Great video and absolutely spot on. I am so glad I found you to help me get started with CAM. I just bought a used Novakon NM-145 mill with very low hours. The previous owner upgraded the spindle to VFD but didn't know how to hook it up to the breakout board and was still using Mach 3 demo version. It took me 3 weeks to figure out that Mach 3 was a dead end. My Acorn kit is arriving tomorrow! Centroid is an industrial system with decades of support, documentation and tutorials. What really sold me was learning that Centroid makes massive commercial systems and this is their very low end controller. But the absolute best part is the CNC12 software running on your PC is the same for this kit as the big commercial systems they sell so you get all the industrial strength features. I don't want to play with home made CNC like I did with 3D printing. I want a reliable mill to make parts. You get what you pay for and the capability is worth the money. Finally digitizing allows you to copy parts made of unobtainum. Years ago my neighbor had a side business making parts for antique car clubs on a manual mill. Where are you going to get a thermostat housing for a 1940 Packard? What if you could copy the cracked part and make a new one?
Absolutely fantastic video. I'm just getting into the Acorn CNC with my PM-25. So many things I was curious about and you covered them. You do an excellent job explaining how to get from A to B to the novice.
The most practical use of the 3D digitizing is when you want to copy a hand-shaped part. For example I have a customer that create fishing lure molds with an EDM machine. He hands shapes them out of wood , then uses the centroid to grid digitize it and then he cuts the exact same thing out of a piece of graphite then uses that graphite on an EDM machine to make a mold. He does the entire process without any CAD/Cam modeling!
Thanks for the video! I like it. But I wanted to comment about the higher cost when you buy from Centroid. You also pointed out that when you need tech support you talk to a real human. The cost of the tech support (and all other overhead) has to be paid somewhere. In this case, Centroid builds the overhead cost into the items they sell. I have no problems with any business doing that. Don't consider this a slight on your video. I like your video. Also, my only association with Centroid is I bought their basic package (list price) from them and done bench tests on it. I started my CNC project just before the pandemic. I made lots of progress during the pandemic. When work started up again I have not had time for CNC project work. I hope to get back to it soon.
There is a lot to be said for having a nice plug and play system. I'm sure that building your own CNC has enough challenges any way. BTW, really neat wiring in the electrical box!
Agreed! I spent all the time on cable management inside the panel. Did not have as much luck with the cable management from the panel to the machine! What a mess….
Great video explaining the functionality in an easy to understand way. I’m new to the CNC hobby, having picked up a Onefinity CNC router. Learning Fusion 360 CAM is pretty neat. You got me thinking about my next machine!
Thanks for watching! Which cam software are you using for the router? Are you thinking about another router for your next machine, or a mill? Cheers! Adam
Which lathe did you convert with acorn? I’ve got an old, manual, Bulgarian lathe that I’ve wanted to convert but have no idea what I’m getting myself into. Would need to make a custom conversion kit for it.
Thanks for the video Adam! I always enjoy watching your videos. Even though I've been running my Acorn converted PM30 mill for almost 5 years now I did learn a couple of things. I didn't know you could modify the hole size using the D offset in the tool library. I also didn't know you could get a 3D view of the tool paths when running the program. I manage my tool offsets a little different using the Fixed Z Home method and a Tool Touchoff mounted on the left-front of the table. I also made a power drawbar for tool changes. I don't know how you have gone on so long without one. A ATC would be nice but I mostly post for each tool change to prove out the CAM. Most of my jobs are one offs so the ATC wouldn't make much difference.
Thanks Mark! Which tool touch off are you using? I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while now…. Maybe it’s time! For your fixed Z home method - are you using one of those standard mechanical limit switches? I always thought they weren’t accurate enough, but I haven’t actually experimented. Do you find any variability in your Z positions?
For me Im actually very excited about the digitizing because o reverse engineer very comolex engine parts and timing change covers and atuff woth a but load of features.
@@raindeergames6104 here’s something to be aware of - steep surfaces will be offset by up to a full radius of your probe tip. I haven’t found a great way to deal with this. Let me know if you do! ruclips.net/video/GezEigQ7o-4/видео.htmlsi=fkpoOplh_kTwBLEf
@adamdebowski2037 thank for the heads up. This should not be a issue for me to much. As long as I can do all the different flat surfaces and bores it should be great. I can match this up with my 3d scan and should be perfect
I’m still waiting for my ball screw kit to arrive for my 833TV. I have a few more miscellaneous parts that I need to start wiring the CNC enclosure. Your video is a good overview of tool setting. I do plan on using an electronic tool setter to make things a little easier. I’m going to probably bug you a few times when I get stuck!
