Thanks for the photo. It is a much better physical connection than the way mine was shipped.
Was my Mach3 Profile of any use? I noticed in your pictures that you have the 4th axis hard ware installed, but in your photo, 299793, of the ports and pins configuration window that the A axis was not enabled.
CAD-CAM software: I use WIN7 64 bit.
From the forum it appears that a lot folks are using Fusion 360 (AutoDesk/AutoCad). It apparently is free for an individual, non-commercial. There are some youtube tutorials and I watched the two first intro ones.
It seemed pretty friendly and powerful. However, I have yet to try it, as the C drive of my 1TB laptop HHD, where I design most of the time, is totally full. At the University, where I use to teach and do research before retiring, everyone seemed to be using Solildworks. But, I never tried it. From what I could tell, they did not have a free or cheap version for the hobby folks. So it is way too expensive for my limited use... and it is on an annual maintenance lic arrangement so you have to pay thousands over and over if you want to keep it up to date. At some Universities it is free for students.
However, there is another software that I sometimes use that is pretty powerful. FreeCAD. It is supported by users (like linux) and so it free. It seems to do everything, but it took me a bit to learn to use it. It is used for a lot of different kinds of design, not just mechanical CAD. It also has a tool path builder, tool path visualizer and there are several pug-ins for converting to G-code. There is no plug-in specifically written for the PM-940M, but I tried a couple of different plug-ins to convert to the G-code and they all seemed to work as my code had not exotic commands, but I was doing 2.5 dimensions, arcs, drilling and etc. It is written in Python. You do not really need to know Python to use FreeCAD, but the plug-ins for the G-code conversion are written in Python and if you want to modify one of them you might need to learn some Python. If you want to try your hand at Python (another user group supported software -- free) I suggest that you download and install Anaconda Navigator. It is a shell for several types of Python applications and it will install everything you need without trying to install the individual parts of Python. In side Anaconda Navigator, I commonly use the Spyder Application, which has lots of science software built it. Python Spyder probably has all of the functionality of MatLab, if you know it, but is not as user friendly. I have used MatLab a lot, but it is priced like Solidworks!
Since FreeCAD is also written in Python it uses a lot of the same utilities as loaded up in Python. For a clean installation of both, I suggest that you first in stall Anaconda (click install everything). This worked great for me. Then install FreeCAD and when given the choice, during the install, link the path to Python. You can install FreeCAD alone, but doing so is not as efficient if you later want to install Anaconda/Python.
One other option, especially, is to simply use the Wizards if they are already built into Mach3. I think I purchased them all, but some built into mine and there are others keep telling me I am missing the lic. (I may have put the lic in the wrong folder so something as I did purchase it.) Anyway, these are great teaching tools. When you access them they jump to another window and you select what you want..... i.e. drill holes in a circular pattern, make arcs or circles, mill down a surface, cut a spline, cut threads on a post or in a hole, etc. There is even a more man's version of engraving of letters. They create and load the G-code when you jump back to Mach3. There you can copy or edit the G-code and save it. Or, if you buy the the stand alone Wizards (a different $50 package) then it runs with its own shell totally outside of Mach3. It has mostly, but not quite, the same functions in it as what is in my Mach3 package. But it has more flexibility in its shell. You can design from one of the apps then another app and then another and also write lines of G-code in between each without leaving the Wizzard App. When you save it you have g-code for all of it.
I find for many simple applications I can just use the Wizzards, modify the results a little and I am up and running without ever opening my big CAD package.
Dave
Was my Mach3 Profile of any use? I noticed in your pictures that you have the 4th axis hard ware installed, but in your photo, 299793, of the ports and pins configuration window that the A axis was not enabled.
CAD-CAM software: I use WIN7 64 bit.
From the forum it appears that a lot folks are using Fusion 360 (AutoDesk/AutoCad). It apparently is free for an individual, non-commercial. There are some youtube tutorials and I watched the two first intro ones.
However, there is another software that I sometimes use that is pretty powerful. FreeCAD. It is supported by users (like linux) and so it free. It seems to do everything, but it took me a bit to learn to use it. It is used for a lot of different kinds of design, not just mechanical CAD. It also has a tool path builder, tool path visualizer and there are several pug-ins for converting to G-code. There is no plug-in specifically written for the PM-940M, but I tried a couple of different plug-ins to convert to the G-code and they all seemed to work as my code had not exotic commands, but I was doing 2.5 dimensions, arcs, drilling and etc. It is written in Python. You do not really need to know Python to use FreeCAD, but the plug-ins for the G-code conversion are written in Python and if you want to modify one of them you might need to learn some Python. If you want to try your hand at Python (another user group supported software -- free) I suggest that you download and install Anaconda Navigator. It is a shell for several types of Python applications and it will install everything you need without trying to install the individual parts of Python. In side Anaconda Navigator, I commonly use the Spyder Application, which has lots of science software built it. Python Spyder probably has all of the functionality of MatLab, if you know it, but is not as user friendly. I have used MatLab a lot, but it is priced like Solidworks!
Since FreeCAD is also written in Python it uses a lot of the same utilities as loaded up in Python. For a clean installation of both, I suggest that you first in stall Anaconda (click install everything). This worked great for me. Then install FreeCAD and when given the choice, during the install, link the path to Python. You can install FreeCAD alone, but doing so is not as efficient if you later want to install Anaconda/Python.
One other option, especially, is to simply use the Wizards if they are already built into Mach3. I think I purchased them all, but some built into mine and there are others keep telling me I am missing the lic. (I may have put the lic in the wrong folder so something as I did purchase it.) Anyway, these are great teaching tools. When you access them they jump to another window and you select what you want..... i.e. drill holes in a circular pattern, make arcs or circles, mill down a surface, cut a spline, cut threads on a post or in a hole, etc. There is even a more man's version of engraving of letters. They create and load the G-code when you jump back to Mach3. There you can copy or edit the G-code and save it. Or, if you buy the the stand alone Wizards (a different $50 package) then it runs with its own shell totally outside of Mach3. It has mostly, but not quite, the same functions in it as what is in my Mach3 package. But it has more flexibility in its shell. You can design from one of the apps then another app and then another and also write lines of G-code in between each without leaving the Wizzard App. When you save it you have g-code for all of it.
I find for many simple applications I can just use the Wizzards, modify the results a little and I am up and running without ever opening my big CAD package.
Dave