone.</li>
<ul>
<li>Start WinCSP and log back into the BeagleBone as previously.</li>
<li>In the right side directory pane browse to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.</li>
<li>Delete your files.</li>
<li>Close WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Power Switch to the off position.</li>
<li>Carefully remove the bit from the spindle and return it to its storage box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Remember that the bit shanks fit snugly in the box holes so don’t let your fingers slip down the tool face when pressing them into the box.
 Hold the bit by the non-cutting edges.
 If the end of the bit is not a cutting surface use one hand to align the bit with the hole while you press the shaft into the hole by pressing in the center of the cutting end of the bit.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove your workpiece and the spoil board from the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Place the Bosch open-end wrench ###>.</li>
<li>Return the hex wrench to Pliers/Hex Keys/Crimpers/Wrenches Box #464.</li>
<li>Check around the mill, workbench and floor for any
small parts that anyone might have been dropped.</li>
<li>Vacuum the mill, surrounding shelf, workbench top, surrounding floor and the exterior of your laptop to clean up any chips and sawdust.</li>
</ul>

Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter

2025-11-20T19:13:47Z

Citybadger: /* Printing with Inkscape */

===Laserpoint 3===
'''The Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter'''

[[:File:LP3user_manual_FINAL_07_09_2019.pdf|User Manual]]

===Connecting to the Cutter===

There is currently no network interface or server attached to the cutter. Connect your computer to the cutter using a USB-A or USB C to USB-B cable. Take note of which COM port it uses.

===Printing with Inkscape===
Download Inkscape, or use Inkscape installed on the iMac in the space.
* [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]

Convert your raster image to a vector
* File -> Import...
* Click ok to import with default settings
* Make sure this new object is selected
* Path -> Trace Bitmap...
* Adjust the settings to your liking
* You can hide or delete the original image in the layers tab

Send to Cutter
* Extensions-> Export -> Plot...
* Your plot settings should look like this, but with "Serial port" changed to whichever port you're using
[[File:Plot settings.jpg | 600px]]
* Click "Apply", and the cutter will start

===Printing with Inkcut===

Download Inkcut
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/ Inkcut Project Link]
Instructions for Windows, Linux, and Mac
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/download/ Inkcut Download Instructions]

Open a file in Inkcut
* .SVG works well for this
* .SVG files can be formatted with [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]
* Example image below
[[File:Hello_Kitty.jpg | 200px]]

===Necessary Settings in Inkcut===
'''General'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_General.png | 600px]]

Select Driver "US Cutter Laserpoint"

'''Device'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Device.png | 600px]]

Scroll down in the Device settings column to "Job Commands."

In the section "Before Job," add the following code:

<code>IN;</code>

'''Connection'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Connection.png | 600px]]

For Type, select "QT Serialport"

Select the correct port, the USB option that looks most likely to be a vinyl cutter(not shown in screenshot)

Select Hardware flow control (unsure if this setting is 100% necessary).

Then send to print!

(Instructions still in beta testing)

Silhouette 3 Cameo

2025-11-20T19:05:15Z

Citybadger: Added info about cutting software on the iMac, and added info about available methods for uploading files.

[[:File:Cameo-3-en.pdf|User's Manual]]

[https://youtu.be/zJZTW0E_dqQ Manufacturer's Video Tutorial]

Use the [https://github.com/fablabnbg/inkscape-silhouette Inkscape plug-in] or use the manufacturer's [https://www.silhouetteamerica.com/silhouette-studio Silhouette Studio] software to prepare files for this cutter. Both are installed on the iMac in the space.

This cutter supports uploading of files via Bluetooth, USB, or USB flash drive. The Bluetooth name is CAMEO3-334042R.

CNC Mill Operations

2025-10-28T14:34:57Z

Citybadger:

'''Status:''' Non-Operational

Controller and motor driver issues
----
The motor driver is a [https://www.geckodrive.com/product/g540-4-axis-digital-step-drive/ Geckodrive G540]. Reportedly the Y axis of the driver is burnt out. The endstops need to be wired. Note the RJ45 jack on on the back of enclosure is for the endstops. It is not an Ethernet port!

The controller is a ESP32 running [http://wiki.fluidnc.com/en/home FluidNC], connected to the parallel port of the Geckodrive.
The ESP32 is connected to the wifi network ''hm-north_24'' at IP address [http://192.168.0.20 192.168.0.20]. Currently this is statically configured. This should be changed as it is on the DHCP range for the router without the router having been configured for it and may lead to address conflicts.

When you connect to controller with a web browser it will show the controls.
----
Much(if not all) of the documentation below needs revision. Ideally rewritten entirely with large chunks removed and trimmed.
---
There are many paths from point A to point Z. This document details a workflow that has been tested and is known to work on our present equipment.

CNC Mill Capabilities

===Materials===
<ul>
<li>Wood</li>
<li>Plastics</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals</li>
</ul>

===Dimensions===
There are three dimensions of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>X axis</dt>
<dd>left to right travel</dd>
<dt>Y axis</dt>
<dd>front to back travel</dd>
<dt>Z axis</dt>
<dd>up and down travel</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
and each of these axes has two or three diension of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>Maximum</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Effective</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Safe</dt>
<dd>maximum - fixtures</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
<table width=100% border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr>
<th width=10%></th><th width=30%>Maximum</th><th width=30%>Effective</th><th width=30%>Safe</th>
<tr>
<tr>
<th>X</th><td>400 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Y</th><td>228 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Z</th><td>depends on the motor and bit used. Measure after Homing All with the bit installed. Remember to subtract the thickness of your workpiece and the spoil board</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Spindle Speed===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 35,000 RPM fixed</li>
<li>Plastic: 0-15,000 RPM or 35,000 RPM depending on which motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 0-15,000 RPM</li>
</ul>
Spindle speed is a factor of the material being machined and the size and shape of the bit being used. Starting point guides can be found in "Speeds and Feeds" programs and Web pages.

===Collet Diameter===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 0.25 in</li>
<li>Plastics: depends on whch motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 1.2 mm - 3.18 mm depending on the bit-collet combination</li>
</ul>




==Prepare Your Computer==

To create the Gcode that will control the mill we will be using Inkscape to draw the shape and then the Inkscape extension Gcodetools to convert that shape to Gcode.
<center>Inkscape → Gcodetools → CAMotics → SSH &8594; LinuxCNC</center>
Will other toolchains work? Probably. But we have not tested them so have documented this one which we know does work.


===Inkscape===
Inkscape is a drawing tool much like Adobe IllustratorTM, only it is free. It produces
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files and can export Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It is not as finished as Illustrator but it gets the job done.
Could you use Illustrator instead? Probably. But, since this known working toolchain is based on using Gcodetools, which is an Inkscape plugin, you will need to use Inkscape anyway. So, you might as well bite the bullet and create your drawing in Inkscape rather than creating it elsewhere, and then importing it into Inkscape so that you can use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to create the Gcode file.

I have used SketchUp to design 3D prints, an adative Gcode process, so I don't see why it could not be used to create the Gcode needed for controlling the mill, a subtractive Gcode process.

Autodesk® Fusion 360TM is another viable option. It has the disadvanatage that it is cloud based so you can only use it in places where you have Internet access.

====Install Inkscape====
<ul>
<li>Download Inscape from <a href="httphttps://inkscape.org.download/">https://inkscape.org.download/</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the Inkscape install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user you might want to tweak things.</li>
<li>Launch Inkscape</li>
<li>In File > Document Properties</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit the following
settings:</li>
<ul>
<li>General > Display units : mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Units: mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Width: 400 mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Height: 280 mm</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

====Install the Gcodetools Extension====

<ul>
<li>Download the Gcodetools extension from <a href="http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools">http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools</a></li>
<li>Decompress the archive and copy all of the files to the Inkscape extensions directory.
 Do not nest the extension files in their own subdirectory.</li>
<dl>
<dt>Windows</dt>
<dd>C:/Program Files/Inkscape/share/extensions<dd>
<dt>OS X</dt>
<dd>/Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/Extensions</dd>
<dt>Linux</dt>
<dd>/usr/share/inkscape/extensions</dd>
</dl>
</ul>

===CAMotics===

CAMotics' raison d'être is to let you visualize what your mill will do before you tell it to go and do something that might be destructive to itself, your workpiece, and/or you. Its capabilities are a bit limited as everything is shows you is predicated on the toolpath it reads from your Gcode, so it knows nothing about the size and shape of your workpiece or the location of holddowns that may be in the path of the tool.
<ul>
<li>Download CAMotics from <a
href="http://www.canotics.org">http://www.canotics.org</a> and install it
accepting the defaults.</li>
</ul>

==Create Your Gcode==

We will use Inkscape to draw the shape of the
object we want to cut on the mill and will then use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to generate the required Gcode. I will assume here that you already know how to use Inkscape and will only deal with the part about using the Gcodetools plugin to create the Gcode file. If you need instructions on using Inkscape search for any of the excellent (and some not so excellennt) tutorials on the Internet.

===Convert Your Object to a Path===
<ul>
<li>Select the object(s) to be acted upon.</li>
<li>Path > Object to Path</li>
</ul>

===Add Orientation Points===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Orientation Points</li>
<li>Edit Z depth to the depth at which the path will be cut.
 Depths should be expressed as negative numbers in mm.</li>
<ul>
<li>e.g. A 3mm deep hole would be written as -3.00000
 The entire path will be cut to the same depth. To cut paths of multiple depths you will need to create multiple Tool Paths and from them multiple Gcode files using a different Z depth in the Orientation Points of each file. This can probably be accomplished using layers but I haven't had a need to figure the procedure out yet.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Apply</li>
<li>A pair of orientation points will appear at the bottom of the Inkscape page in the format:</li>
<center><table>
<tr>
<td width=37%>↙(0.0; 0.0; 0.0)</td>
<td width=25%></td>
<td>↙(100.0; 0.0; -3.0)</td>
</tr>
</table></center>
These points we be used to create the relative positional references (mill offsets) for the mill. I Like to use the lower left corner of my workpiece as the touch off point (8.3.1.2.2.) so I move the control points to this location on my inkscape drawing.
</ul>

===Define a Tool===

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools> Tool Library</li>
<li>Select a tool type and Apply.</li>
<li>A colored box will appear beneath the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<li>Close the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Click the close button at the bottom of the dialog
 OR
 if you are feeling particularly energetic, move your cursor all the way to the top of the dialog box and click the X at the right end of the title ribbon.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the colored box and drag it somewhere convenient where it does not obstruct your drawing. I usually put mine beneath the Inkscape page boarder adjacent to the Orientation Points. However, I have not found it to matter where you put it as long as it is on the layer where your path is.</li>
<li>Use the Inkscape Text tool to edit the diameter line of the Tool box and enter the diameter of the tool you will be using in mm.</li>
</ul>

==Create a Tool Path==

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area
 Will cut everything out of the defined path, e.g. will cut oout a circle as opposed to cutting out just the border of the circle.</li>
<li>On the Area tab adjust Area Tool Overlap as necessary.
 Valid values are 0 - 0.9 and represent the % of the tool which will be over already removed material.</li>
<li>On the Fill Area tab set Filling Method to either Zig zag [that is the way they spell it in Russia so I didn't change it so you won't get confused when looking at the dialog box options] or Spiral as seems best.</li>
<li>Select the path you want to turn into a toolpath.
 You can leave the Area dialog box open while making this selection.</li>
<li>With either the Area or the Area Fill tab selected, press the Apply button.</li>
<li>A notification box will appear saying something about the program working.</li>
<li>The notification box will close and the toolpath will be drawn in blue inside the path you had previously selected.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it doesn't work:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Create the Gcode===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area</li>
<li>On the Preferences tab:</li>
<ul>
<li>You will have to edit the Directory item as the default value is to place the generated file in the /home directory of a Linux machine.
 I have found that Gcodetools has trouble with my nested directory file structure and have found that placing the file on my desktop works best (/Users/[username]/Desktop).</li>
<li>Edit File to give the saved file a name you will recognize.</li>
<li>If the Add numeric suffix to filename is checked, each time you create a Gcode it will have a serial number appended to the filename. This can result in having a directory full of versions of the same file but it might save your bacon if you trash the file but one of the older versions works.</li>
<li>Set units to mm.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the blue toolpath you created in the last step.</li>
<li>Open the Path to Gcode tab and click the Apply button</li>
<li>A notification dialog should appear saying something about the machine working on the conversion.</li>
<li>When the dialog closes, check the location on your computer where you told Gcodetools to save the Gcode file and it should be there.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it isnt working:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>




==Verify Your Gcode==
<ul>
<li>Launch CAMotics.</li>
<li>File > New Project</li>
<li>In the aptly named Dialog
dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Set Units to Metric (mm).</li>
<li>Set Tool Table to Empty.</li>
</ul>
<li>File > Add File</li>
<li>In the Create new project or add NC files dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select G-Code File</li>
<li>Press the OK button.</li>
</ul>
<li>In the New GCode file dialog, browse to the location of your Gcode file, Select the file and click the Open button.</li>
<li>Right-click in the Tool Table area and select New Tool from the context menu.</li>
<ul>
<li>In the Tool Editor dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit Number.
 Every tool has to have a unique number between 1 and 999. Since your Tool Table is empty, it does not matter what number you assign to your tool.</li>
<li>Edit Units to mm.</li>
<li>Edit Shape to the shape of the mill you will be using.</li>
<li>Length can be left unchanged.</li>
<li>Edit Diameter to the diameter of your bit in mm.</li>
<li>Click the Save button</li>

CAMotics will use whatever tool is at the top of the list in the Tool Table, but since you started with an empty list, and have only added one tool, that should not be an issue. If you did not set Tool Table to empty in the Dialog dialog box, and have multiple tools in the Tool Table list, delete all the extra ones until your tool is at the top of the list. I have not found a way to rearrange the list, so find it easiest to start with an empty list and add my one tool to it.
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Press the black, right-pointing triangle to start the simulation.</li>
<li>Use the double right-pointing and double left-pointing arrows to respectively increase and decrease the speed of the animation.</li>
</ul>
You can also use an online Gcode verifier such as the one at <a href="http://www.gcode.ws">http://www.gcode.ws</a> .





==Prepare the Mill==
To some this section might seem out of place, but my feeling is that when dealing with power tools, everything that can be done before the machine is plugged in should be done.

===Fixtures===
Fixtures are anything used to hold the workpiece in place on the mill's cutting bed.