Hey, another cool thing you could do when you're in the run menu searching to a line number. If you hit graph at that point it will show you graphically what you have chosen to skip over and where you have chosen to start, which is a nice reality check
This is amazing and is going to save me a ton of time. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. For anybody reading this - this is the kind of support you get from Centroid! Keith is a developer of the Acorn. Not going to get this with with other guys.... Cheers, Keith!
Adam, what a great job, connecting the main spindle motor with a VDF, and an encoder is relatively simple, Marty has a couple of videos where he explains everything step by step. I have a question for you about the configuration of the Drewtronics 5000 probe, they recently gave me one and I have not been able to configure it, because I have doubts about the connection and configuration of the Wizard, in the first attempts, the probe always remained closed and did not respond If you could send me the configuration photos, I would greatly appreciate it. best regard . Oswaldo Adam, que buen trabajo, lo de conectar el motor del husillo principal con un VDF, y un encoder es relativamente sencillo, Marty tiene un par de videos donde explica todo el paso a paso. Yo le tengo una pregunta sobre la configuracion de la sonda Drewtronics 5000 , hace poco me regalaron una y no he podido configurala, porque tengo dudas en la coneccion y la configuracion del Wizard, en los primeros intentos , siempre la sonda quedó cerrada y no responde al toque, si me pudiera enviar las fotos de configuracion le agradeceria mucho. cordial saludo . Oswaldo
Hi Oswaldo. Thanks for the tip! I’d be happy to send you some screen shots of my probe configuration. Send an email to adamd.cnc@gmail.com and I’ll reply with some info.
When you install new software, you can copy your existing tool library from the old cncm directory to the new one and when you restart, it will auto magically appear
Not really. But the probing functions that are part of the "pro" license (one step less expensive than the digitizing license) sort of can. You can accurately find the location and size of features like circular bores and bosses, edges, corners etc. with the pro license. Dedicated CMMs have all kinds of advanced automated reporting/programming functions that you won't get with acorn. But if you're willing to put in the extra time of running probing cycles manually, you can get much of the same information (absolutely dependent on the accuracy of your machine) a CMM would put out. I use my little machine to measure parts all the time as a sort of CMM and am always blow away with the accuracy. Hope that makes sense!
What tool number did you assign the probe? Does the probe have an offset or is it "0"? I'm coming from a mach3 setup where the probe isn't set as a tool and a script automatically compensates the offset of the probe. "0" on that machine is the nose of the spindle. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how to adapt that set of tools (and thier numbering) to cnc12.
I set my probe as T1 and it doesn’t have a height offset. It is my reference tool that all tools are offset from. I believe you can use any tool as the reference tool at any time so long as that’s the tool that’s selected when you generate they “z ref” surface & when you click “manual measure” to calculate the offset. Acorn is really helpful with calculating the actual offset for you. I never manually enter height offsets but you can.
Once the part is created on solid works. Do you need any plug in or program for solid works to convert over to acorn to cnc? I’m new to cnc. Trying to see all the program I need to create and cnc a part
To create tool paths and G code for the Acorn, you need to program the part in a “CAM” software. You can get a CAM plugin for solidworks (I use HSMWorks) or you can use Fusion360 CAM. If you are designing the part in Solidworks I would recommend the HSMWorks CAM plugin for Solidworks.
@@TheAnt0906 I’m glad you’re finding the videos helpful! CAMWorks is another CAM plugin for Solidworks. As far as I know, there are 4 different CAM plugins for solidworks: 1. HSMWorks 2. CAMWorks 3. SolidCAM 4. Solidworks CAM Solidworks CAM is, in my opinion awful and I wouldn’t consider it. I haven’t heard great things about CAMWorks but it’s much better than solidworks CAM. That being said I’ve never used it. If you have access to it I would give it a try and see what you think. Just make sure it either has, or you can get a post processor for Acorn. I know for sure that HSMWorks has a built in post processor for Acorn.
@@RickMurray-md1gg On top of Solidworks, though, I'm also running HSMWorks, which you get through a Subscription to Fusion360. So what you can do is not get solidworks at all, and only use Fusion360 for both CAD and CAM. I use Solidworks because I have been using for over 15 years, and switching to something else is just painful.
