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Let me tell you about Chuck

astro8

New Member
Have you got the right driver set up in Enroute and not the default A.R.T.?

You should have MultcmGC - GCode

I can't believe it is jerking and shaking from the factory...they do test these things before they ship them...sounds weird to me.
 

Janey

New Member
Andy - thanks I will see if I can figure that out. All those mm I will have to do some converting...99% of what I have been cutting though is 1" thick down only .10" HDU and then an offset to 1". But I think I have some 6mm sintra that I have been playing with so I will try it on there.

I also bought a video camera yesterday. So I can video tape what is going on...don't think I can post a link on here for that though...I will send you an PM with the link if you want to see it.

Astro 8 - I really have not messed around in that area..but I was looking in there and it is set on what you say. MultcmGC - GCode. I am not at the shop right now but there is another one selected but not set and it is something 3D something or another...but it not the one that is set to be running...does that make sense?

Threeputt - I agree. And some of you don't believe what is going on and you know what I envy those of you that have been so fortunate in your endeavors. So my option is to get a lawyer that will cost me probably a lot of money and the machine may or may not get fixed in the end. Or I guess I just pay to have someone fix it assuming I cannot work it out. Reference the olive branch...here is it...lets start over...lets get this right I can be your biggest advocate. Please call me. You know my number.
 

andy

New Member
Janey,

I have looked on the Multicam site at the control software and from what I can see the Job Previewer is very, very basic- it doesn't give you the features and control I have on my machine so I can see why you are struggling.

I think that the important aspects of tool pathing and feed rates are going to be controlled in EnRoute- the Job Preview software looks like a basic Gcode reader which isn't going to allow you to alter job settings as I had imagined.

In EnRoute you should have a tool library- this will contain the parameters for your tooling. Pick the tool you are currently using and edit it inside the library- you should see feed rate, step down and step over values which you can change. Set the feed for something slow like 600mm per minute, the step down is a maximum of twice the tool diameter- eg a 4mm cutter will cut material with a maximum thickness of 8mm in a single pass. Step over should be 0.5 of the tool diameter- for a 4mm cutter the step over is 2mm. Change one tool to your own values and use this for test cuts.

When you process the job in EnRoute you should see a graphic of your test piece. Go to toolpath and select your newly edited tool and apply a cutting path using this tool- save the resulting toolpath using a basic MultiCam post processor- either GCode or PLT file extensions.

Bring this file into job previewer and see if it will run on your machine. Set your Z depth above the machine bed and let the toolpath run in fresh air a couple of times. If it looks OK reset the Z depth and try a live cut.

For testing purposes do yourself a big favour- go and buy 20 sheets of 8x4ft 3mm hardboard. It should cost you no more than £3 a sheet. This material is thin enough to cut test parts quite quickly and it shouldn't be thick enough to snap your tools. The key at the moment is to get you cutting basic 2D shapes with confidence- practice makes perfect so I would use all 20 sheets ramping up the complexity of your test cuts- start with a square or circle then build up to letter shapes and more complicated parts.

When you get up to speed and want to try your ATC it should be quite simple- in the EnRoute tool library you have the option to number your tools- these values should be passed by the post processor into the MultiCam software so it can switch between cutters in numerical order. The important thing is to use the right MultiCam ATC processor- the standard ones do not support ATC- there should be a named MultiCam ATC processor in the EnRoute list.

I don't have a MultiCam machine or Enroute but the two examples of Gcode I've posted were created in the way I have described- through a program like EnRoute into the actual CNC control software.

I am curious to know whether MultiCam left your premises before showing you how to cut basic 2D shapes using the hard and software they delivered? If job previewer works how I think it does the use of Enroute is very important to you and MultiCam should have preset the tool libraries for you before they left- they should also have given you a list of the post processors to use.

Let us know how you get on.
 

CES020

New Member
Just to add a personal experience, not with Multicam, but with another manufacturer that will remain nameless, it's not always as easy as some of you make it sound. We bought a $30,000 piece of equipment. It was installed, we started using it, knowing we'd have to find the right settings on various materials over time. About a month into it, we finally stopped trying to beat our heads against the wall on a material, and we called the factory. We sent photos and they immediately said "Oh, you have a problem, it's not supposed to look like that".

They had no solution. I contacted other owners of the same make/model, and sent them video clips of it happening, and they confirmed that they did not have that issue with their machine. I called twice a week for months, asking if there was any progress. I spent about $250 in next day air charges and materials, sending them examples, for which I was never reimbersed. I called my sales rep, I called the factory, I called tech support, I asked for supervisors, I asked for managers, I asked for the owner of the company. Just anyone that would get plugged in and try and help resolve this issue.