====Types of Fixtures====

=====Step Block Pairs=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>multiple sizes and adjustable heights for all thicknesses of spoil boards and work pieces </li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>can be fiddely to install until you get used to them</li>
<li>sit above the top of the workpiece and can be in the way of tool movement.</li>
<li>can leave an impression in wood of clamped too tightly</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Incra Clamps=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>tall studs so they can hold thick workpieces.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>high profile restricts areas of the mill cutting bed where they can be used so they aren't in the path of tool movement</li>
<li>if clamped too tightly they can dent the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Double Stick Carpet Tape=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>fairly secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>can hold any thickness of material while hardly adding any thickness to it</li>
<li>below the level of the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>when pealed off wooden workpiece it may pull up the grain of the wood</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Hot Glue=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width="50%">Advantages</th><th width="50%">Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>can be used to hold any thickness workpiece without adding much height to it</li>
<li>below the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>will start to congeal as soon as it contacts the substrate and lumps may form that prevent the workpiece from sitting parallel to the mill cutting bed</li>
<li>it may not go on in an even thickness bead depending on pressure applied to the gun trigger at any given time and may not spread to an even thickness when the workpiece is pressed in place, so the workpiece may not be parallel to the mill cutting bed and your cut may not be made to a uniform depth</li>
<li>when removed it may damage the surface of the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Fixture Placement=====
<ul>
<li>Four things need to be taken into consideration when mounting the fixtures:</li>
<ul>
<li>Vertical clearance
 The entire mill cutting bed is going to move forward and backward on the Y axis. Any attachments mounted on the back 2/3 of the cutting bed need to be short enough to pass unimpeded under the lowest X axis bar at the back of the mill.</li>
<li>Edge clearances
 The Y axis Home switch is mounted in the front left corner of the mill frame so the Incra clamps need to be kept clear of this area. Additionally, the clamps can not hang over the front or back edges where they might prevent full Y travel. So the Incra clamps must be placed on the front 1/3 of the sides of the cutting bed.</li>
<li>Tool path clearances
 Attachment hardware needs to be kept clear of the tool path and the bottom of the motor and mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Secure Holddown
 The attachment needs to be placed somewhere where it will have adequare grip on both the mill cutting bed and the spoilboard and/or workpiece</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Spoil Board===
A spoil board is a piece of sacrificial lumber that is placed between your workpiece and the mill's cutting bed. It is there to protect the cutting bed and the mill bit in case you inadvertently tell the mill to cut deeper than the thickness of your workpiece.
<ul>
<li>Attach a spoil board at least as large as your workpiece to the center of the mill cutting bed using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs
 A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps
 The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Workpiece===
<ul>
<li>Attach the workpiece to the spoil board using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs 
A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps 
The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Carpet Tape</li>
<li>Hot Glue
 This appears to be a dicey proposition as the glue will start to harden when it contacts the substrate and it may form bumps, which it will be impossible to flatten resulting in the workpiece not being parallel to the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Motors===
Different motors need to be used depending on whether you are milling wood, plastic or metal. Each of these motors has a spindle speed appropriate for its intended use.

===Milling Wood===
<ul>
<li>Check to be certain the controller power sitch, the emergency stop switch and the motor stop
switch are all in the OFF position.</li>
<li>The green Bosch router is used for milling wood.</li>
<li>It takes 1/4 in. bits and its spindle runs at a fixed speed of 35,000 RPM.</li>
<li>Insert the motor into the shiney, silver, aluminum mill motor collar.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench), loosen the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Be careful that you don't cut yourself on the multiple blades on the router bit.</li>
<li>The cutting surfaces of the router bits are brittle and easily chipped on contact with metal. Use care when directing the bit through the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Press the motor into the mill motor collar until about 1/2 in. of the silver metal motor nose extends below the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar using a 3/16 in. hex key.</li>
</ul>
<li>Insert the desired bit into the collet.</li>
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. router bits are located on the wooden shelf in the back right corner of the machine shop in a wooden box labeled Peter 506.</li>
<li>Loosen the collet nut with the silver Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>The bits fit snugly - use care that your fingers don't slip on the bit and get sliced open. Hold the bits by their non-cutting surfaces.</li>
<li>DON'T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut with the same Bosch #17 open-end wrench.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>

====Milling Plastics====
<ul>
<li>Either of the motors may be used</li>
<ul>
<li>see 6.4.1. Milling Wood and 6.4.3. Milling Metals for details
</ul>
</ul>

====Milling Metals====
<ul>
<li>A custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor is used for milling metals.</li>
<li>Collets are available to accept bits with shaft diameters of 1.2mm - 3.18 mm. They are located in the CNC Parts & Tools box, #931.</li>
<li>Install the custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor in the bushing.</li>
<li>Place the motor and bushing in the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap nut on the right side of the collar using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench)
<li>Loosen the collet nut using the Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>Slide the shaft of the bit into the collet being careful that you don't cut your fingers on the flutes.</li>
<li>DON"T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut using the #17 open end wrench</li>
<ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Tool===
The bits used in the mill are referred to as tools.

====Bits for Milling Wood====
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. shank wood bits are in the wooden box labeled Peter 5036 that should be on the wooden shelf in the right rear corner of the machine shop.</li>
</ul>

====Bits for Milling Plastic====
<ul>
<li> Bits for milling plastics are dependant on which of the motors is being used. See sections 6.5.1. and 6.5.3. for specifics.
</li>
</ul>

====Bits for milling non-ferrous metal====
<ul>
<li>A limited number of bits for milling metals are to be found in the CNC Tools & Parts box, #931.</li>
<li>If a specific bit size is required you may need to provide your own bit (and consider leaving it at the space for others to use).</li>
</ul>

===Controller===

There is nothing you need to do with the controller at this point, and it is indeed a simple device, at least outwardly.
The controller is the beige "black box" on the workbench over the CNC mill.</p?
There are only three physical controls on the controller:
<ul>

====Power Switch====
<ul>
<li>A medium-sized rocker switch at the top left edge of the controller, which controls all power to the mill (but not to the BeagleBone inside the controller which is continuously powered).</l1>
</ul>

====Emergency Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large, red, round, mushroom plunger switch in the middle of the left edge of the controller is used as an emergency stop.</li>
<li>Once pressed it must be rotated clockwise before it will pop back out and restore power.</li>
<li>
This switch just cuts power to the motors so the spindle and bit will continue to spin until they lose their momentum.</li>
</ul>

====Motor Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large black paddle switch in the lower left corner of the controller is the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>This is the best emergency stop switch on the mill becauses it engages motor brakes as well as cutting power to the motors so everything stops instantly.</li>
<li>Your hand should be on this switch at all times when the mill is in operation.</li>
</ul>




==Controlling the Mill==

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%" style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>The machine shop is a dusty place and you will be making more dust while running the CNC mill. You have to be at the mill at all times when it is running so your computer will be in that dusty environment too. Both you and your computer will be breathing that wood dust unless you take protective measures. If you have an old, mothballed laptop that might be the thing to use to control the CNC mill. Consider enclosing your laptop in a large plastic bag to limit dust incursion, but be aware that that could cause your laptop to overheat. As for protecting yourself, see section 8.1.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<ul>
There are three ways to control the CNC Mill: with a pendant, from a mobile device, or from a computer.

The pendant is the preferred method. Since it is directly attached to the BeagleBone there will be no lag between when you issue a command and when that command is carried out. This will be important in the event of something untoward happening which requires an immediate tool stopage. The pendant is a sealed device that is designed to be used with CNC mills and llathes so it will not be harmed by wood dust.

The second most preferred method is with a mobile device since these are also sealed devices and should not be terribly affected by dust although you will have to work to get it out of any cracks in the case. The device will have to log into the BeagleBone over a wireless connection so this may inject some lag.

Because computers often have fans that are going to suck in machine shop air and blow it into the lungs of your machine, this is the least preferred method of connection. It is the one that we know works right now.

===Pendant Control===
A pendant is like a wired, special purpose tablet. It has a display screen to tell you what the mill is doing, some buttons that allow you to tell the mill what to do, and a jog wheel to help you navigate on-screen menus and manually move the router around the cutting bed.

===Mobile Device Control===

====Android====
The Web postings say this works but I haven't gotten it to work for me yet.
<ul>

=====Xvnc=====
<ul>
<li>Xvnc is an X Windows server that needs to be launched and be running in the background when ConnectBot is launched. You won't even know it is there -- or isnt.</lii>
</ul>

=====ConnectBot=====
<ul>
<li>ConnectBot is an SSH client for Android. It needs to be configured to connect to the BeagleBone, may require some port forwarding, and probably needs to be told to get the output of Xvnc.
</ul>

====IOS====

=====iSSH=====
iSSH is an SSH client for iOS deices that is supposed to automatically handle X Windows.</li>

===Windows Mobile====

=====MI/X=====
This is an abandonware X Server for Windows that was indicated as possibly working under Windows Mobile. It is the only X Servre I have found for Windows Mobile.

=====The SSH Client=====
This is an SSH client for Windows Phone 8

===Computer Control===

====Windows====

=====WinSCP=====
WinSCP allows your Windows computer to log into a Linux computer and provides a GUI interfaced file manager that supports drag-and-drop file transfers.
<ul>
<li>Make sure that the power switch on the controller is in the ON position.</li>
<li>Launch WinSCP</li>
<li>In the Login dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select the cnc.local or cnc.lan profile</li>
<li>Enter the</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Login button.</li>
<li>A split screen directory will appear with your laptop displayed on the left and the BeagleBone on the right.</li>
<li>Browse your computer's directory tree to the location where you have your Gcode file stored.</li>
<li>Browse the BeagleBone to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.
 By placing your file in this directory Linux will "remember" location and these instructions will work for subsequent users who might not be as adept at navigating a Linux machine, like me.</li>
<li>Click and drag your Gcode file from the left window and drop it in the right window to copy file to the BeagleBone.</li>
<li>Exit WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
 
<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style=background:yellow>
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>Do not leave the hackerspace with the expectation that your files will still be on the BeagleBone when you return. They may have disappeared for any number of reasons such as, but not limited to:
<ul>
<li>An accidental erasure</li>
<li>Space needed for the files of others</li>
<li>System maintenance</li>
<li>An act of [insert name of your preferred diety here]
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</ul>

=====Xming=====
<ul>
<li>Launch Xming
 Nothing will appear to have happened but Xming should be running in the background, and you will not know if it is active -- or not -- until you launch LinuxCNC a few steps later on and see -- or don't see -- a GUI.</li>
</ul>

=====PuTTY=====
<ul>
<li>Launch PuTTY</li>
<li>Select and Load the cnc.local profile.</li>
<li>In the Category list open SSH > X11</li>
<ul>
<li>Verify the following settings:
 Enable X11 forwarding is checked
 X display location: localhost 0.0
 MIT-Magic-Cookie-1 is selected</l>
</ul>
<li>Click the Open button.</li>
<li>At the Linux, Login as: prompt supply the username: machinekit.</li>
<li>At the password: prompt, supply the password: machinekit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Linux====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH</li>
<ul>
<li>machinekit@cnc.local -p 23</li>
<li>Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
</ul>

=====SSH=====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH and connect to cnc.local over the network.</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Copy your Gcode file into the remote directory 
/home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Launch LinuxCNC.</li>
<li>The LinuxCNC splash screen will appear followed by the LinuxCNC AXIS GUI in an X11 window.</li>
</ul>

====Android====

====iOS====




==Running the Mill==

===Personal Protective Gear===

===Hearing Protection===

The mill is loud. It uses a router for a motor and they are notoriously loud. And you are going to be using the shopvac during the entire operation and it is even louder. Be kind to your ears and use hearing protection. If you have not brought your own, there is generally a bottle of disposable in-ear canal earplugs in the smal, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop. Since these are a single use item, it is safest to bring your own pair to the space with you.

====Eyesight Protection====

The mill has a spinning blade that is going to throw wood/plastic/metal chips all around it. Additionally it is not unheard of for a bit to snap and to fly to parts unknown. And you are going to be staring at the moving parts of the mill the entire time it is in operation to make sure it is not tearing itself or anything else, up and needs to be emergency stopped immediately. So wear eye protection. If you have not brought your own, there is a supply of safety glasses and/or goggles in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop.

====Respiratory Protection====

There will be wood dust in the air of the machine shop and even the rest of the space. This fine dust can and will get into your lungs where it can do all sorts of nasty things unless you protect yourself. There is a communal respirator in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop, but I would not be inclined to want to breathe through a respirator everyone else has been breathing through. Sometimes there are disposable dust filters there, but you don't know if the one you grab is a new one or one that someone has used and returned to the bin. As with hearing protection, it would be best for you to bring your own particulate filter or respirator.
</ul>

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td align=center>You have been warned.</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Debris Removal===

It is important that debris be kept clear of the bit. This will provide a place for new material to go as it is cut from the workpiece, and keep it from bogging down the spindle. It will also help to reduce the amount of wood dust that fills the air of the entire hackerspace.

One of your hands should always be on the Motor Stop switch and the other one should always be holding the hose of the shopvac near the area of the workpiece the mill is cutting...carefully. Be mindful of sudden motor movements.

===Start the Job===

Everything has been building up to this moment. It is finally time to start the mill and make a big piece of wood/plastic/metal into a small piece of wood/plastic/metal. Let the chips fly!

====LinuxCNC====

Now we are up to the point the first C in CNC (Computer Numerical Control). This is the point when we have to start using software to control the mill. That software is LinuxCNC.

LinuxCNC is software that takes the commands embedded in your Gcode file and translates them into electrical signals that will actuate the various motors of your specific machine. That maachine can be a mill or a lathe and can operate on two axes, 2.5 exes, three axes, as our mill has, or up to nine axes, as big commercial machines have. So there is a lot this software can and will do. It is running on a lowly BeagleBone under Machinekit, a subset of Debian.

LinuxCNC is already installed on the BeagleBone running the mill and has alaready been configured to understand the components of the mill and how to control them. Its almost as simple as giving LinuxCNC your Gcode file and telling it to make your object. But it isn't quite that simple.

I started out by downloading the three pieces of LinuxCNC documentation. You can get them from <a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/">http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/</a>. They are
<dl>
<dt>LinuxCNC Getting Started</dt>
<dd>I figured this would be the place to go to get the quick and dirty instructions, but it turns out to be instructions on getting the software and installing it on the controller. It does have a Glossary which I found helpful.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC User Manual<dt>
<dd>A user manual sounds like the thing that would tell you what buttons to click in what order to get the job done, but I found it to be a guide to the various menu options in the numerous UIs. It also has a copy of the Glossary.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC Documentation</dt>
<dd>In this tome, which is almost 50 times as long as this long Wiki page, I found a in section III Using LinuxCNC, Chapterr 4 User Interfaces, section 4.1 AXIS GUI which is as close as I came to a PHD (Push Here Dummy) manual. This document also contains the useful Glossary.</dd>
</dl>
This stuff was written by engineers, for engineers who already know how to use a nine axis mill with cooling. I had a chemistry professor like them ages ago when I was in college. He could explain anything to another PhD, but he couldn't explain anything to me. Hence my minor in Psychology.

So what follows are the bare bones of what you need to know about LinuxCNC to convince it to make your object.

=====Prepare LinuxCNC=====
<li>At the Linux $ prompt, type linuxcnc to launch the mill control program.</li>
<li>A Machinekit Configuration Selector screen will appear</li>
<ul>
<li>Select Xylotex.</li>
<li>OK
</ul>
<li>A Machinekit splash screen will appear</li>
<li>PuTTY will automatically capture the X11 LinuxCNC AXIS GUI window and redirect it to your laptop screen.</li>
<li>Load your Gcode file.</li>
<ul>
<li>File > Open.</li>
<li>Browse the directory tree to /home/machinekit.machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Select your Gcode file and Open</li>
<li>Your Gcode will be displayed at the bottom of the AXIS screen and a small depiction of the tool path will be displayed in the black window.</li>
</ul>

=====Prepare the Mill=====
<ul>
<li>press the orange power button on the toolbar</li>
</ul>

======Home all axes======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Press Home All</li>
</ul>

======Offset the Mill======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Use the buttons in the Manual Control tab to move the motor, and hence the tool tip, in all three axes.</li>
<li>Press Tool Touch Off</li>
<ul>
<li>Jog tool to the cornerr of the workpiece where you located your Inkscape Control Points.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using the buttons, select an axis.</li>
<li>Rotate the jog wheel clockwise or counterclockwise as appropriate to move to tool.
 The computer has a key ahead buffer so rotate the wheel slowly so you don't fill the buffer and cause to tool to move farther than you intended possibly doing damage to the mill or your, your workpiece, or yoourself.</li>
<li>Press Touch Off and in the Touch Off dialog box make sure 0.0 appears and press OK to log the tool position as the origin of that axis of the tool path for this cut.</li>
<li>Iterate for the remaining axes.</li>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>. . .</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Start Milling====
<li>Press the gray, right-pointing arrow to begin milling.</li>
<ul>
<li>To have the mill process the file one line at a time sequentially press the gray, right-pointing arrow.</li>
</ul>
<li>Watch the mill to be sure that it isn't doing anything untoward and be prepared to stop it if anything happens - i.e. keep one hand on the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>Keep the shop vac going to draw waste chips away from the tool.</li>
</ul>
If it all goes south and you are hopelessly lost and want a do over
<ul>
<li>Stop the mill.</li>
<li>Close the AXIS GUI window.</li>
<li> At the Linux $ prompt type sudo reboot ENTER</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>




==Cleanup==

Hopefully what you intended the mill to do and what you actually told the mill to do were in agreement and you got the item you envisioned. But the job isn't finished yet. Now it is time to put the CNC mill to bed.

