Quote Originally Posted by callen_1 View Post
Thanks for the info, mate . It sounds really interesting, i'll have to see if there are any classes locally.

I don't have any programming experience, but like everyone else here i know my way around a computer (well, windows anyway). So, is the software difficult to work with?

The other thing i wanted to ask was how long the class took? Days, weeks, months?

Sorry about the 20 questions
Hey, no worries. My class lasted from the end of August to the beginning of December, because it was for my college major, so 3.5 months. I had the class for an hour, two days a week, and then lab time if we needed for two hours a day, two days a week.

The program we used (can't remember the name of it for the life of me) was pretty simple to use. We wrote all the code by hand in notepad (like old skool HTML, before programs like Dreamweaver), and then opened the notepad document in the CNC program. We chose which tools we wanted to use in the program for the tool changer, simulated it, and if that came out okay, we ran it.

As long as you can keep all of the G codes straight, you'll be just fine. For instance:

G02 __ I __ J is a clockwise cut starting at where ever your tool currently is, with a radius of __I and ending at coordinate __ J.

G03 is the same thing, except counter clockwise.

G01 __X __Y is a straight cut starting wherever your tool currently is, and ending wherever you entered for X and Y coordinates.

As long as you can memorize those codes (and about 30-40 others), you're good to go.