3DSCAN face relief scanner is one of three digitising programs in the COMPUCUT system. The others are TRACER the 2-axis CNC machine based edge finding digitiser and STYLUS the manual edge finding digitiser which uses a digitising tablet) 3DSCAN is a digitising program enabling vertical probing onto a 'JELLY-MOULD' model. A jelly-mould shape is one that has no re-entrant angles, so if the shape can be extracted from a jelly mould or a child's bucket on the beach, 3DSCAN can be used to reproduce the shape to any scale. If the model is conductive a simple probe which emulates the scaled shape of the cutter can be used, otherwise a 'switching' probe must be used.

Backlash Is a simple little program for checking the backlash in the X and Y leadscrews of your machine. It uses one of the 'Limit inputs' as the detector. A metallic stylus is held in an insulating bush in the chuck of the machine. A limit input is connected to this stylus. The machine drives in X+ until the limit line is grounded on a metallic fixture fastened to the table. (The fixture is grounded to interface 0v). The program moves the table in X- and records the number of steps required until the contact is broken. This is repeated to give an overall view of the backlash figure which is presented on the screen as an average value at that point on the leadscrew. This is then repeated for Y and the results can be used in your PARAM files with this machine for improved accuracy. This 'cheap and cheerful' form of compensation is not as good as removing the backlash by re-engineering the screws/nuts, but is most appropriate for use with the Compucut adaptations of the Wolfcraft XY table. Here the quality of the screws is good and the value of backlash fairly consistent over the length of the screw. The tests can be repeated after long sessions of cutting which will produce increased backlash until the alloy nuts bed in. When setting up to run programs that compensate for backlash, remember to make each of the final, manual X, Y and Z moves to initial datum position in a POSITIVE direction. The program assumes that this will be done. Consequently, if the first move is positive no backlash compensation steps are needed.

CHEKSTEP is a calculating program, which gives a final display of true cutter position at the end of a machining sequence, which you have generated by scaling your drawing on graph paper. This is relevant when designing custom fonts and special symbols. When producing "embossed" or raised letter engraving the cutter centre paths are quite complex, and it is important not to allow small errors in the estimated steps to accumulate from one character to the next.

CIRCDATA is a circular data generator for high-resolution arcs or circles. It allows resolutions down to 1/2 degree, and will calculate the data in a positive or negative direction. The manual editing of these high-resolution components into the final control file gives complete control over the sequence in which the line segments are cut.

Consim Demmo This Program demonstrates part of the CONSIM PLUS program. You can use it to simulate the cutter path of a CON file and control the speed of drawing so that you can identify errors. The main CON SIM PLUS program has many features which will simplify the writing of CON files for the COMPUCUT system. Full details are in the Manual for the full program which is included with this Demo. To obtain the full CON SIM PLUS program send a cheque for £29.95 to A.L. GOOD 566 City Way Rochester Kent ME1 2TW Compucutters overseas can pay over the internet by using the PayPal system.Log on to www.paypal.com and e-mail your payment to allan@tasdevil.co.uk

Compwing (Use of this program requires some familiarity with Compucut ) COMPWING.exe is the software to drive the WINGTHING hot wire polystyrene foam wing cutter. At the release date of Ver 3 of the Compucut system (Reg No. 251 onwards) the prototype WINGTHING is about 1/2 complete. Consequently this software has not yet produced a wing, it seems to generate all the right data, and I am confident of finishing the machine and debugging the code before you have finished your wing cutter. I have released these early details to let users know what is in the 'pipeline'.

HARDWARE. The wing is cut on a 'lathe' like configuration. A virtual spar runs down the length of the wing and this forms the centre line joining the head and tailstocks. This spar can be a physical reality such as a thin walled alloy tube, or can exist purely on the drawings of the ROOT and TIP wing sections as the X and Y offsets of the cutting machine centre line. The bed length and centre height of the machine are infinitely variable. At each end of the bed on a stepper motor controlled radius, is a hot wire support. The user starts by drawing the ROOT and TIP sections around the 'virtual spar', by drawing the ROOT profile on layer two the SP2; statement in the .PLT file can be used to distinguish the ROOT data. Similarly, the SP3; command will point to TIP data. It is convenient to set the spar at a nominal XY offset approx central on the drawing layer. The radius of the leading edge measured from the virtual spar is noted for both root and tip sections. Each section is saved individually by exporting the absolute data to a .PLT file. The test profiles called ROOT.PLT and TIP.PLT are included, they were generated around a virtual spar set at X6000 and Y4000. The ROOT radius is 1000 and TIP radius is 500. The first part of the COMPWING package uses these data files from which it generates POLAR data for each end of the 'lathe'.This can be saved as TESTWING.WIG. The second part of the program uses the .WIG file and rotates the foam blank starting at an angular datum position at which the hot-wire heads are moved under stepper control to their respective radii. From this position the polar data varies the radii with respect to the angular position of the blank until the wing is complete. The resolution of the machine is one degree.Once this is operational on the prototype machine, I will add a facility to 'twist' the wing along its length. See the Compucutters User Group notices or the Web site for progress.

Floater Enables mouse to be used in digitising "flowing" shapes. Digitising with a probe can take a very long time so for large smooth shapes (eg guitar / surfboard etc) a skid can be moved across the surface, and the changes in height with x, y co ordintaes recorded.