<ul>
<li>Press the Motor Stop switch down to lock the mill
motors.</li>
<li>Press the Emergency Stop switch to disconnect power from the motors.</li>
<li>Close PuTTY to end your SSH connection to the BeableBone.</li>
<li>Delete your Gcode files from the BeagleBone.</li>
<ul>
<li>Start WinCSP and log back into the BeagleBone as previously.</li>
<li>In the right side directory pane browse to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.</li>
<li>Delete your files.</li>
<li>Close WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Power Switch to the off position.</li>
<li>Carefully remove the bit from the spindle and return it to its storage box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Remember that the bit shanks fit snugly in the box holes so don’t let your fingers slip down the tool face when pressing them into the box.
 Hold the bit by the non-cutting edges.
 If the end of the bit is not a cutting surface use one hand to align the bit with the hole while you press the shaft into the hole by pressing in the center of the cutting end of the bit.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove your workpiece and the spoil board from the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Place the Bosch open-end wrench ###>.</li>
<li>Return the hex wrench to Pliers/Hex Keys/Crimpers/Wrenches Box #464.</li>
<li>Check around the mill, workbench and floor for any
small parts that anyone might have been dropped.</li>
<li>Vacuum the mill, surrounding shelf, workbench top, surrounding floor and the exterior of your laptop to clean up any chips and sawdust.</li>
</ul>

CNC Mill Operations

2025-10-28T14:10:01Z

Citybadger: Rewrite of introduction to add more info and provide updates on wifi configuration.

The motor driver is a [https://www.geckodrive.com/product/g540-4-axis-digital-step-drive/ Geckodrive G540]. Reportedly the Y axis of the driver is burnt out.

The controller is a ESP32 running [http://wiki.fluidnc.com/en/home FluidNC], connected to the parallel port of the Geckodrive.
The ESP32 is connected to the wifi network ''hm-north_24'' at IP address [http://192.168.0.20]. Currently this is statically configured. This should be change as it is on the DHCP range for the router without configuring the router and may lead to address conflicts.

When you connect to the login screen wia it will show the controls.

'''Status:''' Operational, endstops need to be wired

Much(if not all) of the documentation below needs revision. Ideally rewritten entirely with large chunks removed and trimmed. If it is not cleaner by the end of August 2023, please annoy [[User:Luna Turing|Luna]] about it until she fixes it.





==Introduction==

These instructions have been written from the viewpoint of a Windows 10 user. If you are using another version of Windows, OS X, or one of the multiple flavors of Linux, things may be in different places and your software options may be different, but the principles will be the same.

As much as I have been able to ferret them out, I have included relevant information about the various other OSes. Since a Wiki is a participatory document, I have included places here where users of the various OSes can add
the relevant data required.

There are many paths from point A to point Z. This document details a workflow that has been tested and is known to work on our present equipment.




==CNC Mill Capabilities==

===Materials===
<ul>
<li>Wood</li>
<li>Plastics</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals</li>
</ul>

===Dimensions===
There are three dimensions of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>X axis</dt>
<dd>left to right travel</dd>
<dt>Y axis</dt>
<dd>front to back travel</dd>
<dt>Z axis</dt>
<dd>up and down travel</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
and each of these axes has two or three diension of concern:
<ul>
<dl>
<dt>Maximum</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Effective</dt>
<dd>###</dd>
<dt>Safe</dt>
<dd>maximum - fixtures</dd>
</dl>
</ul>
<table width=100% border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr>
<th width=10%></th><th width=30%>Maximum</th><th width=30%>Effective</th><th width=30%>Safe</th>
<tr>
<tr>
<th>X</th><td>400 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Y</th><td>228 mm</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>Z</th><td>depends on the motor and bit used. Measure after Homing All with the bit installed. Remember to subtract the thickness of your workpiece and the spoil board</td><td>### mm</td><td>### mm</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Spindle Speed===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 35,000 RPM fixed</li>
<li>Plastic: 0-15,000 RPM or 35,000 RPM depending on which motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 0-15,000 RPM</li>
</ul>
Spindle speed is a factor of the material being machined and the size and shape of the bit being used. Starting point guides can be found in "Speeds and Feeds" programs and Web pages.

===Collet Diameter===
<ul>
<li>Wood: 0.25 in</li>
<li>Plastics: depends on whch motor is used</li>
<li>Non-Ferrous Metals: 1.2 mm - 3.18 mm depending on the bit-collet combination</li>
</ul>




==Prepare Your Computer==

To create the Gcode that will control the mill we will be using Inkscape to draw the shape and then the Inkscape extension Gcodetools to convert that shape to Gcode.
<center>Inkscape → Gcodetools → CAMotics → SSH &8594; LinuxCNC</center>
Will other toolchains work? Probably. But we have not tested them so have documented this one which we know does work.


===Inkscape===
Inkscape is a drawing tool much like Adobe IllustratorTM, only it is free. It produces
Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files and can export Portable Document Format (PDF) files. It is not as finished as Illustrator but it gets the job done.
Could you use Illustrator instead? Probably. But, since this known working toolchain is based on using Gcodetools, which is an Inkscape plugin, you will need to use Inkscape anyway. So, you might as well bite the bullet and create your drawing in Inkscape rather than creating it elsewhere, and then importing it into Inkscape so that you can use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to create the Gcode file.

I have used SketchUp to design 3D prints, an adative Gcode process, so I don't see why it could not be used to create the Gcode needed for controlling the mill, a subtractive Gcode process.

Autodesk® Fusion 360TM is another viable option. It has the disadvanatage that it is cloud based so you can only use it in places where you have Internet access.

====Install Inkscape====
<ul>
<li>Download Inscape from <a href="httphttps://inkscape.org.download/">https://inkscape.org.download/</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the Inkscape install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user you might want to tweak things.</li>
<li>Launch Inkscape</li>
<li>In File > Document Properties</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit the following
settings:</li>
<ul>
<li>General > Display units : mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Units: mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Width: 400 mm</li>
<li>Custom Size > Height: 280 mm</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

====Install the Gcodetools Extension====

<ul>
<li>Download the Gcodetools extension from <a href="http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools">http://cnc-club.ru/gcodetools</a></li>
<li>Decompress the archive and copy all of the files to the Inkscape extensions directory.
 Do not nest the extension files in their own subdirectory.</li>
<dl>
<dt>Windows</dt>
<dd>C:/Program Files/Inkscape/share/extensions<dd>
<dt>OS X</dt>
<dd>/Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/Extensions</dd>
<dt>Linux</dt>
<dd>/usr/share/inkscape/extensions</dd>
</dl>
</ul>

===CAMotics===

CAMotics' raison d'être is to let you visualize what your mill will do before you tell it to go and do something that might be destructive to itself, your workpiece, and/or you. Its capabilities are a bit limited as everything is shows you is predicated on the toolpath it reads from your Gcode, so it knows nothing about the size and shape of your workpiece or the location of holddowns that may be in the path of the tool.
<ul>
<li>Download CAMotics from <a
href="http://www.canotics.org">http://www.canotics.org</a> and install it
accepting the defaults.</li>
</ul>

===Remote Connection to the CNC Mill Controller===

To connect to Linux on the BeagleBone Green controlling the CNC mill we will be sing our laptop to establish an SSH connection with PuTTY and using Xming to visualize the X11 windows of the Linux install. We will also use WinSCP to copy the file from the Windows machine to the Linux box. There are other SSH clients and file copy programs that will do the same thing, but unless you already have them installed and are familiar with their use, I would suggest you use this toolchain, which is known to work.
<center>Windows → SSH>PuTTY + Xming → WinSCP → BeagleBone</center>

====Windows====

=====Install PuTTY=====
<ul>
<li>Download PuTTY from <a
href="http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk">www.chiark.greenend.org.uk</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the PuTTY install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user, you might want to tweak things.</li>
<li>Launch Putty</li>
<li>Create and save a connection profile:</li>
<ul>
<li>Host Name (or IP address): cnc.local or cnc.lan</li>
<li>Port: 22</li>
<li>Connection Type: SSH</li>
<li>Category >
Connection > SSH > X11</li>
<ul>
<li>X11 forwarding: Enable X11 forwarding (checked)</li>
<li>X display location: localhost 0.0</li>
<li>Remote X11 authentication protocol: MIT-Magic-Cookie-1</li>
</ul>
<li>Category</li>
<li>Save</li>
</ul>
</ul>

=====Install Xming=====
<ul>
<li>Download Xming from <a href="http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/">http://www.straightrunning.com/XmingNotes/</a></li>
<li>Copy the .exe to a convenient place on your hard drive, like C:\Program Files</li>
</ul>

=====Install WinSCP=====
<ul>
<li>Download WinSCP (Windows Secure Copy Program) from <a href="https://winscp.net/eng/download.php">https://winscp.net/eng/download.php</a></li>
<li>Click the installer to begin the WinSCP install.
 Usually the default settings work fine but if you are a power user, you might want to tweak things.</li>
</ul>

====OS X====

====Linux====

=====SSH=====
<ul>
<li>SSH (Secure SHell) is included in a Linux install, but being a Linux user you already know that. You will use it in place of both PuTTY and WinSCP to both log into the BeagleBone, and to copy your Gcode files to it.</li>
</ul>

=====X11=====
<ul>
<li>X11 (X Windows) is also included in a Linux install and will display the LinuxCNC GUI in the SSH connection.</li>
</ul>

====Android====
I have found Web postings indicating that this works but I have not gotten it to work yet. But then I am not the brightest LED in the array when it comes to these things.

=====Install ConnectBot=====
<ul>
<li>Download and install this program from the Android Play store.</li>
</ul>

=====Install Xvnc=====
<ul>
<li>Download and install this program from the Android Play store.
</ul>

====iOS====
The program description indicates that this will both log you into the BeagleBone and will show you the X11 GUI windows.

=====Install iSSH=====
<ul>
<li>Download and install this program from the iTunes store</li>
</ul>




==Create Your Gcode==

We will use Inkscape to draw the shape of the
object we want to cut on the mill and will then use the Inkscape Gcodetools extension to generate the required Gcode. I will assume here that you already know how to use Inkscape and will only deal with the part about using the Gcodetools plugin to create the Gcode file. If you need instructions on using Inkscape search for any of the excellent (and some not so excellennt) tutorials on the Internet.

===Convert Your Object to a Path===
<ul>
<li>Select the object(s) to be acted upon.</li>
<li>Path > Object to Path</li>
</ul>

===Add Orientation Points===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Orientation Points</li>
<li>Edit Z depth to the depth at which the path will be cut.
 Depths should be expressed as negative numbers in mm.</li>
<ul>
<li>e.g. A 3mm deep hole would be written as -3.00000
 The entire path will be cut to the same depth. To cut paths of multiple depths you will need to create multiple Tool Paths and from them multiple Gcode files using a different Z depth in the Orientation Points of each file. This can probably be accomplished using layers but I haven't had a need to figure the procedure out yet.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Apply</li>
<li>A pair of orientation points will appear at the bottom of the Inkscape page in the format:</li>
<center><table>
<tr>
<td width=37%>↙(0.0; 0.0; 0.0)</td>
<td width=25%></td>
<td>↙(100.0; 0.0; -3.0)</td>
</tr>
</table></center>
These points we be used to create the relative positional references (mill offsets) for the mill. I Like to use the lower left corner of my workpiece as the touch off point (8.3.1.2.2.) so I move the control points to this location on my inkscape drawing.
</ul>

===Define a Tool===

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools> Tool Library</li>
<li>Select a tool type and Apply.</li>
<li>A colored box will appear beneath the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<li>Close the Tool Library dialog box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Click the close button at the bottom of the dialog
 OR
 if you are feeling particularly energetic, move your cursor all the way to the top of the dialog box and click the X at the right end of the title ribbon.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the colored box and drag it somewhere convenient where it does not obstruct your drawing. I usually put mine beneath the Inkscape page boarder adjacent to the Orientation Points. However, I have not found it to matter where you put it as long as it is on the layer where your path is.</li>
<li>Use the Inkscape Text tool to edit the diameter line of the Tool box and enter the diameter of the tool you will be using in mm.</li>
</ul>

==Create a Tool Path==

<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area
 Will cut everything out of the defined path, e.g. will cut oout a circle as opposed to cutting out just the border of the circle.</li>
<li>On the Area tab adjust Area Tool Overlap as necessary.
 Valid values are 0 - 0.9 and represent the % of the tool which will be over already removed material.</li>
<li>On the Fill Area tab set Filling Method to either Zig zag [that is the way they spell it in Russia so I didn't change it so you won't get confused when looking at the dialog box options] or Spiral as seems best.</li>
<li>Select the path you want to turn into a toolpath.
 You can leave the Area dialog box open while making this selection.</li>
<li>With either the Area or the Area Fill tab selected, press the Apply button.</li>
<li>A notification box will appear saying something about the program working.</li>
<li>The notification box will close and the toolpath will be drawn in blue inside the path you had previously selected.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it doesn't work:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your object path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Create the Gcode===
<ul>
<li>Extensions > Gcodetools > Area</li>
<li>On the Preferences tab:</li>
<ul>
<li>You will have to edit the Directory item as the default value is to place the generated file in the /home directory of a Linux machine.
 I have found that Gcodetools has trouble with my nested directory file structure and have found that placing the file on my desktop works best (/Users/[username]/Desktop).</li>
<li>Edit File to give the saved file a name you will recognize.</li>
<li>If the Add numeric suffix to filename is checked, each time you create a Gcode it will have a serial number appended to the filename. This can result in having a directory full of versions of the same file but it might save your bacon if you trash the file but one of the older versions works.</li>
<li>Set units to mm.</li>
</ul>
<li>Select the blue toolpath you created in the last step.</li>
<li>Open the Path to Gcode tab and click the Apply button</li>
<li>A notification dialog should appear saying something about the machine working on the conversion.</li>
<li>When the dialog closes, check the location on your computer where you told Gcodetools to save the Gcode file and it should be there.</li>
<li>Troubleshooting
 Things to check if it isnt working:</li>
<ul>
<li>Are your control points on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Is your tool definition box on the same layer as your tool path?</li>
<li>Did you remember to edit the tool diameter in the tool definition box?</li>
</ul>
</ul>




==Verify Your Gcode==
<ul>
<li>Launch CAMotics.</li>
<li>File > New Project</li>
<li>In the aptly named Dialog
dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Set Units to Metric (mm).</li>
<li>Set Tool Table to Empty.</li>
</ul>
<li>File > Add File</li>
<li>In the Create new project or add NC files dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select G-Code File</li>
<li>Press the OK button.</li>
</ul>
<li>In the New GCode file dialog, browse to the location of your Gcode file, Select the file and click the Open button.</li>
<li>Right-click in the Tool Table area and select New Tool from the context menu.</li>
<ul>
<li>In the Tool Editor dialog box</li>
<ul>
<li>Edit Number.
 Every tool has to have a unique number between 1 and 999. Since your Tool Table is empty, it does not matter what number you assign to your tool.</li>
<li>Edit Units to mm.</li>
<li>Edit Shape to the shape of the mill you will be using.</li>
<li>Length can be left unchanged.</li>
<li>Edit Diameter to the diameter of your bit in mm.</li>
<li>Click the Save button</li>

CAMotics will use whatever tool is at the top of the list in the Tool Table, but since you started with an empty list, and have only added one tool, that should not be an issue. If you did not set Tool Table to empty in the Dialog dialog box, and have multiple tools in the Tool Table list, delete all the extra ones until your tool is at the top of the list. I have not found a way to rearrange the list, so find it easiest to start with an empty list and add my one tool to it.
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>

<ul>
<li>Press the black, right-pointing triangle to start the simulation.</li>
<li>Use the double right-pointing and double left-pointing arrows to respectively increase and decrease the speed of the animation.</li>
</ul>
You can also use an online Gcode verifier such as the one at <a href="http://www.gcode.ws">http://www.gcode.ws</a> .