Very glad to hear from you @MakoSharkCNC7730. You make awesome stuff and run some really long programs. Was there anything you saw in this video that you found “better” than Mach3? Did you ever find yourself wishing you went with a different controller? I’ve heard a few really bad reviews about mach3 but it doesn’t seem like you’re having any problems. Would love to see you put out a video about how you machine your models. How many different setups do you run to make a car model like that?
as a designer i’m interested in running acorn on a cnc im building, but i can’t get past the gui, i honestly think its the worst looking gui ive ever seen. are there any acorn reskins that are easy and straightforward to set up?
Skinning is possible with the Acorn so I imagine they’re out there but I haven’t personally experimented. Check out the skinning manual from centroid: www.centroidcnc.com/downloads/custom_ui/Skinning%20Lite%20manual.pdf
You can change all the colors with the color picker in CNC 12 and the vcp is fully editable. You can change any of the buttons, graphics, colors, words, or functions that you like.
Great video and absolutely spot on. I am so glad I found you to help me get started with CAM. I just bought a used Novakon NM-145 mill with very low hours. The previous owner upgraded the spindle to VFD but didn't know how to hook it up to the breakout board and was still using Mach 3 demo version. It took me 3 weeks to figure out that Mach 3 was a dead end. My Acorn kit is arriving tomorrow! Centroid is an industrial system with decades of support, documentation and tutorials. What really sold me was learning that Centroid makes massive commercial systems and this is their very low end controller. But the absolute best part is the CNC12 software running on your PC is the same for this kit as the big commercial systems they sell so you get all the industrial strength features. I don't want to play with home made CNC like I did with 3D printing. I want a reliable mill to make parts. You get what you pay for and the capability is worth the money. Finally digitizing allows you to copy parts made of unobtainum. Years ago my neighbor had a side business making parts for antique car clubs on a manual mill. Where are you going to get a thermostat housing for a 1940 Packard? What if you could copy the cracked part and make a new one?
Absolutely fantastic video. I'm just getting into the Acorn CNC with my PM-25. So many things I was curious about and you covered them. You do an excellent job explaining how to get from A to B to the novice.
Thanks for the kind words and for watching, Ron. Very glad you found it useful!
Very nice video. I have Centroid Acorn on my mill and it has been rock solid.
I agree. It’s been working great for years 👍
The most practical use of the 3D digitizing is when you want to copy a hand-shaped part. For example I have a customer that create fishing lure molds with an EDM machine. He hands shapes them out of wood , then uses the centroid to grid digitize it and then he cuts the exact same thing out of a piece of graphite then uses that graphite on an EDM machine to make a mold. He does the entire process without any CAD/Cam modeling!
Very cool! Modelling hand shaped parts in Solidworks would take me days. I wish your customer would post some videos. Would be great to see.
@@adamdebowski2037 I am not this customer, but if you want a video with this workflow : ruclips.net/video/y-vwf5C1M_4/видео.html
Thanks for the video! I like it.
But I wanted to comment about the higher cost when you buy from Centroid. You also pointed out that when you need tech support you talk to a real human. The cost of the tech support (and all other overhead) has to be paid somewhere. In this case, Centroid builds the overhead cost into the items they sell. I have no problems with any business doing that.
Don't consider this a slight on your video. I like your video. Also, my only association with Centroid is I bought their basic package (list price) from them and done bench tests on it. I started my CNC project just before the pandemic. I made lots of progress during the pandemic. When work started up again I have not had time for CNC project work. I hope to get back to it soon.
You read my mind. I posted the video and wish I had mentioned this. You are 100% correct, and the price is more than reasonable for what you get!
There is a lot to be said for having a nice plug and play system. I'm sure that building your own CNC has enough challenges any way.
BTW, really neat wiring in the electrical box!
Agreed! I spent all the time on cable management inside the panel. Did not have as much luck with the cable management from the panel to the machine! What a mess….
Great video explaining the functionality in an easy to understand way. I’m new to the CNC hobby, having picked up a Onefinity CNC router. Learning Fusion 360 CAM is pretty neat. You got me thinking about my next machine!
Thanks for watching! Which cam software are you using for the router? Are you thinking about another router for your next machine, or a mill? Cheers! Adam
I built a acorn mill and lathe both working great easy to use
Which lathe did you convert with acorn? I’ve got an old, manual, Bulgarian lathe that I’ve wanted to convert but have no idea what I’m getting myself into. Would need to make a custom conversion kit for it.
@@adamdebowski2037 I bought a new Bolton tools 9332 I believe and made all the brackets then added DMM servo's built a enclosure
For your viewers their is now acorn six version.
Great video. Thanks!