HPGLVIEW - A Screen Previewer for HPGL Plot files Copyright (C) 1991 Giovanni S. Moretti HPGLVIEW will display the contents of an HPGL file, normally intended for a plotter, on the PC's screen. The screen is treated as an A3 or A4 page and aspect ratio effects are ignored to maximise the available resolution. Its designed to show you what the plot looks like on the page or what's in an HPGL file that you've just found, not be an absolute mimic of a plot. If you need absolute precision, plot it.

Jigcuta Is a handy little program to guide a scrolling jigsaw along a profile. The steppers control the XY movements of a compound table and the scrolling (rotation of blade) of the saw.

Pinions DRILLING UTILITY FOR LANTERN PINIONS (One of three utilities for producing clock wheels) The program calculates the absolute positons of the centres of any NUMBER of cylindrical pinions at any PITCH CIRCLE RADIUS. The program has to round off to the nearest step, but on most machines this will be LESS than 1/100mm or 1/1000inch. The program allows very accurate drilling by always approaching the centre position from the same direction (X+,Y+)which means that the same leadscrew flanks are engaged on the nut and the endfloat is located on the same thrust face for each hole.

 Rodent Rule Another program from Alan Good, rodent enables you to use your PC as a DRO via mouse internals.

SCREWCUT is a 2 or 3-axis control program, which allows a lathe, which, has been converted to stepper motor drive to screwcut. The program assumes that the headstock is driven by a stepper motor driving through gears, chain, or as I prefer synchronous timing belt. The lathe does not use change wheels, which in micro sized lathes means the ability to cut much coarser pitches than is possible with the often "squidgy" plastics gear train. Screwcut allows for backlash, and all parameters are prompted for by the program display. The cutting speed can be ramped up or down as the cut progresses.

Spokes THE CUTTING OF SPOKES IN CLOCK WHEELS (CROSSING OUT) (One of three programmes for making clock wheels) The SPOKES.exe program mills out the sectors for any number of spokes without using a rotary table. The input parameters are based on the wheel OD, which means that a family of different sized wheels can share the same style. The inputs allow for 2-axis CNC plus manual Z-feed or full 3-axis CNC for automatic profiling of the whole gear at one setting in multiple passes. By experimenting with the HUB and RIM factors, as well as the ARC at rim and hub factors a whole set of styles are possible from the small hub, thin rim, thin parallel spoked clock wheel to more sturdy tapered spoke designs found on railway running gear. The cutter diameter is not considered by the program, so you have to make your own allowances for cutter radius. The clock makers will pierce the wheels in one or more passes complete from one side, but elegant loco wheels are possible by cutting wider shallow profiles on each side, and piercing with a smaller sector to give 'cross section' spoking.

Tracer 'Tracer' is a 2-D digitiser which works in a similar way to the manual edge-finder 'Mandig' but Tracer scans around the work piece automatically. Tracer was written for the digitising beam which produces 2D data for the Compucutter machine, usually of aero dynamic shapes for turbines.The stylus used can be a simple insulated silver steel bar held in the chuck and connected to an input line for use with conducting templates, or for insulating templates a 'switching' stylus can be made. If copying a full size model the stylus diameter should be equal to the diameter of the cutter to be used. If the model is larger than the final product, then scale the stylus up in the same proportion.

Easyconv File converter for PCB drilling. Input the Easyconv file (from "EASYPC") and the result is a Compucut control file to drill the PCB in the most efficient way. Remember EASY lists the holes in order in which you place them on the drawing, which is unlikely to be the order in which you wish to, drill them.

CLOCK GEARS Clock gear wheel cutting program. Operates under 2 1/2 or full 3 axis control to GENERATE cycloidal form gear teeth of any DP and any size from 20T upwards. Less than approximately 20T down to 6T are pinions and can be subjects of a "Lantern" pinion program. The actual form generated is based on the FULL OGIVE: Addendum =1.35/DP, Dedendum = 1.55DP, circular width =1.57/DP, Tooth flanks are radial straight lines, Tooth faces are arcs of 1.57/DP struck from pitch circle. This profile with its tall addendum gives enough "reach" to run with small (6T) lantern pinions. The prototype used a set-up on a small lathe. Using computer generated cutting data means the above family of wheel cutters for all DPs and numbers of teeth (within the stated ranges) can exist in "virtual" form in the system memory, and can be implemented with just a few cheap saws. I am currently building a wooden clock (in my spare time - such as there is) using the stepper driven wolfcraft table mentioned in the "mini" range section.

Contains the set of 12 control files for scaleable. Roman numerals to use for engraving watch and clock dials.

SPARK EROSION Spark eroder control program. Uses a hardware digital input and switches to monitor the spark gap conditions and control the Z-axis accordingly. Will run with any pulsed dc system. A software "watchdog" timer set to retract reduces risk to circuitry under shorted conditions. The program can control 1, 2, or 3 axes. Because EDM is rather slow compared to cutting methods of metal removal, it makes a good subject for CNC, as multiple passes can be made over an extended period. I suggest That the process be evaluated at a modest level, using a single vertical axis device driven by a stepper motor as a broken tap extractor / drill for hard metals such as tungsten carbide etc. When operating variables are understood, or it is at least recognised that there are operating variables to be balanced in the light of experience, then can the "continuous wire" machine etc. be designed.