==Prepare the Mill==
To some this section might seem out of place, but my feeling is that when dealing with power tools, everything that can be done before the machine is plugged in should be done.

===Fixtures===
Fixtures are anything used to hold the workpiece in place on the mill's cutting bed.

====Types of Fixtures====

=====Step Block Pairs=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>multiple sizes and adjustable heights for all thicknesses of spoil boards and work pieces </li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>can be fiddely to install until you get used to them</li>
<li>sit above the top of the workpiece and can be in the way of tool movement.</li>
<li>can leave an impression in wood of clamped too tightly</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Incra Clamps=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>tall studs so they can hold thick workpieces.</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>high profile restricts areas of the mill cutting bed where they can be used so they aren't in the path of tool movement</li>
<li>if clamped too tightly they can dent the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Double Stick Carpet Tape=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width=50%>Advantages</th><th width=50%>Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>fairly secure</li>
<li>easy to use</li>
<li>can hold any thickness of material while hardly adding any thickness to it</li>
<li>below the level of the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>when pealed off wooden workpiece it may pull up the grain of the wood</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Hot Glue=====
<table border=3 cellpadding=5>
<tr><th width="50%">Advantages</th><th width="50%">Disadvantages</th></tr>
<tr>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>secure</li>
<li>can be used to hold any thickness workpiece without adding much height to it</li>
<li>below the workpiece so can't get in the way of tool movement</li>
</ul>
</td>
<td valign=top>
<ul>
<li>will start to congeal as soon as it contacts the substrate and lumps may form that prevent the workpiece from sitting parallel to the mill cutting bed</li>
<li>it may not go on in an even thickness bead depending on pressure applied to the gun trigger at any given time and may not spread to an even thickness when the workpiece is pressed in place, so the workpiece may not be parallel to the mill cutting bed and your cut may not be made to a uniform depth</li>
<li>when removed it may damage the surface of the workpiece</li>
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

=====Fixture Placement=====
<ul>
<li>Four things need to be taken into consideration when mounting the fixtures:</li>
<ul>
<li>Vertical clearance
 The entire mill cutting bed is going to move forward and backward on the Y axis. Any attachments mounted on the back 2/3 of the cutting bed need to be short enough to pass unimpeded under the lowest X axis bar at the back of the mill.</li>
<li>Edge clearances
 The Y axis Home switch is mounted in the front left corner of the mill frame so the Incra clamps need to be kept clear of this area. Additionally, the clamps can not hang over the front or back edges where they might prevent full Y travel. So the Incra clamps must be placed on the front 1/3 of the sides of the cutting bed.</li>
<li>Tool path clearances
 Attachment hardware needs to be kept clear of the tool path and the bottom of the motor and mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Secure Holddown
 The attachment needs to be placed somewhere where it will have adequare grip on both the mill cutting bed and the spoilboard and/or workpiece</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Spoil Board===
A spoil board is a piece of sacrificial lumber that is placed between your workpiece and the mill's cutting bed. It is there to protect the cutting bed and the mill bit in case you inadvertently tell the mill to cut deeper than the thickness of your workpiece.
<ul>
<li>Attach a spoil board at least as large as your workpiece to the center of the mill cutting bed using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs
 A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps
 The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Workpiece===
<ul>
<li>Attach the workpiece to the spoil board using</li>
<ul>
<li>Step Block pairs 
A very secure attachment method but they can be a little fiddley until you get used to using them.</li>
<li>The red INCRA clamps 
The easiest and a very secure attachment method.</li>
<li>Carpet Tape</li>
<li>Hot Glue
 This appears to be a dicey proposition as the glue will start to harden when it contacts the substrate and it may form bumps, which it will be impossible to flatten resulting in the workpiece not being parallel to the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Studs and T-nuts</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Motors===
Different motors need to be used depending on whether you are milling wood, plastic or metal. Each of these motors has a spindle speed appropriate for its intended use.

===Milling Wood===
<ul>
<li>Check to be certain the controller power sitch, the emergency stop switch and the motor stop
switch are all in the OFF position.</li>
<li>The green Bosch router is used for milling wood.</li>
<li>It takes 1/4 in. bits and its spindle runs at a fixed speed of 35,000 RPM.</li>
<li>Insert the motor into the shiney, silver, aluminum mill motor collar.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench), loosen the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Be careful that you don't cut yourself on the multiple blades on the router bit.</li>
<li>The cutting surfaces of the router bits are brittle and easily chipped on contact with metal. Use care when directing the bit through the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Press the motor into the mill motor collar until about 1/2 in. of the silver metal motor nose extends below the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap screw on the right side of the front of the mill motor collar using a 3/16 in. hex key.</li>
</ul>
<li>Insert the desired bit into the collet.</li>
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. router bits are located on the wooden shelf in the back right corner of the machine shop in a wooden box labeled Peter 506.</li>
<li>Loosen the collet nut with the silver Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>The bits fit snugly - use care that your fingers don't slip on the bit and get sliced open. Hold the bits by their non-cutting surfaces.</li>
<li>DON'T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut with the same Bosch #17 open-end wrench.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>

====Milling Plastics====
<ul>
<li>Either of the motors may be used</li>
<ul>
<li>see 6.4.1. Milling Wood and 6.4.3. Milling Metals for details
</ul>
</ul>

====Milling Metals====
<ul>
<li>A custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor is used for milling metals.</li>
<li>Collets are available to accept bits with shaft diameters of 1.2mm - 3.18 mm. They are located in the CNC Parts & Tools box, #931.</li>
<li>Install the custom built, black, GrandTurbo motor in the bushing.</li>
<li>Place the motor and bushing in the mill motor collar.</li>
<li>Tighten the cap nut on the right side of the collar using a 3/16 in. hex key (Allen wrench)
<li>Loosen the collet nut using the Bosch #17 open end wrench.</li>
<li>Slide the shaft of the bit into the collet being careful that you don't cut your fingers on the flutes.</li>
<li>DON"T BOTTOM THE BIT !</li>
<li>Tighten the collet nut using the #17 open end wrench</li>
<ul>
<li>Remove any tools you may have placed on the mill.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

===Tool===
The bits used in the mill are referred to as tools.

====Bits for Milling Wood====
<ul>
<li>1/4 in. shank wood bits are in the wooden box labeled Peter 5036 that should be on the wooden shelf in the right rear corner of the machine shop.</li>
</ul>

====Bits for Milling Plastic====
<ul>
<li> Bits for milling plastics are dependant on which of the motors is being used. See sections 6.5.1. and 6.5.3. for specifics.
</li>
</ul>

====Bits for milling non-ferrous metal====
<ul>
<li>A limited number of bits for milling metals are to be found in the CNC Tools & Parts box, #931.</li>
<li>If a specific bit size is required you may need to provide your own bit (and consider leaving it at the space for others to use).</li>
</ul>

===Controller===

There is nothing you need to do with the controller at this point, and it is indeed a simple device, at least outwardly.
The controller is the beige "black box" on the workbench over the CNC mill.</p?
There are only three physical controls on the controller:
<ul>

====Power Switch====
<ul>
<li>A medium-sized rocker switch at the top left edge of the controller, which controls all power to the mill (but not to the BeagleBone inside the controller which is continuously powered).</l1>
</ul>

====Emergency Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large, red, round, mushroom plunger switch in the middle of the left edge of the controller is used as an emergency stop.</li>
<li>Once pressed it must be rotated clockwise before it will pop back out and restore power.</li>
<li>
This switch just cuts power to the motors so the spindle and bit will continue to spin until they lose their momentum.</li>
</ul>

====Motor Stop====
<ul>
<li>The large black paddle switch in the lower left corner of the controller is the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>This is the best emergency stop switch on the mill becauses it engages motor brakes as well as cutting power to the motors so everything stops instantly.</li>
<li>Your hand should be on this switch at all times when the mill is in operation.</li>
</ul>




==Controlling the Mill==

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%" style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>The machine shop is a dusty place and you will be making more dust while running the CNC mill. You have to be at the mill at all times when it is running so your computer will be in that dusty environment too. Both you and your computer will be breathing that wood dust unless you take protective measures. If you have an old, mothballed laptop that might be the thing to use to control the CNC mill. Consider enclosing your laptop in a large plastic bag to limit dust incursion, but be aware that that could cause your laptop to overheat. As for protecting yourself, see section 8.1.</td>
</tr>
</table>
<ul>
There are three ways to control the CNC Mill: with a pendant, from a mobile device, or from a computer.

The pendant is the preferred method. Since it is directly attached to the BeagleBone there will be no lag between when you issue a command and when that command is carried out. This will be important in the event of something untoward happening which requires an immediate tool stopage. The pendant is a sealed device that is designed to be used with CNC mills and llathes so it will not be harmed by wood dust.

The second most preferred method is with a mobile device since these are also sealed devices and should not be terribly affected by dust although you will have to work to get it out of any cracks in the case. The device will have to log into the BeagleBone over a wireless connection so this may inject some lag.

Because computers often have fans that are going to suck in machine shop air and blow it into the lungs of your machine, this is the least preferred method of connection. It is the one that we know works right now.

===Pendant Control===
A pendant is like a wired, special purpose tablet. It has a display screen to tell you what the mill is doing, some buttons that allow you to tell the mill what to do, and a jog wheel to help you navigate on-screen menus and manually move the router around the cutting bed.

===Mobile Device Control===

====Android====
The Web postings say this works but I haven't gotten it to work for me yet.
<ul>

=====Xvnc=====
<ul>
<li>Xvnc is an X Windows server that needs to be launched and be running in the background when ConnectBot is launched. You won't even know it is there -- or isnt.</lii>
</ul>

=====ConnectBot=====
<ul>
<li>ConnectBot is an SSH client for Android. It needs to be configured to connect to the BeagleBone, may require some port forwarding, and probably needs to be told to get the output of Xvnc.
</ul>

====IOS====

=====iSSH=====
iSSH is an SSH client for iOS deices that is supposed to automatically handle X Windows.</li>

===Windows Mobile====

=====MI/X=====
This is an abandonware X Server for Windows that was indicated as possibly working under Windows Mobile. It is the only X Servre I have found for Windows Mobile.

=====The SSH Client=====
This is an SSH client for Windows Phone 8

===Computer Control===

====Windows====

=====WinSCP=====
WinSCP allows your Windows computer to log into a Linux computer and provides a GUI interfaced file manager that supports drag-and-drop file transfers.
<ul>
<li>Make sure that the power switch on the controller is in the ON position.</li>
<li>Launch WinSCP</li>
<li>In the Login dialog</li>
<ul>
<li>Select the cnc.local or cnc.lan profile</li>
<li>Enter the</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Login button.</li>
<li>A split screen directory will appear with your laptop displayed on the left and the BeagleBone on the right.</li>
<li>Browse your computer's directory tree to the location where you have your Gcode file stored.</li>
<li>Browse the BeagleBone to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.
 By placing your file in this directory Linux will "remember" location and these instructions will work for subsequent users who might not be as adept at navigating a Linux machine, like me.</li>
<li>Click and drag your Gcode file from the left window and drop it in the right window to copy file to the BeagleBone.</li>
<li>Exit WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
 
<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style=background:yellow>
<tr>
<td>N.B.</td>
<td>Do not leave the hackerspace with the expectation that your files will still be on the BeagleBone when you return. They may have disappeared for any number of reasons such as, but not limited to:
<ul>
<li>An accidental erasure</li>
<li>Space needed for the files of others</li>
<li>System maintenance</li>
<li>An act of [insert name of your preferred diety here]
</ul>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</ul>

=====Xming=====
<ul>
<li>Launch Xming
 Nothing will appear to have happened but Xming should be running in the background, and you will not know if it is active -- or not -- until you launch LinuxCNC a few steps later on and see -- or don't see -- a GUI.</li>
</ul>

=====PuTTY=====
<ul>
<li>Launch PuTTY</li>
<li>Select and Load the cnc.local profile.</li>
<li>In the Category list open SSH > X11</li>
<ul>
<li>Verify the following settings:
 Enable X11 forwarding is checked
 X display location: localhost 0.0
 MIT-Magic-Cookie-1 is selected</l>
</ul>
<li>Click the Open button.</li>
<li>At the Linux, Login as: prompt supply the username: machinekit.</li>
<li>At the password: prompt, supply the password: machinekit.</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Linux====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH</li>
<ul>
<li>machinekit@cnc.local -p 23</li>
<li>Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
</ul>

=====SSH=====
<ul>
<li>Launch SSH and connect to cnc.local over the network.</li>
<ul>
<li>Username: machinekit
 Password: machinekit</li>
</ul>
<li>Copy your Gcode file into the remote directory 
/home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Launch LinuxCNC.</li>
<li>The LinuxCNC splash screen will appear followed by the LinuxCNC AXIS GUI in an X11 window.</li>
</ul>

====Android====

====iOS====




==Running the Mill==

===Personal Protective Gear===

===Hearing Protection===

The mill is loud. It uses a router for a motor and they are notoriously loud. And you are going to be using the shopvac during the entire operation and it is even louder. Be kind to your ears and use hearing protection. If you have not brought your own, there is generally a bottle of disposable in-ear canal earplugs in the smal, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop. Since these are a single use item, it is safest to bring your own pair to the space with you.

====Eyesight Protection====

The mill has a spinning blade that is going to throw wood/plastic/metal chips all around it. Additionally it is not unheard of for a bit to snap and to fly to parts unknown. And you are going to be staring at the moving parts of the mill the entire time it is in operation to make sure it is not tearing itself or anything else, up and needs to be emergency stopped immediately. So wear eye protection. If you have not brought your own, there is a supply of safety glasses and/or goggles in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop.

====Respiratory Protection====

There will be wood dust in the air of the machine shop and even the rest of the space. This fine dust can and will get into your lungs where it can do all sorts of nasty things unless you protect yourself. There is a communal respirator in the small, white personal safety items cart located somewhere in the machine shop, but I would not be inclined to want to breathe through a respirator everyone else has been breathing through. Sometimes there are disposable dust filters there, but you don't know if the one you grab is a new one or one that someone has used and returned to the bin. As with hearing protection, it would be best for you to bring your own particulate filter or respirator.
</ul>

<table border=3 cellpadding=5 width="100%"
style="background:yellow">
<tr>
<td align=center>You have been warned.</td>
</tr>
</table>

===Debris Removal===

It is important that debris be kept clear of the bit. This will provide a place for new material to go as it is cut from the workpiece, and keep it from bogging down the spindle. It will also help to reduce the amount of wood dust that fills the air of the entire hackerspace.