Thanks for the video Adam! I always enjoy watching your videos. Even though I've been running my Acorn converted PM30 mill for almost 5 years now I did learn a couple of things. I didn't know you could modify the hole size using the D offset in the tool library. I also didn't know you could get a 3D view of the tool paths when running the program. I manage my tool offsets a little different using the Fixed Z Home method and a Tool Touchoff mounted on the left-front of the table. I also made a power drawbar for tool changes. I don't know how you have gone on so long without one. A ATC would be nice but I mostly post for each tool change to prove out the CAM. Most of my jobs are one offs so the ATC wouldn't make much difference.
Thanks Mark! Which tool touch off are you using? I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while now…. Maybe it’s time!
For your fixed Z home method - are you using one of those standard mechanical limit switches? I always thought they weren’t accurate enough, but I haven’t actually experimented. Do you find any variability in your Z positions?
For me Im actually very excited about the digitizing because o reverse engineer very comolex engine parts and timing change covers and atuff woth a but load of features.
@@raindeergames6104 here’s something to be aware of - steep surfaces will be offset by up to a full radius of your probe tip.
I haven’t found a great way to deal with this. Let me know if you do!
ruclips.net/video/GezEigQ7o-4/видео.htmlsi=fkpoOplh_kTwBLEf
@adamdebowski2037 thank for the heads up. This should not be a issue for me to much. As long as I can do all the different flat surfaces and bores it should be great. I can match this up with my 3d scan and should be perfect
I’m still waiting for my ball screw kit to arrive for my 833TV. I have a few more miscellaneous parts that I need to start wiring the CNC enclosure. Your video is a good overview of tool setting. I do plan on using an electronic tool setter to make things a little easier. I’m going to probably bug you a few times when I get stuck!
Hey, another cool thing you could do when you're in the run menu searching to a line number. If you hit graph at that point it will show you graphically what you have chosen to skip over and where you have chosen to start, which is a nice reality check
This is amazing and is going to save me a ton of time. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
For anybody reading this - this is the kind of support you get from Centroid! Keith is a developer of the Acorn. Not going to get this with with other guys.... Cheers, Keith!
Adam, what a great job, connecting the main spindle motor with a VDF, and an encoder is relatively simple, Marty has a couple of videos where he explains everything step by step. I have a question for you about the configuration of the Drewtronics 5000 probe, they recently gave me one and I have not been able to configure it, because I have doubts about the connection and configuration of the Wizard, in the first attempts, the probe always remained closed and did not respond If you could send me the configuration photos, I would greatly appreciate it. best regard .
Oswaldo
Adam, que buen trabajo, lo de conectar el motor del husillo principal con un VDF, y un encoder es relativamente sencillo, Marty tiene un par de videos donde explica todo el paso a paso. Yo le tengo una pregunta sobre la configuracion de la sonda Drewtronics 5000 , hace poco me regalaron una y no he podido configurala, porque tengo dudas en la coneccion y la configuracion del Wizard, en los primeros intentos , siempre la sonda quedó cerrada y no responde al toque, si me pudiera enviar las fotos de configuracion le agradeceria mucho. cordial saludo .
Oswaldo
Hi Oswaldo. Thanks for the tip! I’d be happy to send you some screen shots of my probe configuration. Send an email to adamd.cnc@gmail.com and I’ll reply with some info.
Great video
Thanks for watching 🍻
Thanks 👍
Thanks for watching 🍻
When you install new software, you can copy your existing tool library from the old cncm directory to the new one and when you restart, it will auto magically appear
Adam, have you tried the CHIPS software? I'm using Level 2 and really like it for setting offsets with my Drewtronics S5000.
Can the digitizing feature be used as a cmm.
Not really. But the probing functions that are part of the "pro" license (one step less expensive than the digitizing license) sort of can. You can accurately find the location and size of features like circular bores and bosses, edges, corners etc. with the pro license. Dedicated CMMs have all kinds of advanced automated reporting/programming functions that you won't get with acorn. But if you're willing to put in the extra time of running probing cycles manually, you can get much of the same information (absolutely dependent on the accuracy of your machine) a CMM would put out. I use my little machine to measure parts all the time as a sort of CMM and am always blow away with the accuracy. Hope that makes sense!
How much
did the mill cost you and the Centroid system cost?
What tool number did you assign the probe? Does the probe have an offset or is it "0"? I'm coming from a mach3 setup where the probe isn't set as a tool and a script automatically compensates the offset of the probe. "0" on that machine is the nose of the spindle. I'm just trying to wrap my head around how to adapt that set of tools (and thier numbering) to cnc12.