I ended up on a conference call with their senior management about 8 months into owning it, where they openly admitted they had a problem and said they knew what was causing it but did not know how to fix it. When I asked them when I could expect it to be resolved, I was told "We're not going to play that game". I said "What game", and I was told "Getting locked into a date. We'll fix it when we fix it".

So I had a machine that didn't work properly for 8-9 months and I was told by the factory (that didn't mind taking my full payment) that I could expect it to be fixed one day in the future, and not until then. Their solution to me was to run everything at 50% speed. We didn't pay them 50% of the price, we paid them 100% of the price, so why should we have to run it at 50% speed until they could work it out, which might be tomorrow, or might be next year?

Feeling like the company had abandoned us, took our money and left us with a lemon, we took it to the forums. We posted the entire account, documented it with video and photos, and a timeline. After posting it, they bought our machine back from us within 2 weeks, full price, no questions asked. When they came to pick it up, they looked at the jobs we ran, and said "Oh, there's something seriously wrong with this machine".

All of it could have been avoided, but I firmly believe, if we hadn't posted our experience on the internet, we would still be fighting that machine right now, instead of using one of their competitors that's worked from day 1.

I will add that the internet is the LAST place we came, not the first. It took me about 8 months behind the scenes trying to work it out before I finally went public. I wish I didn't have to, but it worked for us.
 

astro8

New Member
Andy is pretty well spot on in what he's suggesting without knowing the Enroute software...

The Multicam controller will accept Gcode (.cnc extension)and HPGL(.plt) files...

If I were you I would go into the 'Active Drivers" in Enroute and select the 'Multicam - 2D' 'driver' (HPGL-LIN ) in the drop down list next to 'Multicam' and see if it repeats the problem.

The GCode 'driver' is 100 steps per mm...the HPGL is 40 steps per mm and a couple of other nuances.

Don't worry about the 3D 'drivers' for now until you straighten this out.

Do an 'air-cut' whilst testing.

There's some test cut files you can download from the Multicam site in both GCode and HPGL as well.
 

Janey

New Member
Just to add a personal experience, not with Multicam, but with another manufacturer that will remain nameless, it's not always as easy as some of you make it sound. We bought a $30,000 piece of equipment. It was installed, we started using it, knowing we'd have to find the right settings on various materials over time. About a month into it, we finally stopped trying to beat our heads against the wall on a material, and we called the factory. We sent photos and they immediately said "Oh, you have a problem, it's not supposed to look like that".

They had no solution. I contacted other owners of the same make/model, and sent them video clips of it happening, and they confirmed that they did not have that issue with their machine. I called twice a week for months, asking if there was any progress. I spent about $250 in next day air charges and materials, sending them examples, for which I was never reimbersed. I called my sales rep, I called the factory, I called tech support, I asked for supervisors, I asked for managers, I asked for the owner of the company. Just anyone that would get plugged in and try and help resolve this issue.

I ended up on a conference call with their senior management about 8 months into owning it, where they openly admitted they had a problem and said they knew what was causing it but did not know how to fix it. When I asked them when I could expect it to be resolved, I was told "We're not going to play that game". I said "What game", and I was told "Getting locked into a date. We'll fix it when we fix it".

So I had a machine that didn't work properly for 8-9 months and I was told by the factory (that didn't mind taking my full payment) that I could expect it to be fixed one day in the future, and not until then. Their solution to me was to run everything at 50% speed. We didn't pay them 50% of the price, we paid them 100% of the price, so why should we have to run it at 50% speed until they could work it out, which might be tomorrow, or might be next year?

Feeling like the company had abandoned us, took our money and left us with a lemon, we took it to the forums. We posted the entire account, documented it with video and photos, and a timeline. After posting it, they bought our machine back from us within 2 weeks, full price, no questions asked. When they came to pick it up, they looked at the jobs we ran, and said "Oh, there's something seriously wrong with this machine".

All of it could have been avoided, but I firmly believe, if we hadn't posted our experience on the internet, we would still be fighting that machine right now, instead of using one of their competitors that's worked from day 1.

I will add that the internet is the LAST place we came, not the first. It took me about 8 months behind the scenes trying to work it out before I finally went public. I wish I didn't have to, but it worked for us.

I can appreciate your taking the time to tell of your issues and I sincerely sympathize with what you had to go through. I am even more thrilled to hear that eventually you got what you wanted. I am sorry you think I brought this to the internet too soon. And I didn’t bring it here to make it anyone else’s’ problem. It is mine. They have had numerous calls and emails from me asking for help in these areas and they go unanswered.

Here is the list of what I have in the machine and why I don’t have 8 months to get it fixed.

The lease (has $1 buy out) $2,964 down, Two payments made already at $1,382. This part totals $5728.

Dust collector $2300.

Tool holders and Tooling very close to $2000

Electrician as we have 480 in the shop so we needed to add a transformer that alone cost $1300 his total bill was $3500

I am a Mac person and I had to buy a PC and I spent $2300 for that.