One of your hands should always be on the Motor Stop switch and the other one should always be holding the hose of the shopvac near the area of the workpiece the mill is cutting...carefully. Be mindful of sudden motor movements.

===Start the Job===

Everything has been building up to this moment. It is finally time to start the mill and make a big piece of wood/plastic/metal into a small piece of wood/plastic/metal. Let the chips fly!

====LinuxCNC====

Now we are up to the point the first C in CNC (Computer Numerical Control). This is the point when we have to start using software to control the mill. That software is LinuxCNC.

LinuxCNC is software that takes the commands embedded in your Gcode file and translates them into electrical signals that will actuate the various motors of your specific machine. That maachine can be a mill or a lathe and can operate on two axes, 2.5 exes, three axes, as our mill has, or up to nine axes, as big commercial machines have. So there is a lot this software can and will do. It is running on a lowly BeagleBone under Machinekit, a subset of Debian.

LinuxCNC is already installed on the BeagleBone running the mill and has alaready been configured to understand the components of the mill and how to control them. Its almost as simple as giving LinuxCNC your Gcode file and telling it to make your object. But it isn't quite that simple.

I started out by downloading the three pieces of LinuxCNC documentation. You can get them from <a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/">http://www.linuxcnc.org/docs/</a>. They are
<dl>
<dt>LinuxCNC Getting Started</dt>
<dd>I figured this would be the place to go to get the quick and dirty instructions, but it turns out to be instructions on getting the software and installing it on the controller. It does have a Glossary which I found helpful.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC User Manual<dt>
<dd>A user manual sounds like the thing that would tell you what buttons to click in what order to get the job done, but I found it to be a guide to the various menu options in the numerous UIs. It also has a copy of the Glossary.</dd>
<dt>LinuxCNC Documentation</dt>
<dd>In this tome, which is almost 50 times as long as this long Wiki page, I found a in section III Using LinuxCNC, Chapterr 4 User Interfaces, section 4.1 AXIS GUI which is as close as I came to a PHD (Push Here Dummy) manual. This document also contains the useful Glossary.</dd>
</dl>
This stuff was written by engineers, for engineers who already know how to use a nine axis mill with cooling. I had a chemistry professor like them ages ago when I was in college. He could explain anything to another PhD, but he couldn't explain anything to me. Hence my minor in Psychology.

So what follows are the bare bones of what you need to know about LinuxCNC to convince it to make your object.

=====Prepare LinuxCNC=====
<li>At the Linux $ prompt, type linuxcnc to launch the mill control program.</li>
<li>A Machinekit Configuration Selector screen will appear</li>
<ul>
<li>Select Xylotex.</li>
<li>OK
</ul>
<li>A Machinekit splash screen will appear</li>
<li>PuTTY will automatically capture the X11 LinuxCNC AXIS GUI window and redirect it to your laptop screen.</li>
<li>Load your Gcode file.</li>
<ul>
<li>File > Open.</li>
<li>Browse the directory tree to /home/machinekit.machinekit/nc_files</li>
<li>Select your Gcode file and Open</li>
<li>Your Gcode will be displayed at the bottom of the AXIS screen and a small depiction of the tool path will be displayed in the black window.</li>
</ul>

=====Prepare the Mill=====
<ul>
<li>press the orange power button on the toolbar</li>
</ul>

======Home all axes======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Press Home All</li>
</ul>

======Offset the Mill======
<ul>
<li>Machine > Homing</li>
<li>Use the buttons in the Manual Control tab to move the motor, and hence the tool tip, in all three axes.</li>
<li>Press Tool Touch Off</li>
<ul>
<li>Jog tool to the cornerr of the workpiece where you located your Inkscape Control Points.</li>
<ul>
<li>Using the buttons, select an axis.</li>
<li>Rotate the jog wheel clockwise or counterclockwise as appropriate to move to tool.
 The computer has a key ahead buffer so rotate the wheel slowly so you don't fill the buffer and cause to tool to move farther than you intended possibly doing damage to the mill or your, your workpiece, or yoourself.</li>
<li>Press Touch Off and in the Touch Off dialog box make sure 0.0 appears and press OK to log the tool position as the origin of that axis of the tool path for this cut.</li>
<li>Iterate for the remaining axes.</li>
<ul>
</ul>
<li>. . .</li>
</ul>
</ul>

====Start Milling====
<li>Press the gray, right-pointing arrow to begin milling.</li>
<ul>
<li>To have the mill process the file one line at a time sequentially press the gray, right-pointing arrow.</li>
</ul>
<li>Watch the mill to be sure that it isn't doing anything untoward and be prepared to stop it if anything happens - i.e. keep one hand on the motor stop switch.</li>
<li>Keep the shop vac going to draw waste chips away from the tool.</li>
</ul>
If it all goes south and you are hopelessly lost and want a do over
<ul>
<li>Stop the mill.</li>
<li>Close the AXIS GUI window.</li>
<li> At the Linux $ prompt type sudo reboot ENTER</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</ul>




==Cleanup==

Hopefully what you intended the mill to do and what you actually told the mill to do were in agreement and you got the item you envisioned. But the job isn't finished yet. Now it is time to put the CNC mill to bed.

<ul>
<li>Press the Motor Stop switch down to lock the mill
motors.</li>
<li>Press the Emergency Stop switch to disconnect power from the motors.</li>
<li>Close PuTTY to end your SSH connection to the BeableBone.</li>
<li>Delete your Gcode files from the BeagleBone.</li>
<ul>
<li>Start WinCSP and log back into the BeagleBone as previously.</li>
<li>In the right side directory pane browse to the /home/machinekit/machinekit/nc_files directory.</li>
<li>Delete your files.</li>
<li>Close WinSCP.</li>
</ul>
<li>Press the Power Switch to the off position.</li>
<li>Carefully remove the bit from the spindle and return it to its storage box.</li>
<ul>
<li>Remember that the bit shanks fit snugly in the box holes so don’t let your fingers slip down the tool face when pressing them into the box.
 Hold the bit by the non-cutting edges.
 If the end of the bit is not a cutting surface use one hand to align the bit with the hole while you press the shaft into the hole by pressing in the center of the cutting end of the bit.</li>
</ul>
<li>Remove your workpiece and the spoil board from the mill cutting bed.</li>
<li>Place the Bosch open-end wrench ###>.</li>
<li>Return the hex wrench to Pliers/Hex Keys/Crimpers/Wrenches Box #464.</li>
<li>Check around the mill, workbench and floor for any
small parts that anyone might have been dropped.</li>
<li>Vacuum the mill, surrounding shelf, workbench top, surrounding floor and the exterior of your laptop to clean up any chips and sawdust.</li>
</ul>

Silhouette 3 Cameo

2025-09-18T21:20:58Z

Citybadger: Started a page for this cutter, Vinyl Cutting page links here.

File:Cameo-3-en.pdf

2025-09-18T21:10:15Z

Citybadger: Silhouette Cameo 3 manual

== Summary ==
Silhouette Cameo 3 manual

Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter

2025-09-18T20:58:57Z

Citybadger: Content moved from "Vinyl Cutting". Removed now obsolete information about connecting via the network.

===Laserpoint 3===
'''The Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter'''

[[:File:LP3user_manual_FINAL_07_09_2019.pdf|User Manual]]

===Connecting to the Cutter===

There is currently no network interface or server attached to the cutter. Connect your computer to the cutter using a USB-A or USB C to USB-B cable. Take note of which COM port it uses.

===Printing with Inkscape===
Download Inkscape
* [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]

Convert your raster image to a vector
* File -> Import...
* Click ok to import with default settings
* Make sure this new object is selected
* Path -> Trace Bitmap...
* Adjust the settings to your liking
* You can hide or delete the original image in the layers tab

Send to Cutter
* Extensions-> Export -> Plot...
* Your plot settings should look like this, but with "Serial port" changed to whichever port you're using
[[File:Plot settings.jpg | 600px]]
* Click "Apply", and the cutter will start

===Printing with Inkcut===

Download Inkcut
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/ Inkcut Project Link]
Instructions for Windows, Linux, and Mac
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/download/ Inkcut Download Instructions]

Open a file in Inkcut
* .SVG works well for this
* .SVG files can be formatted with [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]
* Example image below
[[File:Hello_Kitty.jpg | 200px]]

===Necessary Settings in Inkcut===
'''General'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_General.png | 600px]]

Select Driver "US Cutter Laserpoint"

'''Device'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Device.png | 600px]]

Scroll down in the Device settings column to "Job Commands."

In the section "Before Job," add the following code:

<code>IN;</code>

'''Connection'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Connection.png | 600px]]

For Type, select "QT Serialport"

Select the correct port, the USB option that looks most likely to be a vinyl cutter(not shown in screenshot)

Select Hardware flow control (unsure if this setting is 100% necessary).

Then send to print!

(Instructions still in beta testing)

Vinyl Cutting

2025-09-18T20:54:38Z

Citybadger: Making this a list page that directs to separate pages for each cutter

== Vinyl Cutting ==

There are two vinyl cutters in the space currently:

* [[Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter]]
* [[Silhouette 3 Cameo]]

Meeting 2025-08-27

2025-08-27T18:30:49Z

Citybadger: /* Consensus Agenda */

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Authorize spending up to $200 per year for business cards. Disbursement subject to Board approval.

* Consensus Item 2

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
Welcome, Sam!

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Main Page

2025-03-03T22:06:25Z

Citybadger: /* Monthly Business Meetings */

= Hack Manhattan! =

Hack Manhattan is a nonprofit cooperative space in Manhattan dedicated to technology, science, and the arts. We're the only public hackerspace in Manhattan. Get involved. Bring your curiosity, intellect, and imagination. Visit [http://hackmanhattan.com our website].

'''NOTE: ''' This wiki is public, but only approved users may edit. All Hack Manhattan members should have an account. Non-members -- to contribute, please sign up for an account and we'll respond ASAP.

<table width="100%">
<tr>
<td valign="top" width="48%">

== Location ==

We're centrally located in Manhattan, basically at the midpoint between Penn Station and Grand Central. That means we're convenient to quite a few lines, with the B/D/F/M, N/Q/R/W, 1/2/3, 4/5/6 and 7 all less than 10 minutes away.

[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34+West+37th+st+ny+ny 34 West 37th Street, 2nd floor rear, New York, NY 10001]

== [[MembershipInfo|Membership]] ==

Hack Manhattan is accepting new members. See [[MembershipInfo]] for more details.

== Meetings & Events ==

=== [[Calendars|Events]] ===

* [http://hackmanhattan.com/calendar/ Calendar]
* [http://www.meetup.com/hackmanhattan/ Meetup]

=== Monthly Business [[Meetings]] ===
Monthly meetings are held at 7:30PM on the last Wednesday of each month and are conducted in accordance with [[MIBS Rules]]. You can read the [[Meetings|minutes of previous meetings]] or the next one:

* [[Meeting 2025-03-26]]
* [[Meeting 2025-02-26]]
* [[Meeting 2025-01-29]]

== About the space and building==


* [[Facilities]]
* [[F.A.Q. For 14th Street Members/Key Holders]]
* [[CPP|History of 14th Street Location(CPP Project)]]



== Resources ==
* [[Administration]]
* [[Media]]
* [[Bylaws | HackManhattan! By-laws]] and [[MIBS Rules | Meeting Procedure (SRC3)]]


* [[Suppliers | Suppliers, Vendors, Sources of stuff!]]
* [[FundRaising | Fund-raising ideas, links, projects]]
* [[Meeting_2013-03-26#Space_use_policy|Space Use Policy]]
* [[Cool Links | Cool Links to Hackerspaces, Blogs, Etc.]]
* [[Local Resources]] Places of interest close to HackManhattan!
* [[Bad Jokes Related to Hacking]] Like the name says it....
* [[3D Printing Resources]]
* [[Welding Resources]]
* [[Affiliate]]
* [[Operations]]
* [[Electronics]]
* [[Hackerspaces]]
* [[Gigs]]
</td>
<td width="1%" style="
border-right:solid 1px #a7d7f9;"></td>
<td width="1%"></td>
<td valign="top" width="48%">

== [[Projects|Projects / Interest Groups]] ==

{{:Projects}}

== [[Facility_Resources|Tools and Equipment]] ==

{{:Facility_Resources}}

== [[Individual Pages|Individual Pages]] ==

{{:Individual Pages}}

</td>
</tr>
</table>

__NOTOC__
__NOINDEX__

Meeting 2025-03-26

2025-03-03T20:08:27Z

Citybadger: /* Consensus Agenda */ - added printer $ item

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Authorize spending up to $150 on supplies for the Brother printer/scanner/copier in the space in order to improve output quality.
Proposal author's note: I intend to spend perhaps $40 on a third-party drum unit and toner, but on the chance that further supplies are needed, I ask for $150 to avoid having to wait until next month and make another proposal. - citybadger

* Consensus Item 2

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Meeting 2025-03-26

2025-03-03T20:00:39Z

Citybadger: Created meeting page from template

Meetings are conducted according to [[MIBS_Rules]].

==Approve Minutes==

==Consensus Agenda==
* Consensus Item 1
* Consensus Item 2

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

== Old Business ==

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Meeting 2024-07-31

2024-07-09T16:43:14Z

Citybadger: /* New Business */

==Consensus Agenda==
* Change https://wiki.hackmanhattan.com/Rules#Rule_3 to "Smoking and vaping are prohibited."
* Consensus Item 2

== New Business ==
Empty and rotate Lost-And-Found Bins
===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Meeting 2024-07-31

2024-07-09T16:42:23Z

Citybadger: /* Consensus Agenda */

==Consensus Agenda==
* Change https://wiki.hackmanhattan.com/Rules#Rule_3 to "Smoking and vaping are prohibited."
* Consensus Item 2

== New Business ==

===Sponsored Members Induction===
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just Discord)

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

Vinyl Cutting

2023-07-27T21:29:17Z

Citybadger: /* Laserpoint 3 */

== Vinyl Cutting ==

===Laserpoint 3===
'''The Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter'''

[[:File:LP3user_manual_FINAL_07_09_2019.pdf|User Manual]]

===Connecting to the Cutter===
The cutter is attached with a USB cable to the [[harbor]] server at 192.168.42.174. The server shares the USB port over usbip.
Download the usbip client package to your laptop see [https://usbip.sourceforge.net], I have had success with this [https://github.com/cezanne/usbip-win] WIndows client.
Attach to the shared USB port on harbor with:

usbip attach -remote=192.168.42.174 --busid=11-8

Then use the cutter as if it was locally connected.

The public laptop has already has usbip client installed. A .BAT file on the desktop runs the above command to attach the remote USB port.

==Printing With Vinyl Cutter (Free Open Source Instructions!)==

Download Inkcut
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/ Inkcut Project Link]
Instructions for Windows, Linux, and Mac
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/download/ Inkcut Download Instructions]

Open a file in Inkcut
* .SVG works well for this
* .SVG files can be formatted with [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]
* Example image below
[[File:Hello_Kitty.jpg | 200px]]

===Necessary Settings in Inkcut===
'''General'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_General.png | 600px]]

Select Driver "US Cutter Laserpoint"

'''Device'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Device.png | 600px]]

Scroll down in the Device settings column to "Job Commands."

In the section "Before Job," add the following code:

<code>IN;</code>

'''Connection'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Connection.png | 600px]]

For Type, select "QT Serialport"

Select the correct port, the USB option that looks most likely to be a vinyl cutter(not shown in screenshot)

Select Hardware flow control (unsure if this setting is 100% necessary).

