New CNC Resource in the Machine Shop

DMS General
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There is a new CNC tool soon to be available in the Machine Shop. A long-term loan has made a Sherline CNC Mill available, along with the necessary tooling and accessories. I will be handling the training and tool orientation for this system. This machine is a versatile Machine that will machine plastics, aluminum, brass, steel and other metals.

The machine is locked down for now.

sherline cnc
sherline cnc549Ă—640 99.8 KB

Watch DMS Talk and the Calendar for classes and details, but the general plan is this.

  1. Experienced CNC machinists (Knowledge of CAD, CAM, G-Code and CNC control software.) Reach out to me and we will set up a machine-side orientation about the specific setup and operation of this machine.
  2. Members with Sherline manual machine training can attend a class that introduces the Sherline CNC Control interface, discusses CAD/CAM options for the geometry to be machined on the CNC, discusses Post-processing and G-Code editing for the Sherline CNC format, and demonstrates work setup, tool offsets and running the G-Code in the Sherline/Linux environment. At the class, we will discuss a simple CAM “homework” assignment to complete and format. We can then have a short “machine side” checkout to set up and run the code. (This is the format we have used for other CNC resources in the past and it works well.)
  3. Members who have not taken the Sherline Manual machine training will need to do so before taking the Sherline CNC training.

While not required, members who have taken the Shapeoko3 CAM class and machine-side training will have an advantage because the basic concepts of CAM and toolpath programming are similar. If members want to get a “head start” on the CAM process can watch the excellent You Tube videos on the Solid Works CAM module or on the open-source CAM feature of FreeCAD that is called the Path Workbench. CAM programming for the Sherline can come from any software package, but members will need to learn CAM and G-Code editing from the software of their choice. V-Carve Pro even has a Sherline/Linux CNC post processor and can be used to create 2.5D CAM toolpaths for the Sherline. My introduction class will discuss and introduce the options available at or though DMS and available online, but members will have to learn the CAM of their choice.

Feel Free to reach out on TALK with questions or comments for me.

Kevin

12 Likes
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Thank you for all your work getting this up and running!

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8 posts were split to a new topic: Lathe Training Q’s

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Kevin

To confirm, at least to start with, Carbide/Carbide Pro is an acceptable CAM to use?

Max

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Yes but only pro. You can’t export gcode with standard . Select the grbl option for output in settings. You will have to edit the gcode but you have to do anyway . Maybe a bit more editing is required to strip out the shapeoko specific elements of the gcode, but it is doable . The class will discuss what you need to look for .

1 Like
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Agreed! Great work @keoliver! Thank you!

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Perfect :slight_smile:

I have a small Sherline CNC Mill and need to learn to use it. Thank you @keoliver - I’ll be looking forward to this.

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Looking forward to it!