Freight bill was just over $1000 plus the cost of unloading.

So far I am at $16,828 that I have out of pocket, cash, money.

Plus there is the insurance on the machine that cost around $80 a month.

And this is just what I can think of…I am not asking for sympathy I am asking for MultiCam Chicago to get me running properly. There are bills to pay, employees I would like to keep employed, not to mention my own sanity.
 

Janey

New Member
Andy is pretty well spot on in what he's suggesting without knowing the Enroute software...

The Multicam controller will accept Gcode (.cnc extension)and HPGL(.plt) files...

If I were you I would go into the 'Active Drivers" in Enroute and select the 'Multicam - 2D' 'driver' (HPGL-LIN ) in the drop down list next to 'Multicam' and see if it repeats the problem.

The GCode 'driver' is 100 steps per mm...the HPGL is 40 steps per mm and a couple of other nuances.

Don't worry about the 3D 'drivers' for now until you straighten this out.

Do an 'air-cut' whilst testing.

There's some test cut files you can download from the Multicam site in both GCode and HPGL as well.


You and Andy are great... I am going to look around these areas and see if there is something obvious...but I gotta tell you even looking at the sample files on the multicam site it is really over my head. If your telling me I really need to know G-code then I am in a boat load of trouble. I have contact with a company that has a service guy that has worked on Multicam...unfortunatly that could be weeks out but I may have to wait for him. Unless I find someone closer and sooner.

Peace, Janey
 

CES020

New Member
I am sorry you think I brought this to the internet too soon.

I didn't say that at all. I didn't say whether I agreed or disagreed with your time line. I only said that the internet helped me and it was my last effort before legal action. I said that to let others that read these threads know that there are people (maybe yourself included) who would prefer to keep this offline, but frustration and lack of customer support by the manufacturers drive us to post publicly in order to gain support from those outside the company.

I have no opinion on you or your case at all. I simply stated my case.

Also, I have seen posts like this in the past about the equipment I personally own, and I have picked up the phone and called the company and expressed my discontent that they wouldn't fix simple issues that they are responsible for, and if this is their new method, then I'lll consider their competitors equipment when I need additional machinery.

What happened when I did that? The company contacted the person within 1 hour, corrected his issues and he was back up and running.

We all have a voice, and when good customers call to back up people having issues, it does actually help.
 

astro8

New Member
Yep, I know this stuff can seem daunting...take a note or screen shot of your setup before changes.

In the 'driver' parameters, advanced and communication dropdowns you can select 'defaults'...could be someone has changed a setting.

How fast does the machine seem to be running? If it's jerking you could have it running way to fast. Even an inch per second is pretty quick for most materials.
 

andy

New Member
Janey

Perhaps you need to contact Enroute- it appears that your multicam machine software is dumb- it only reads code and isn't capable of creating it.

I think your problems are all based in the Enroute tool libraries and choice of post processor- I'm sure if you talk to Enroute they will be able to walk you through the basics and get you cutting 2D shapes.

I can email you a test PLT or G code file created using a MultiCam processor- there are about half a dozen different processors in my list- including an INCH PLT driver for your ATC system.
 

dswanson

New Member
Contact Dan Striker he has set up hundreds of routers and trained as many new users. As well as built his own CNC routers. You may also want to try Mach3 and Lazycam, they have a free trial of their software and see if your machine operates more smoothly under the control of that software than it is with Enroute. Then you know it is an Enroute issue and not a Multicam issue.
 

Janey

New Member
Contact Dan Striker he has set up hundreds of routers and trained as many new users. As well as built his own CNC routers. You may also want to try Mach3 and Lazycam, they have a free trial of their software and see if your machine operates more smoothly under the control of that software than it is with Enroute. Then you know it is an Enroute issue and not a Multicam issue.


Quick google search for that name came up with a lot of dan strikers...how do I find him? Thanks Janey
 

james mcgrew

New Member
hello, my name is james mcgrew and new to this forum yet not new to forums, i bekieve this started as to defining resolution and jerking on a cnc, this is adjustable and most cnc fabricators know little of the end users needs for this, a sign cabinet company cutting rectangles would probably never notice this however one cutting arcs or 3d would.

cnczone.com has other multicam operators and you may have to learn more about your controller software than you probably intended to. the company i purchased my cnc's from uses wincnc controller with it we can be online live with the tech within minutes with him running my machines from georgia after a bit of initial setup and adjustment we very rarely need him any further, on another note they have never charged us for this. check in your program file and see if you have an .ini file in your controller file?

see if you can find what type of controller they are using, ther may also be arc settings in the software (lots of nodes) that can cause jerking as well. we use aspire and most of it (jerking) was in our controller commands

jim
 

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khanchette

New Member
Hello,

Normally I do not get involved with these discussions and just let them play out, but this one is getting a little out of hand. With all machinery there is a learning curve and yes people get frustrated. I am not sure why Janey is trying to drag our name through the mud but regardless we are still here to help. We have been here to help the entire time. MultiCam has been in business for 20 years and has installed around 8,000 machines. Most of those sales have come from excellent customers references. We have machines in the largest production sign shops around the world that are running 24/7 and we have machines in one man garage shops with everything in between.