Then send to print!

(Instructions still in beta testing)

Vinyl Cutting

2023-07-27T21:11:38Z

Citybadger: /* Laserpoint 3 */

== Vinyl Cutting ==

===Laserpoint 3===
'''The Laserpoint 3 by US Cutter'''

[[:File:LP3user_manual_FINAL_07_09_2019.pdf|User Manual]]

==Printing With Vinyl Cutter (Free Open Source Instructions!)==

Download Inkcut
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/ Inkcut Project Link]
Instructions for Windows, Linux, and Mac
* [https://www.codelv.com/projects/inkcut/download/ Inkcut Download Instructions]

Open a file in Inkcut
* .SVG works well for this
* .SVG files can be formatted with [https://inkscape.org/ Inkscape]
* Example image below
[[File:Hello_Kitty.jpg | 200px]]

===Necessary Settings in Inkcut===
'''General'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_General.png | 600px]]

Select Driver "US Cutter Laserpoint"

'''Device'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Device.png | 600px]]

Scroll down in the Device settings column to "Job Commands."

In the section "Before Job," add the following code:

<code>IN;</code>

'''Connection'''

[[File:Inkcut_Settings_Connection.png | 600px]]

For Type, select "QT Serialport"

Select the correct port, the USB option that looks most likely to be a vinyl cutter(not shown in screenshot)

Select Hardware flow control (unsure if this setting is 100% necessary).

Then send to print!

(Instructions still in beta testing)

File:LP3user manual FINAL 07 09 2019.pdf

2023-07-27T21:05:59Z

Citybadger: Vinyl Cutter Manual

== Summary ==
Vinyl Cutter Manual

Lathe Operations Wiki

2020-02-10T17:55:07Z

Citybadger: Status changed back to operational, added warning about spindle direction changes.

'''Hack Manhattan Has a Lathe!!'''




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding="5">As of</td><td cellpadding="5">06Feb2020</td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding="5'>The Lathe is</td>
<td cellpadding="5" bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>


<tr><td cellpadding="5">Comments</td><td cellpadding="5">The lathe is only spinning in one direction right now, no matter which direction you select with the power switch.</td></tr>
</table>

Enco 9x20" Engine Lathe with inch and metric threading

Note: Although the lathe has been re-assembled and run, it's not quite open-seasons for general usage yet. What the procedure will be for checkouts, training, etc has still to be decided.

===The lathe is not a workbench, vise, or shelf===

The linear bearing surface of the ways is actually quite fragile and easily damaged (as you will see if you examine them closely) by denting or abrasion.

Do not set metal objects on the ways.

Cover the ways with the Ways Guard when installing or removing chuck or work items and when sanding/filing/grinding on the lathe.

Do not use the chuck as a vise for sawing or hammering

===Lubrication===

The lathe takes four lubricants (listed in frequency of use order):
* SAE 140 Gear Oil
* Lithium General Purpose Grease
* Graphite
* Red "N" Tacky #2 Multi-Purpose EP Grease

SAE 140 Gear Oil needs to be applied in the apropriate locations each time the lathe is used. A list of those locations is located [here].

Lithium grease may be needed on the compound if it becoes dry.

The chucks should only be lubricated with graphite.

===Motor Starting Checklist===

No loose hair, clothing, jewelry (DO NOT FEED THE LATHE)

Belts set for an appropriate speed for workpiece/fixturing

Check power feed and threading half nuts disengaged (carriage moves freely with handwheel)

Work securely chucked without excessive overhang on either side of headstock

CHUCK KEY REMOVED

Rotate chuck through by hand and check for binding

SAFETY GOGGLES ON

Do not switch directions of the spindle without it being at rest. Otherwise it will just continue in the original direction.

===Shutdown Checklist===

Belt tensioner lever disengaged

Clean up chips with paintbrush/vacum

Apply a light coating or SAE 140 oil to the ways

===Hints===

If you are not going to be threading or using the power feed, drop the gear shift lever down to disengage the leadscrew

If you hear a lot of gear noise, check the meshing of the idler gears under the headstock gear cover with the small spur gear driving the gearbox. This can slip to the point where the teeth of the idler gear rub on the bushing.

Whenever using power feed or threading feed, keep a hand on the appropriate disengage lever, and full concentration on the work. Thinks happen quickly!

Two pins are used to unscrew the chuck. Place something between it and the ways so it doesn't drop off the spindle nose, or be prepared to catch it. If you plan to run in reverse there is a clamp that can be mounted on the back of the chuck to prevent unscrewing.

While there is a power carriage feed, it may be too coarse for good results. Using both hands in turn on the rim of the carriage wheel may aid in producing a constant rate feed and a quality finish.

===Tooling===

Small 3 jaw self centering chuck

Large 4 jaw chuck (must use dial indicator to adjust to center)

Collect chuck with ER collets, range up to 5/8"

Micromark quick change toolpost with 3 holders for 1/4"-3/8" ?? bits/tools

Armstrong cutoff holder without blade or an armstrong post to mount it in

OEM toolpost with brazed carbide boring bar

Small carbide insert holder (5/16" shank?) with insert (type??)

Lathe milling attachment

Import drill chuck for tailstock (keyed jacobs style)

Steady and Follow rests

Note: at present we do not really have any normal HSS cutting bits or a way to grind them

===The ER Collet===

We haven't quite figured out how to fix the collet holder in the lathe spindle. If it were like the mill collets you would thread a long bolt into its back end but it didn't come with said bolt and a bolt would block up the pass throough hole. I saw on YouTube (so it must be true) that if you tap (gently - ask me how I know) on the front of the collet holder there will be enough friction in the Morse Taper to keep it from spinning. We don't have empirical evidence that this works, but it sounds like it might.

If you put the collet in the collet holder and then attach the collet nut the collet WILL get stuck in the collet holder. To properly use the ER Collet it should first be placed in the collet nut, which has an excentric ring at the front end. Next place the collet nut+collet on/in the collet holder and screw it loosely into place. Load the workpiece and tighten the collet nut. When it is tiime to remove the collet nut+collet the excentric ring in the collet nut will hold on to the groove just behind the front of the collet and extract the collet from the collet holder as you unscrew the nut.

ER collets come in 1mm increments and compress by 1mm so you can hold any diameter of stock by using the next largest size collet. Our set of collets is imperial 1/8", 3/16", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8", 1/2", 9/6", and 5/8" so will not cover all stock sizes.

===Resources===

Manual for Enco 9x20 lathe (PDF)

http://www.use-enco.com/Machinery/110-0820.pdf

Introduction to 9x20 lathe operations (PDF) <--- Read This

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fraceabilene.com%2Fmachine%2Flathe%2FIntroTo9x20LatheOps.pdf&ei=YhI4UPXNFvGK0QGWloGgDw&usg=AFQjCNE0n1NEoFDNTcCUxQn4VmduNKefwA&sig2=iesKliQvnDJDrXoQnmitoQ

Grinding cutting tools from HSS (high speed steel) blanks

http://www.sherline.com/grinding.htm

Band Saw

2019-07-22T18:00:31Z

Citybadger: Updated status: guide blocks replaced

'''The 14" Jet Band Saw'''




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The band saw is:</td>

<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff9933><center>PARTIALLY OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>

<tr><td cellpadding=5>Currently installed blade:</td><td cellpadding=5>3/8" X 4 TPI</td>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Other blades available:
<td cellpadding=5>
* 1/8" X 14 TPI
* 1/4" X 12 TPI</td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5>The band saw works but is badly in need of the following adjustments:
# Wheels need to be adjusted to be coplanar
# A trunion needs to be shimmed to make the table perpendicular to the blade
# The guide post needs to be adjusted to be parallel to the blade
</table>

If you break a blade the proper length to order is 93.5".

Happy Happy Brew Time

2019-06-10T20:49:58Z

Citybadger: Restored fermentor status list after previous misadventure

Happy Happy Brew time Documents the beer that Hackmanhattan brews.




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The keezer is:</td>
<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr> -->

<!— <td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>On tap:</td><td cellpadding=5>
#
#
#
#
</td>
</table>

Fermentor Status

No type status

2 5 gal glass carboy empty

3 5 gal plastic bucket mead - ready for bottling

4 5 gal plastic bucket empty

5 6 gal glass carboy Cabernet Sauvingion

6 6 gal plastic bucket Junkyard Ale

7 1 gal glass jug empty

8 1 gal glass jug empty

9 1 gal glass jug empty

10 1 gal glass jug empty

11 1 gal glass jug empty

12 1 gal glass jug empty

The first Beer was a Belgian strong ale.{Stephen, add stuff here}

2) Ginger beer
Following recipe: [http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=500]
Instead of crystal malt we used vienna malt and did a partial extract.
Also, In lieu of Brambling leaf hops we used Brambling cross.
[[File:Ginger-Beer.jpg]][[File:Ginger-Beer2.jpg]]

Happy Happy Brew Time

2019-06-05T18:35:56Z

Citybadger: Reverted edits by Citybadger (talk) to last revision by Elisa

Happy Happy Brew time Documents the beer that Hackmanhattan brews.




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The keezer is:</td>
<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr> -->

<!— <td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>On tap:</td><td cellpadding=5>
#
#
#
#
</td>
</table>

The first Beer was a Belgian strong ale.{Stephen, add stuff here}

2) Ginger beer
Following recipe: [http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=500]
Instead of crystal malt we used vienna malt and did a partial extract.
Also, In lieu of Brambling leaf hops we used Brambling cross.
[[File:Ginger-Beer.jpg]][[File:Ginger-Beer2.jpg]]

Happy Happy Brew Time

2019-06-05T18:35:18Z

Citybadger: Fixed Status table update

Happy Happy Brew time Documents the beer that Hack Manhattan brews.




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The keezer is:</td>
<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>
<!-- <td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff9933><center>PARTIALLY OPERATIONAL</center><td><tr>
<!— <td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>On tap:</td><td cellpadding=5>
#
#
#
#
</td>
</table>

----

Fermentor Status

No type status

2 5 gal glass carboy empty

3 5 gal plastic bucket mead - ready for bottling

4 5 gal plastic bucket full of unknown liquid

5 6 gal glass carboy Cabernet Sauvingion

6 6 gal plastic bucket empty

7 1 gal class jug empty

8 1 gal class jug empty

9 1 gal class jug empty

10 1 gal class jug empty

11 1 gal class jug empty

12 1 gal class jug empty

----

The first Beer was a Belgian strong ale.{Stephen, add stuff here}

2) Ginger beer
Following recipe: [http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=500]
Instead of crystal malt we used vienna malt and did a partial extract.
Also, In lieu of Brambling leaf hops we used Brambling cross.
[[File:Ginger-Beer.jpg]][[File:Ginger-Beer2.jpg]]

Happy Happy Brew Time

2019-06-05T03:26:56Z

Citybadger: Added badly formatted fermenter status list

Happy Happy Brew time Documents the beer that Hack Manhattan brews.




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The keezer is:</td>
<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr> -->

<!— <td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5></td></tr>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>On tap:</td><td cellpadding=5>
#
#
#
#
</td>
</table>

----

Fermentor Status

No type status

2 5 gal glass carboy empty

3 5 gal plastic bucket mead - ready for bottling

4 5 gal plastic bucket full of unknown liquid

5 6 gal glass carboy Cabernet Sauvingion

6 6 gal plastic bucket empty

7 1 gal class jug empty

8 1 gal class jug empty

9 1 gal class jug empty

10 1 gal class jug empty

11 1 gal class jug empty

12 1 gal class jug empty

----

The first Beer was a Belgian strong ale.{Stephen, add stuff here}

2) Ginger beer
Following recipe: [http://beerrecipes.org/showrecipe.php?recipeid=500]
Instead of crystal malt we used vienna malt and did a partial extract.
Also, In lieu of Brambling leaf hops we used Brambling cross.
[[File:Ginger-Beer.jpg]][[File:Ginger-Beer2.jpg]]

Bricodash/Extra:Calendar

2019-04-09T20:31:24Z

Citybadger:

''See also:'' [[Bricodash/Extra:Repos]]

= What is This? =

Items entered below will be parsed for inclusion in the [[Bricodash#Community_Calendar|Bricodash Community Calendar]].

Events listings follow the following syntax: <code>* <Human-Readable Date/Time> :: <Event Title> :: <Emoji></code>

The final field is optional, and may either be a small number of emoji to appear at the end of the event listing, or else the relative path to an image already pre-loaded on the Bricodash server.

Optionally, the first field may begin with a "#", in which case the entire event line is treated as a comment—and thus ignored. This can be used to leave reminders for recurring events that have a different date each year, such as annual conventions where dates are only announced in the lead-up to the event.

=Extra Community Calendar Items=

* Apr 10 at 6:30 pm :: Tuning in: Inclusivity in (digital) Media (NY Times)

* Mar 23 at 2 pm :: Ghost in the Shell (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 28 at 6:30 pm :: Hackers (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 30 at 2 pm :: Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 6 at 2 pm :: The Fifth Element (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 13 at 2 pm :: The Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 18 at 6:30 pm :: Strange Days (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 10 at 6:35 pm :: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch (rescheduled again) :: 🚀
* Apr 7 at 1 pm :: Just for Fun / April Crafts Day (Penn South) :: 🎨
* Apr 19 at 8 pm :: NYCResistor Interactive Show (87 Third Ave, Brooklyn) :: 🌞
* Apr 12 at 12 pm :: Theorizing the Web (Museum of the Moving Image, Queens) :: 👩‍🏫
* Apr 13 at 2 pm :: Theorizing the Web (Museum of the Moving Image, Queens) :: 👩‍🏫

* #Oct 4 :: First Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)
* #Oct 7 :: Last Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)

* #Oct 7 :: Doctor Who Series 11 Premier :: img/tardis.png

* #Oct 5 at 8 am :: PyGotham (Pennsylvania Hotel)

Bricodash/Extra:Calendar

2019-04-08T14:15:16Z

Citybadger: /* Extra Community Calendar Items */

''See also:'' [[Bricodash/Extra:Repos]]

= What is This? =

Items entered below will be parsed for inclusion in the [[Bricodash#Community_Calendar|Bricodash Community Calendar]].

Events listings follow the following syntax: <code>* <Human-Readable Date/Time> :: <Event Title> :: <Emoji></code>

The final field is optional, and may either be a small number of emoji to appear at the end of the event listing, or else the relative path to an image already pre-loaded on the Bricodash server.

Optionally, the first field may begin with a "#", in which case the entire event line is treated as a comment—and thus ignored. This can be used to leave reminders for recurring events that have a different date each year, such as annual conventions where dates are only announced in the lead-up to the event.

=Extra Community Calendar Items=

* Apr 10 at 6:30 pm :: Tuning in: Inclusivity in (digital) Media (NY Times)

* Mar 23 at 2 pm :: Ghost in the Shell (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 28 at 6:30 pm :: Hackers (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 30 at 2 pm :: Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 6 at 2 pm :: The Fifth Element (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 13 at 2 pm :: The Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 18 at 6:30 pm :: Strange Days (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 9 at 6:36 pm :: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch (rescheduled) :: 🚀
* Apr 7 at 1 pm :: Just for Fun / April Crafts Day (Penn South) :: 🎨

* #Oct 4 :: First Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)
* #Oct 7 :: Last Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)

* #Oct 7 :: Doctor Who Series 11 Premier :: img/tardis.png

* #Oct 5 at 8 am :: PyGotham (Pennsylvania Hotel)

Bricodash/Extra:Calendar

2019-04-05T03:24:08Z

Citybadger: Spelling out "April" doesn't work, it has to be "Apr"

''See also:'' [[Bricodash/Extra:Repos]]

= What is This? =

Items entered below will be parsed for inclusion in the [[Bricodash#Community_Calendar|Bricodash Community Calendar]].