I set my probe as T1 and it doesn’t have a height offset. It is my reference tool that all tools are offset from. I believe you can use any tool as the reference tool at any time so long as that’s the tool that’s selected when you generate they “z ref” surface & when you click “manual measure” to calculate the offset. Acorn is really helpful with calculating the actual offset for you. I never manually enter height offsets but you can.
You’ve got me thinking… I’m going to test this and get back to you…
@@adamdebowski2037 I'm sorry.
Once the part is created on solid works. Do you need any plug in or program for solid works to convert over to acorn to cnc? I’m new to cnc. Trying to see all the program I need to create and cnc a part
To create tool paths and G code for the Acorn, you need to program the part in a “CAM” software. You can get a CAM plugin for solidworks (I use HSMWorks) or you can use Fusion360 CAM. If you are designing the part in Solidworks I would recommend the HSMWorks CAM plugin for Solidworks.
Thank you! Your videos have been very helpful. I just notice there is CAMworks. Any input on these?
@@TheAnt0906 I’m glad you’re finding the videos helpful! CAMWorks is another CAM plugin for Solidworks. As far as I know, there are 4 different CAM plugins for solidworks:
1. HSMWorks
2. CAMWorks
3. SolidCAM
4. Solidworks CAM
Solidworks CAM is, in my opinion awful and I wouldn’t consider it. I haven’t heard great things about CAMWorks but it’s much better than solidworks CAM. That being said I’ve never used it. If you have access to it I would give it a try and see what you think. Just make sure it either has, or you can get a post processor for Acorn.
I know for sure that HSMWorks has a built in post processor for Acorn.
Can you tell me what the tool holders are in this video and where to obtain? Or is there something you would like better for the same purpose?
These are the TTS tool holders by tormach. I’ve got an entire video on R8 tool holding where I talk about them 👍
@@adamdebowski2037 Thanks!!
@@RickMurray-md1gg On top of Solidworks, though, I'm also running HSMWorks, which you get through a Subscription to Fusion360. So what you can do is not get solidworks at all, and only use Fusion360 for both CAD and CAM. I use Solidworks because I have been using for over 15 years, and switching to something else is just painful.
@@adamdebowski2037 Hi Adam, thanks for the additional info. I have Fusion 360, V-Carve and FreeCad. Playing with each to see which I like the best.
@@RickMurray-md1gg how do you like v carve compared to fusion. I’ve never used it. Is it better for routers?
Are you using any contactor in your control box?
I am not. I start the spindle motor manually.
@@adamdebowski2037 which solidworks version are you running? There are to many different versions to choose from
@@TheAnt0906 I’m running premium but you can run standard, it doesn’t really matter
What cnc conversion kit did you use on your mill
Arizona's cnc conversion kit. He does a great job shimming the double ball nuts to get the backlash out. Highly recommend. www.arizonacnckits.com/
@@adamdebowski2037 pitty no kit for the 0704
still running mach 3 , and using a c11g board form cncforpc $60.00 and done, centiord is lot more money $$$!
Very glad to hear from you @MakoSharkCNC7730. You make awesome stuff and run some really long programs. Was there anything you saw in this video that you found “better” than Mach3? Did you ever find yourself wishing you went with a different controller? I’ve heard a few really bad reviews about mach3 but it doesn’t seem like you’re having any problems.
Would love to see you put out a video about how you machine your models. How many different setups do you run to make a car model like that?
I'm still using the parallel port on windows XP and Mach 3.
as a designer i’m interested in running acorn on a cnc im building, but i can’t get past the gui, i honestly think its the worst looking gui ive ever seen. are there any acorn reskins that are easy and straightforward to set up?
Skinning is possible with the Acorn so I imagine they’re out there but I haven’t personally experimented. Check out the skinning manual from centroid: www.centroidcnc.com/downloads/custom_ui/Skinning%20Lite%20manual.pdf
You can change all the colors with the color picker in CNC 12 and the vcp is fully editable. You can change any of the buttons, graphics, colors, words, or functions that you like.
ruclips.net/video/pdNaSI-AtGo/видео.htmlsi=XwCmpLqnRRD_3bR9
ruclips.net/video/Z4OzW0bqd3U/видео.htmlsi=b5zEunBcN-9kw_E7
Fast and functional, used many others.. Glamor and glitz is a distraction when operating machine
@@hitechfabshopglamor helps me sell more machines. Showing this gui to a customer is a big turnoff for the customer