http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Ivan+Irons Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=203169&ca=Computers+and+Technology Keeping your shop clean My first inclination is to say that it can’t be done in your home shop. My experience in my home shop has been that machining creates dirt. I use the term dirt very loosely. Dirt in many forms like plasma dust, machining chips, and cutting fluid spray. All of these forms of d... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=201681&ca=Computers+and+Technology What I used to do… Before I found design software I was in the stone ages. I would actually hand lay out a template on a piece of paper. Then cut it out. Next, I would tape the design onto a piece of steel and trace around it with a Sharpe Marker. Finally, I would cut out the piece I wanted. No matt... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=201682&ca=Computers+and+Technology Do I need to be a G-Code Expert? In a word, no. You will probably need to know how to quickly scan your G-Code if you are having problems during your machining simulation. Other then that G-Code and a CNC program are throwaway programs for the most part. What do I mean by that? Let me explain. Let’s... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=201606&ca=Computers+and+Technology The Control Computer generally resides in the shop somewhere near the CNC machine it is controlling. Control Computers don’t have to be the top of the line, every bell and whistle type of computer. These are the workhorses. Save your money for a good design computer. You will save much more time hav... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=201612&ca=Computers+and+Technology Quick Explanation of the Process This is how I view CNC. I break it down into simple steps that I can remember. Now, they all interact, but it is good to keep them in boxes for simplicity sake. I also like to keep them in a logical, progression type order. Here they are: Design, CAD, CAM, Control an... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186828&ca=Computers+and+Technology CAD stands for Computer Aided Design or Computer Aided Drafting. CAD was developed in the early 60s. Today it is the premier way to design, develop and optimized products. People use CAD every day to design virtually every product you see. Generally, designers use CAD to design a product, and then p... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186830&ca=Computers+and+Technology When I went through college I learned how to read prints and draft. We had a bag of physical tools that we purchased and hauled around campus. T-Squares, French Curves, compasses, pencils and erasers filled this bag. Then you had a pad of drafting paper and a drafting desk. You would pin or tape the... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186832&ca=Computers+and+Technology There are multiple CAD programs available for design. Generally people become familiar with one and stick with it. As far as selecting the right one, my advice is this. Most software companies have a free trial. Thirty-day trials are common. Take advantage of these trial periods and test the softwar... Computers and Technology Ivan Irons Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186833&ca=Computers+and+Technology CAD Design Process When designing something complex in CAD you will find there is a bit of a process. First you design parts. Then you build the parts into Sub-Assemblies. Next you build sub-assemblies into Groups. Then you build the groups into the machine. It is a logical pyramid process. You can... Advice Ivan Irons Tue, 25 Sep 2007 00:00:00 +0800 http://www.isnare.com/?aid=186835&ca=Advice FMEA Analysis? What is that? FMEA stands for Failure Mode and Effects Analysis. Not that FMEA analysis has much to do with CNC, but you might come across it in your CAD studies. I will cover FMEA very briefly here. FMEA has really risen to power and prominence over the last few years because of soft...