Events listings follow the following syntax: <code>* <Human-Readable Date/Time> :: <Event Title> :: <Emoji></code>

The final field is optional, and may either be a small number of emoji to appear at the end of the event listing, or else the relative path to an image already pre-loaded on the Bricodash server.

Optionally, the first field may begin with a "#", in which case the entire event line is treated as a comment—and thus ignored. This can be used to leave reminders for recurring events that have a different date each year, such as annual conventions where dates are only announced in the lead-up to the event.

=Extra Community Calendar Items=

* Apr 10 at 6:30 pm :: Tuning in: Inclusivity in (digital) Media (NY Times)

* Mar 23 at 2 pm :: Ghost in the Shell (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 28 at 6:30 pm :: Hackers (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 30 at 2 pm :: Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 6 at 2 pm :: The Fifth Element (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 13 at 2 pm :: The Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 18 at 6:30 pm :: Strange Days (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 7 at 6:36 pm :: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch (scheduled) :: 🚀
* Apr 7 at 1 pm :: Just for Fun / April Crafts Day (Penn South) :: 🎨

* #Oct 4 :: First Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)
* #Oct 7 :: Last Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)

* #Oct 7 :: Doctor Who Series 11 Premier :: img/tardis.png

* #Oct 5 at 8 am :: PyGotham (Pennsylvania Hotel)

Bricodash/Extra:Calendar

2019-04-01T02:35:57Z

Citybadger: Added Apr Falcon Heavy launch

''See also:'' [[Bricodash/Extra:Repos]]

= What is This? =

Items entered below will be parsed for inclusion in the [[Bricodash#Community_Calendar|Bricodash Community Calendar]].

Events listings follow the following syntax: <code>* <Human-Readable Date/Time> :: <Event Title> :: <Emoji></code>

The final field is optional, and may either be a small number of emoji to appear at the end of the event listing, or else the relative path to an image already pre-loaded on the Bricodash server.

Optionally, the first field may begin with a "#", in which case the entire event line is treated as a comment—and thus ignored. This can be used to leave reminders for recurring events that have a different date each year, such as annual conventions where dates are only announced in the lead-up to the event.

=Extra Community Calendar Items=

* Apr 10 at 6:30 pm :: Tuning in: Inclusivity in (digital) Media (NY Times)

* Mar 23 at 2 pm :: Ghost in the Shell (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 28 at 6:30 pm :: Hackers (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Mar 30 at 2 pm :: Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 6 at 2 pm :: The Fifth Element (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 13 at 2 pm :: The Mind's Eye and Beyond the Mind's Eye (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* Apr 18 at 6:30 pm :: Strange Days (Museum of Arts & Design) :: 📽️
* April 7 at 6:36 pm :: Falcon Heavy launch (scheduled)
* Apr 7 at 1 pm :: Just for Fun / April Crafts Day (Penn South) :: 🎨

* #Oct 4 :: First Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)
* #Oct 7 :: Last Day of NY Comic Con <img class="logo" src="img/flickr_nalends_super_pop.png"> / Anime Expo (Javits Center)

* #Oct 7 :: Doctor Who Series 11 Premier :: img/tardis.png

* #Oct 5 at 8 am :: PyGotham (Pennsylvania Hotel)

Mill (manual)

2019-02-11T18:05:13Z

Citybadger: Back to Operational after gear replacement

'''The Mill''' (manual)




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The mill is:</td>
<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#00cc33><center>OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr>


<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5>Plastic transmission gears replaced with metal ones</td></tr>
</table>

Rat Park

2019-01-24T18:11:42Z

Citybadger: Added basement, corrected 3rd floor office name

==In The News==
[http://www.thevillager.com/villager_339/socialistowner.html Here's an old article about the history of our building.]
==Floor Plan==
===Third Floor===
<nowiki>
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| | | |
| OR Books | | Joey/Iasmin/Gray/Uman |
| | | |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| | |
| OR Books | 137 AC |
| | |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
</nowiki>

===Second Floor===
<nowiki>
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| | |
| | |
| | |
+ Hack Manhattan + Secret Loft +
| | |
| | |
| | |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
</nowiki>

===First Floor===
<nowiki>
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
| |
| |
| |
+ Offside Tavern +
| |
| |
| |
+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------------+
</nowiki>

===Basement===
<nowiki>
+----------------+--------+-------+----------------+----------------+
| | | |
| |Boiler | Miguel's Baby |
| | | |
+ --------+--------+--------+--------+ +
| | Offside| |
| | Tavern | |
| | Office | |
+----------------+----------------+--------+--------+---------------+
</nowiki>

Mill (manual)

2019-01-07T16:09:13Z

Citybadger:

'''The Mill''' (manual)




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The mill is:</td>

<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr> -->
<tr><td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5>Suspected broken low speed gear</td></tr>
</table>

Mill (manual)

2019-01-07T16:08:22Z

Citybadger: Status update due to broken gear

'''The Mill''' (manual)




<table border=2>
<tr><td cellpadding=5>The mill is:</td>

<td cellpadding=5 bgcolor=#ff0066><center>NOT OPERATIONAL</center></td></tr> -->
<tr>Suspected broken low speed gear<td cellpadding=5>Comments:</td><td cellpadding=5></td></tr>
</table>

Band Saw

2018-07-28T02:12:48Z

Citybadger: Fixed formatting

Band Saw

2018-07-28T02:07:29Z

Citybadger: Changed to non-operational after blade was broken

Meeting 2017-10-31

2017-10-28T12:25:50Z

Citybadger: /* Sponsored Members Induction */

==Consensus Agenda==
* Waive briefing and bio (but not photo) for membership requests by wildlife.
* Consensus Item 2

==Sponsored Members Induction==
For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just blabber)

# Joshua (visited, bio, briefing by Justin)
# Matthew (visited, bio, briefing by Justin)
# Larry Bird
# [[User:Beadsland]] (visited, bio, briefing by Guan)
# Johannas Habsberg (ex-member reapplying for admission)

==Member Reports==
=== Board Reports===
====President's Report====
* No report.
====Treasurer's Report====
* No report.
====Secretary's Report====
* No report.
====Directors-at-Large's Report====
* No report.
===Member and Project Reports===

==Meeting Meta==
* Members in Attendance: member1, member2 | latemember1
* Visitors: visitor1, visitor2
* Called to order at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* The meeting was adjourned at 23:59 by MEMBER.
* Minutes taken and submitted by MEMBER.

[[Category:Meetings]]

File:LaserMaterialTest.svg

2017-07-20T14:48:22Z

Citybadger: Test file for laser cutting with spirals and text of various intensities and feed rates.

Test file for laser cutting with spirals and text of various intensities and feed rates.

Laser Operations

2017-07-20T14:46:00Z

Citybadger: Added link to LaserMaterialTest.svg

'''Hack Manhattan Has a Lazer!!'''

K40 lazer

Note: Although the lazer has been re-assembled and run, it's not quite open-seasons for general usage yet. 
What the procedure will be for checkouts, training, etc has still to be decided.

=== "Verified" Members ===
Only the members listed below should be using the laser. 
If you wish to gain access to the laser, contact someone on the list and request a walk-through from them. 
When you get your walk-through, add yourself to the list and put down the name/handle of who gave it to you. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Instructor !! Comments
|-
|James || James || "Thanks for getting it to work"
|-
|Konstantin || James ||
|-
|Guan || Konstantin ||
|-
|Krissy ||Konstantin ||
|-
|John OB||Konstantin ||
|-
|Masahiro||Konstantin ||
|-
|Mark Carroll||Konstantin ||
|-
|Charlie||Konstantin ||
|-
|Stephen Lynch||Konstantin ||
|-
|Max ||Stephen ||

|}

===The lazor is not a workbench, vise, or shelf===

The linear bearing surface of the ways is actually quite fragile and easily damaged by denting or abrasion. 
'''Check before lazing whether your material is safe to laze'''. Do not laze metal objects. The reflections will damage the lazor. Do not laze any material that contains chlorine (e.g. PVC, Vinyl) 
'''Do not have the lazer turned on when the controller is off!''' It will behave unpredictably and may fire without warning if the controller board is turned off.

===Installation===
* Inkscape
* [https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey Laser Exporter]
* Pronterface

===Design Preparation Guide===
1) Align design inside of blue guide-lines of template (white box if you are using the new template). 
2) Select all design features (the ones inside of the blue lines). 
3) Select Extensions->export->turnkey laser exporter. 
4) Do not export design with auto-home. 
5) Make sure y axis origin is set to bottom left.

===General Laze Starting Checklist===
# Make sure laser power switch is off.
# Insert workpiece. Bottom left corner of workpiece should be aligned with back right corner of laser cutter.
# Plug in the ghetto 220V plug into outlet.
# Turn on laser related accessories power strip.
# Turn on ATX power supply to enable exhaust fan.
# Verify that water is flowing by pinching water supply tube.
'''SAFETY GOGGLES ON!''' The window on the lazor is perspex and may or may not block laser light. The laser light is not visible and can cause eye damage if you do not wear goggles.

===Printing from SD with aligned design===
''Note that raster designs will not print reliably using the SD card ''
1) Load gcode onto SD card. 
2) Insert SD card into controller and make sure it is on. 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Navigate on the menu to Prepare-> Autohome, and select. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Printing Through USB with aligned design===
1) Launch pronterface. 
2) Connect USB cable to computer instead of wall wart. 
3) Wait for menu to appear, then choose connect assuming that the correct port is populated. Use default baud rate of 115200 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Use the pronterface menu to home x and y 
note: your design will not be visible. as proterface thinks it's talking to a printer. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Shutdown Checklist===

1) TURN OFF LASER POWER IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE laze IS DONE! 
2) Remove the workpiece. 
3) Unplug 220V outlet cord. 
4) Turn off ATX power Supply 
5) Turn off Laser accessory Power Tailpower strip.

===Hints===
====Installing turnkey lazor plugin on OS X====
# Install inkscape
# Clone the github repo [https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]
#Copy turnkeylaser.inx and turnkeylaser.py from the repo into the extensions folder of inkscape (need to right click on inkscape and choose "show package contents". Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/extensions)
# Install pillow (updated version of PIL) e.g. from terminal 'pip install pillow'
# Start inkscape, turnkey laser exporter will be under Extensions->Export

===Tooling===

===Materials and settings===

For thin cardstock (Astrobrights premium cardstock 80lb (216g/m²) from Staples) P20, Feed=2000, ppm=40 works well

===Resources===
This is needed to make the G-code for the laser:
[https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]

This is a template that will help with aligning workpieces in the laser bed:
[[:File:Default Inkscape setup for Hack Manhattan.svg]]

Old template:
[[:File:HM_K40_Template.svg]]
(Note: I needed to move the horizontal blue lines up by 20px to get the corner of this to match up with the actual cutter. The upper left corner of the template is the corner of the cutter closest to where it goes when you zero it)

This is a file that will help you determine what settings should be used for a given material:
[[:File:LaserMaterialTest.svg]]

This program directly sends the gcode to the ramps board and avoids having glitches during rasters:
[http://www.pronterface.com/ pronterface]

Tips on working in Inkscape:
[https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Laser_cutter/Inkscape Inkscape Tips]( The only part that is applicable is Section 2.1 )

If pronterface in os x gives an "[ERROR] Failed to set power settings" error try using the March 2014 build instead of the Feb 2015

===Material Settings===

'''Please use 75 as the max power setting'''

If you successfully laser something that is not listed below, or which is listed as having been cut on other than the Hack Manhattan K-40 laser, please add your settings to this table.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Material !! Layer name !! Purpose !! Comments!! Member
|-
! PAPER
|-
| 6-ply Railroad Board || 10[feed=200,ppm=35] || Cut || Do two passes - still needs a bit of tuning, maybe do less power + 3 passes? || Wesley
|-
| 6-ply Railroad Board || 10[feed=300] || Engrave || Burns a brown line - Use it to test your layout ||
|-
| Cardstock || 20[feed=200,ppm=40] || Cut || Unknown source - needs verification || Charlie
|-
| 3mm Cardboard || 75[feed=2000,ppm=40] || Cut || Fast cutting of cardboard cutouts || Konstantin
|-
| 3mm Cardboard || 12[feed=3000,ppm=30] || Engrave || Fast Raster of cardboard text and labels || Konstantin
|-
! WOOD
|-
| 3mm Brown wood & glue crap we have || 75[feed=400,ppm=40] || Cut || It is slow enough to cut that crap || Konstantin
|-
| 3mm Basswood || ##[feed=###,ppm=##] || Cut || settings to be determined || Charlie
|-
| 3mm Basswood || ##[feed=###,ppm=##] || Engrave || settings to be determined || Charlie
|-
! LEATHER
|-
| 1.4mm Leather || 30[feed=800,ppm=40] || Cut || || citybadger
|-
| 1.4mm Leather || 10[feed=800,ppm=40] || Deep stitching groove or deep engrave || A wide enough groove to be useful would require multiple adjacent passes || citybadger
|-
| 1.4mm Leather || 5[feed=800,ppm=40] || Lighly engrave || || citybadger
|-
! FABRIC
|-
! PLASTIC
|-
| 3mm Clear Acrylic || 10[feed=2500,ppm=30] || Cut || || citybadger
|-
| 3mm Clear Acrylic || 60[feed=100,ppm=30] || Rough Cut || Two passes of this worked to quickly cut through, but melted the edges a bit || Wesley
|-
| 3mm Tinted Acrylic || #[feed=###,ppm=####] || Cut || settings to be determined || Charlie
|-
| 3mm Colored Acrylic || #[feed=###,ppm=####] || Cut || settings to be determined || Charlie
|-
| Any Thickness Acrylic || #[feed=###] || Engrave || 30[feed=100] on a 50w lase || [http://lasercuttinglab.com lasercuttinglab.com]
|-
| 3mm Colored Delrin || #[feed=###,ppm=####] || Cut || my memory is it has to be cut quickly or the kerf will fuse behing the laser || Charlie
|-
! OTHER
|}

Laser Operations

2017-06-01T17:18:41Z

Citybadger: Uploaded new cutting template

'''Hack Manhattan Has a Lazer!!'''

K40 lazer

Note: Although the lazer has been re-assembled and run, it's not quite open-seasons for general usage yet. 
What the procedure will be for checkouts, training, etc has still to be decided.

=== "Verified" Members ===
Only the members listed below should be using the laser. 
If you wish to gain access to the laser, contact someone on the list and request a walk-through from them. 
When you get your walk-through, add yourself to the list and put down the name/handle of who gave it to you. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Instructor !! Comments
|-
|James || James || "Thanks for getting it to work"
|-
|Konstantin || James ||
|-
|Guan || Konstantin ||
|-
|Krissy ||Konstantin ||
|-
|John OB||Konstantin ||
|-
|Masahiro||Konstantin ||
|-
|Mark Carroll||Konstantin ||
|-
|Stephen Lynch||Konstantin ||
|-
|Max ||Stephen ||

|}

===The lazor is not a workbench, vise, or shelf===

The linear bearing surface of the ways is actually quite fragile and easily damaged by denting or abrasion. 
'''Check before lazing whether your material is safe to laze'''. Do not laze metal objects. The reflections will damage the lazor. Do not laze any material that contains chlorine (e.g. PVC, Vinyl) 
'''Do not have the lazer turned on when the controller is off!''' It will behave unpredictably and may fire without warning if the controller board is turned off.

