is i-picture software 1.2 the same for windows 7/10 ?

thanks, good to know.

I have never ordered the cast acrylic but I did buy a number of acrylic inserts meant for storm doors at a store closing sale - it machined really well - probably was the cast material or some other similar process.

I have experimented with lexan with mostly disappointing results. The best results were achieved when I clamped the lexan between two wood rails which I had the carving bit run into at the extremes of +/- "x" travel. This tended to clean the bit off every pass...but sometimes not and then the bit would build up a large ball of melted material and spoil the carving. You had to be working in the vicinity of your carving and watch it almost constantly.
Andrew.

the main reason for my question was to carve completely through the plexiglass for a lighted box, but you guys know your stuff!!  here is a crazy question but... what is the biggest carve i-picture can do ?  we know its atleast 15X20 but can it go bigger. the reason i ask is i want to install it on the big cnc and do some larger carves that i've been asked to do.. i know the other softwares will do it but you need to know the code stuff. thanks

Good day JG, as far as I know, any standard CNC machine could read the i-picture output however there may be some initial declarations that the Oliver doesn't need that would be missing that another controller might require (e.g. declare "metric" mode). Also, the i-picture software generates defaults that another machine/tool must be physically able to handle:

1. Comments are preceded by an apostrophe - often semicolons are used for other controllers, I am not sure if absolutely all other controllers would recognize the apostrophe or not. If they didn't recognize the apostrophe then they would get confused on the first line, which is just reference info.

2. Spindle rpm and direction must be appropriate to the tool and machine. I-picture generates default values. (S30000=30000RPM, M3=CW or forward direction)

3. Linear feed-rate for all axes must be appropriate to the tool and machine, not too fast or too slow. I-picture sets a default feedrate of 3200mm/min. However the Oliver ignores this "F" value no matter what you set it at and runs at the pre-programmed speeds corresponding to the Low-Normal-High that you enter on the keypad. Any other controller will not do this - it will follow the program value of 3200.

4. Dimensions selected in i-picture must not exceed working range of the machine, of course.

5. The Oliver assumes metric and all i-picture gee code output is metric, even if you specified dimensions of your piece in english. Other controllers would probably need a "G20" metric declaration inserted early in the file to ensure it moves millimeters and not inches!

Here are the 1st 10 lines of an i-picture generated gee code file, with my comments in [brackets]:

'0.254000000001 187.452 -877.062 0.0 -12.7 2.0 1 1081370 [this header is for information only and the comma signals to skip to the next line]
G90 G00 X0 Y0 Z0.00 [G90 means Absolute positioning mode, G00 means Rapid move of all axes simultaneously without waiting for each other]
S30000 M3 [30000rpm CW]
G00 Z2.00 [for other controllers than the Oliver, insert metric command "G20" on this line,or earlier, before any dimensions than 0,0,0 are commanded]
X187.45
G01 F3200 Z-12.70 [G01 is Linear motion mode where each move must complete before letting another axis move] [number after the "F" is feedrate for all subsequent moves - in this case 3200mm/min] [that being said, Oliver still moves at Low-Normal-High from keypad input]
X0.25
Y-0.25
X187.45
Y-0.51

So I believe you can run the code on any 3 axis XYZ CNC machine with a little care taken.

...Andrew

I never tried it til you mentioned it but i-picture does not appear to limit the size of the carving gee file you can create (I just ran a file for a 48x60 inch carving). Of course it results in a huge file if you keep the y-scan step at fine values like the 0.007" default and the run-time would be very long unless the machine was very fast.

Anyhow, I agree that i-picture is a great way to create gray scale x-y-z code, just as long as you can modify the first few lines of code to appease the requirements of whatever controller your machine has. This is not a one time setup. You would have to take every file you created with i-picture and then open it with a text editor like Notepad and change or add the values or commands that might be necessary for the different machine controller. Actually that is what I have to do for my 1013 machine every time I create a file because I replaced the Oliver spindle with a trim router - I have to delete the "S30000 M3" spindle command line as the machine will hang up at that line in an eternal pause if I don't, since the rpm feedback no longer exists.

...Andrew

another question, when carving letters with 1/32 bit and 0.007874 scan step i get like drill hole marks on some parts of the letters.. is there a better scan step to use with 1/32 thanks