As far as the jerking goes, the machine has feed rate control on the fly, by adjusting the feed rate override down it will also adjust the acceleration, minimum velocity, and current federate. This will in turn make the machine run smoother on jobs that appear to be jerky. The MultiCam is a very accurate machine and will appear to be jerky when running jobs that are not that smooth. The other option would be to make sure that you use the automatic clean up option that most software programs have. This will reduce the number of points in a job and will also convert many of the line segments into arcs. Some combination of this Automatic Clean up / feed rate over ride will solve the issue.

What is most distributing about this whole thread is that much of the information is misleading or false. We have no records of needed support for the machine being jerky nor does MultiCam Midwest. The customer was provided far more training than normal. Before the machine arrived, the customer spent a full day of training on the machine and the software and cut out a 5 x 10 foot 3d sign that they needed for a Job (1st visit). Customer was nervous about the install so a tech was sent to make sure that everything was OK before the machine arrived (2nd visit). The day the machine arrive, a tech was sent to help unload the machine (3rd visit). Tech returned for a 2 day install to make that everything was a go and ready for install (4th visit), and then on the 5th visit 2 days of machine operation and software training where completed. The vast majority of our installs are done with one onsite visit for the install and training generally 2 to 3 days.

MultiCam stands behind the equipment that we make and we will continue to do so. If Janey would call MultiCam Midwest and work with them in a professional manner, their problems would get solved much quicker than trying to solve them on a discussion forum.

Link to sign made on first day of training:
http://www.metalfacades.com/blog/custom-services/atlas-signs-and-plaques-and-metal-facades-offer-custom-cnc-router-services/

Link to a testimonial commending the 25 year old tech. “If your considering a Mulicam ever. These guys are fantastic. The 2 techs are on their 3rd day at eD and have been great to deal with.”
http://blog.edesignaudio.com/?p=354#more-354

There is always more to every story. BTW, I did not even know that Signs101 existed and I would like to thank the overwhelming number of MultiCam customers that sent us links to this thread.

Thank you,

Kris Hanchette
Executive Vice President
MultiCam, Inc.
 

k.a.s.

New Member
Janey,

I guess the question here is does the machine work? I mean if you tell it to cut a circle will it cut it or not? When you talked about jerking is that on any job or just one with a lot of corners or tight turns, the machine may appear to jerk but slowing it down should solve that. I mean you really have not specificly said the machine will not cut because..... maybe a video would help us to understand the problem. I really think you need to clarify the actual problems and why it does not work, b/c after Kris's response it sounds to me like there might not actully be much wrong.

Kevin
 

james mcgrew

New Member
kris, many of the cnc company's have taken to providing a support forum like this one where new and old owners can teach each other, many of the cnc builders are now using this format and it helps with preventing frustration such as is here, cnc has a learning curve and i have found that many company's cannot teach all of what is needed in a short time frame much of what should be expected in a training is some maintenance and how to load and run files. to charge big bucks for this will soon pass as in this economy business to business relationships are going to have to grow in order to survive

here is examples of forums for owner to owner training

http://www.cnczone.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=215

http://www.talkshopbot.com/forum/discus.cgi

http://www.vectric.com/forum/index.php?sid=2d4dd425e67a36c316d5e80d63d489ba

http://www.camheads.org/


jim

www.mcgrewwoodwork.com
www.camaster.com
 

iSign

New Member
The most interesting thing I got out of MC's response, is to see that Janey's business looks like one that could serve many of us with an innovative product if she were to become interested in a merchant membership one day. And as an inspiration for many of us as we face similar design & product challenges in our business. Like myself, I just posted pics of my first bronze plaque in 13 years of business, and as a CNC owner, I fully intend to replicate a sample of my plaque design for the showroom, using HDU. Thanks in part to Dan Sawatzky's help, I know I can create a nice authentic metallic looking finish, but Janey has some even more interesting solutions to offer. It's a shame she thinks I hate her... but I'm sure I can take some of the blame for that. In reality, many of us have seen dramatic entrances into our signs101 community, that have looked for all the world like a trainwreck that nobody recovers from... but in the end, some of our favorite regulars here have started with similar fireworks & settled in to move past whatever the trainwreck was. I hope the same for Janey, and have no intention of fanning the fire... but I also will still call on her to try to balance out the story a little, if she wishes to continue telling her side of it.
 
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