===Design Preparation Guide===
1) Align design inside of blue guide-lines of template. 
2) Select all design features (the ones inside of the blue lines). 
3) Select Extensions->export->turnkey laser exporter. 
4) Do not export design with auto-home. 
5) Make sure y axis origin is set to bottom left.

===General Laze Starting Checklist===
# Make sure laser power switch is off.
# Insert workpiece. Bottom left corner of workpiece should be aligned with back right corner of laser cutter.
# Plug in the ghetto 220V plug into outlet.
# Turn on laser related accessories power strip.
# Turn on ATX power supply to enable exhaust fan.
# Verify that water is flowing by pinching water supply tube.
'''SAFETY GOGGLES ON!''' The window on the lazor is perspex and may or may not block laser light. The laser light is not visible and can cause eye damage if you do not wear goggles.

===Printing from SD with aligned design===
''Note that raster designs will not print reliably using the SD card ''
1) Load gcode onto SD card. 
2) Insert SD card into controller and make sure it is on. 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Navigate on the menu to Prepare-> Autohome, and select. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Printing Through USB with aligned design===
1) Launch pronterface. 
2) Connect USB cable to computer instead of wall wart. 
3) Wait for menu to appear, then choose connect assuming that the correct port is populated. Use default baud rate of 115200 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Use the pronterface menu to home x and y 
note: your design will not be visible. as proterface thinks it's talking to a printer. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Shutdown Checklist===

1) TURN OFF LASER POWER IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE laze IS DONE! 
2) Remove the workpiece. 
3) Unplug 220V outlet cord. 
4) Turn off ATX power Supply 
5) Turn off Laser accessory Power Tailpower strip.

===Hints===
====Installing turnkey lazor plugin on OS X====
# Install inkscape
# Clone the github repo [https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]
#Copy turnkeylaser.inx and turnkeylaser.py from the repo into the extensions folder of inkscape (need to right click on inkscape and choose "show package contents". Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/extensions)
# Install pillow (updated version of PIL) e.g. from terminal 'pip install pillow'
# Start inkscape, turnkey laser exporter will be under Extensions->Export

===Tooling===

===Materials and settings===

For thin cardstock (Astrobrights premium cardstock 80lb (216g/m²) from Staples) P20, Feed=2000, ppm=40 works well

===Resources===
This is needed to make the G-code for the laser:
[https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]

This is a template that will help with aligning workpieces in the laser bed:
[[:File:Default Inkscape setup for Hack Manhattan.svg]]

Old template:
[[:File:HM_K40_Template.svg]]

This program directly sends the gcode to the ramps board and avoids having glitches during rasters:
[http://www.pronterface.com/ pronterface]

Tips on working in Inkscape:
[https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Laser_cutter/Inkscape Inkscape Tips]

If pronterface in os x gives an "[ERROR] Failed to set power settings" error try using the March 2014 build instead of the Feb 2015

===Material Settings===

'''Please use 75 as the max power setting'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Material !! Layer name !! Purpose !! Comments
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 75[ppm=40,feed=2000] || Cutting || Fast cutting of cardboard cutouts
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 12[feed=3000,ppm=30] || Engrave || Fast Raster of cardboard text and labels
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Brown wood & glue crap we have || 75[feed=400,ppm=40] || Cut || It is slow enough to cut that crap
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 30[feed=800,ppm=40] || Cut ||
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 10[feed=800,ppm=40] || Deep stitching groove or deep engrave || A wide enough groove to be useful would require multiple adjacent passes
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 5[feed=800,ppm=40] || Lighly engrave ||
|-
|}

File:Default Inkscape setup for Hack Manhattan.svg

2017-06-01T17:17:14Z

Citybadger: Laser cutter template

Laser cutter template

Laser Operations

2016-02-15T16:36:12Z

Citybadger:

'''Hack Manhattan Has a Lazer!!'''

K40 lazer

Note: Although the lazer has been re-assembled and run, it's not quite open-seasons for general usage yet. 
What the procedure will be for checkouts, training, etc has still to be decided.

=== "Verified" Members ===
Only the members listed below should be using the laser. 
If you wish to gain access to the laser, contact someone on the list and request a walk-through from them. 
When you get your walk-through, add yourself to the list and put down the name/handle of who gave it to you. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Instructor !! Comments
|-
|James || James || "Thanks for getting it to work"
|-
|Konstantin || James ||
|-
|Guan || Konstantin ||
|-
|Krissy ||Konstantin ||
|-
|John OB||Konstantin ||
|-
|Masahiro||Konstantin ||
|-
|Mark Carroll||Konstantin ||
|-
|Stephen Lynch||Konstantin ||

|}

===The lazor is not a workbench, vise, or shelf===

The linear bearing surface of the ways is actually quite fragile and easily damaged by denting or abrasion. 
'''Check before lazing whether your material is safe to laze'''. Do not laze metal objects. The reflections will damage the lazor. Do not laze any material that contains chlorine (e.g. PVC, Vinyl) 
'''Do not have the lazer turned on when the controller is off!''' It will behave unpredictably and may fire without warning if the controller board is turned off.

===Design Preparation Guide===
1) Align design inside of blue guide-lines of template. 
2) Select all design features (the ones inside of the blue lines). 
3) Select Extensions->export->turnkey laser exporter. 
4) Do not export design with auto-home. 
5) Make sure y axis origin is set to bottom left.

===General Laze Starting Checklist===
# Make sure laser power switch is off.
# Insert workpiece. Bottom left corner of workpiece should be aligned with back right corner of laser cutter.
# Plug in the ghetto 220V plug into outlet.
# Turn on laser related accessories power strip.
# Turn on ATX power supply to enable exhaust fan.
# Verify that water is flowing by pinching water supply tube.
'''SAFETY GOGGLES ON!''' The window on the lazor is perspex and may or may not block laser light. The laser light is not visible and can cause eye damage if you do not wear goggles.

===Printing from SD with aligned design===
''Note that raster designs will not print reliably using the SD card ''
1) Load gcode onto SD card. 
2) Insert SD card into controller and make sure it is on. 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Navigate on the menu to Prepare-> Autohome, and select. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Printing Through USB with aligned design===
1) Launch pronterface. 
2) Connect USB cable to computer instead of wall wart. 
3) Wait for menu to appear, then choose connect assuming that the correct port is populated. Use default baud rate of 115200 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Use the pronterface menu to home x and y 
note: your design will not be visible. as proterface thinks it's talking to a printer. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Shutdown Checklist===

1) TURN OFF LASER POWER IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE laze IS DONE! 
2) Remove the workpiece. 
3) Unplug 220V outlet cord. 
4) Turn off ATX power Supply 
5) Turn off Laser accessory Power Tailpower strip.

===Hints===
====Installing turnkey lazor plugin on OS X====
# Install inkscape
# Clone the github repo [https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]
#Copy turnkeylaser.inx and turnkeylaser.py from the repo into the extensions folder of inkscape (need to right click on inkscape and choose "show package contents". Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/extensions)
# Install pillow (updated version of PIL) e.g. from terminal 'pip install pillow'
# Start inkscape, turnkey laser exporter will be under Extensions->Export

===Tooling===

===Materials and settings===

For thin cardstock (Astrobrights premium cardstock 80lb (216g/m²) from Staples) P20, Feed=2000, ppm=40 works well

===Resources===
This is needed to make the G-code for the laser:
[https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]

This is a template that will help with aligning workpieces in the laser bed:
[[:File:HM_K40_Template.svg]]

This program directly sends the gcode to the ramps board and avoids having glitches during rasters:
[http://www.pronterface.com/ pronterface]

Tips on working in Inkscape:
[https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Laser_cutter/Inkscape Inkscape Tips]

If pronterface in os x gives an "[ERROR] Failed to set power settings" error try using the March 2014 build instead of the Feb 2015

===Material Settings===

'''Please use 75 as the max power setting'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Material !! Layer name !! Purpose !! Comments
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 75[ppm=40,feed=2000] || Cutting || Fast cutting of cardboard cutouts
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 12[feed=3000,ppm=30] || Engrave || Fast Raster of cardboard text and labels
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Brown wood & glue crap we have || 75[feed=400,ppm=40] || Cut || It is slow enough to cut that crap
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 30[feed=800,ppm=40] || Cut ||
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 10[feed=800,ppm=40] || Deep stitching groove or deep engrave || A wide enough groove to be useful would require multiple adjacent passes
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 5[feed=800,ppm=40] || Lighly engrave ||
|-
|}

Laser Operations

2016-02-15T16:33:51Z

Citybadger:

'''Hack Manhattan Has a Lazer!!'''

K40 lazer

Note: Although the lazer has been re-assembled and run, it's not quite open-seasons for general usage yet. 
What the procedure will be for checkouts, training, etc has still to be decided.

=== "Verified" Members ===
Only the members listed below should be using the laser. 
If you wish to gain access to the laser, contact someone on the list and request a walk-through from them. 
When you get your walk-through, add yourself to the list and put down the name/handle of who gave it to you. 

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Instructor !! Comments
|-
|James || James || "Thanks for getting it to work"
|-
|Konstantin || James ||
|-
|Guan || Konstantin ||
|-
|Krissy ||Konstantin ||
|-
|John OB||Konstantin ||
|-
|Masahiro||Konstantin ||
|-
|Mark Carroll||Konstantin ||
|-
|Stephen Lynch||Konstantin ||

|}

===The lazor is not a workbench, vise, or shelf===

The linear bearing surface of the ways is actually quite fragile and easily damaged by denting or abrasion. 
'''Check before lazing whether your material is safe to laze'''. Do not laze metal objects. The reflections will damage the lazor. Do not laze any material that contains chlorine (e.g. PVC, Vinyl) 
'''Do not have the lazer turned on when the controller is off!''' It will behave unpredictably and may fire without warning if the controller board is turned off.

===Design Preparation Guide===
1) Align design inside of blue guide-lines of template. 
2) Select all design features (the ones inside of the blue lines). 
3) Select Extensions->export->turnkey laser exporter. 
4) Do not export design with auto-home. 
5) Make sure y axis origin is set to bottom left.

===General Laze Starting Checklist===
# Make sure laser power switch is off.
# Insert workpiece. Bottom left corner of workpiece should be aligned with back right corner of laser cutter.
# Plug in the ghetto 220V plug into outlet.
# Turn on laser related accessories power strip.
# Turn on ATX power supply to enable exhaust fan.
# Verify that water is flowing by pinching water supply tube.
'''SAFETY GOGGLES ON!''' The window on the lazor is perspex and may or may not block laser light. The laser light is not visible and can cause eye damage if you do not wear goggles.

===Printing from SD with aligned design===
''Note that raster designs will not print reliably using the SD card ''
1) Load gcode onto SD card. 
2) Insert SD card into controller and make sure it is on. 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Navigate on the menu to Prepare-> Autohome, and select. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Printing Through USB with aligned design===
1) Launch pronterface. 
2) Connect USB cable to computer instead of wall wart. 
3) Wait for menu to appear, then choose connect assuming that the correct port is populated. Use default baud rate of 115200 
3) ONLY WHEN CONTROLLER IS ON, TURN ON LASER POWER. 
4) Use the pronterface menu to home x and y 
note: your design will not be visible. as proterface thinks it's talking to a printer. 
5) Select your g-code and choose print.

===Shutdown Checklist===

1) TURN OFF LASER POWER IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE laze IS DONE! 
2) Remove the workpiece. 
3) Unplug 220V outlet cord. 
4) Turn off ATX power Supply 
5) Turn off Laser accessory Power Tailpower strip.

===Hints===
====Installing turnkey lazor plugin on OS X====
# Install inkscape
# Clone the github repo [https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]
#Copy turnkeylaser.inx and turnkeylaser.py from the repo into the extensions folder of inkscape (need to right click on inkscape and choose "show package contents". Contents/Resources/Share/Inkscape/extensions)
# Install pillow (updated version of PIL) e.g. from terminal 'pip install pillow'
# Start inkscape, turnkey laser exporter will be under Extensions->Export

===Tooling===

===Materials and settings===

For thin cardstock (Astrobrights premium cardstock 80lb (216g/m²) from Staples) P20, Feed=2000, ppm=40 works well

===Resources===
This is needed to make the G-code for the laser:
[https://github.com/TurnkeyTyranny/laser-gcode-exporter-inkscape-plugin Turnkey lazor plugin]

This is a template that will help with aligning workpieces in the laser bed:
[[:File:HM_K40_Template.svg]]

This program directly sends the gcode to the ramps board and avoids having glitches during rasters:
[http://www.pronterface.com/ pronterface]

Tips on working in Inkscape:
[https://wiki.nottinghack.org.uk/wiki/Laser_cutter/Inkscape Inkscape Tips]

If pronterface in os x gives an "[ERROR] Failed to set power settings" error try using the March 2014 build instead of the Feb 2015

===Material Settings===

'''Please use 75 as the max power setting'''

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Member !! Material !! Layer name !! Purpose !! Comments
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 75[ppm=40,feed=2000] || Cutting || Fast cutting of cardboard cutouts
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Cardboard || 12[feed=3000,ppm=30] || Engrave || Fast Raster of cardboard text and labels
|-
|Konstantin || 3mm Brown wood & glue crap we have || 75[feed=400,ppm=40] || Cut || It is slow enough to cut that crap
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 30[feed=800,ppm=40] || Cut ||
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 10[feed=800,ppm=40] || Deep stitching groove or deep engrave || ctual useful groove would require multiple adjacent passes
|-
|citybadger || 1.4mm Leather || 5[feed=800,ppm=40] || Lighly engrave ||
|-
|}

Laser Operations

2015-11-27T18:41:00Z

Citybadger: /* "Verified" Members */

Meeting 2015-11-24

2015-11-23T01:36:13Z

Citybadger: /* Elections */

= Consensus Agenda =

== Proposed change to bylaws: ==

I would like to add an official amendment to the bylaws for termination of membership due to serious safety violations.

These include:
* Failure to wear required safety equipment (e.g. safety glasses, welding mask, gloves) while operating tools or machinery
* Failure to properly turn off power tools or other machinery when done using it and/or leaving the space
* Failure to disassemble, shut down, or put away tools when finished - for example leaving drill bits or milling bits attached
* Misuse of tools or equipment whether through intent or lack of proper knowledge
* Any other behaviors which make anyone, member or not, feel that a significant safety risk is posed to themselves or others, or that damage will occur to expensive equipment as a result.

rmd6502

== Date of annual meeting ==

Article 3, Section 1, is amended to read:

<blockquote>Meetings of members must be held in New York County, no more than one kilometer from the corporation's premises, not on a major public holiday as recognized by New York City, and between 6pm and midnight on weekdays or 10am and 10pm on weekends. The board must call the annual meeting of members in accordance with Section 603 of the Not-for-Profit Corporation Law to be held in January or February.</blockquote>

A consequence will be that there will be another meeting in January or February 2016.

= New Business =

''It is ordinarily not in order to introduce new business at the meeting.''

== Formerly in Consensus Agenda ==

== Sponsored Members Induction ==

For each prospective member, please confirm no later than Thursday before the meeting:

* Has the member visited 3 times at the regular Tuesday and Thursday open nights?
* Has the member received the briefing? When, and who was the briefer?
* Has the member's bio and photo been circulated on the members list? (not just blabber)

== Other New Business ==

= Member Reports =

=== President's report ===

=== Treasurer's report ===

=== Secretary's report ===

=== Directors-at-Large's reports ===

=== Member Reports ===

== Proxies ==

= Adjournment =

[[Category:Meetings]]