I've Googled, searched, & read, but what I've found seems to be beyond my technical ability to understand.

I have Mach3, a Soigeneris controller with a Gecko G540 & USB Smoothstepper, and Vectric Aspire for CAD-CAM.

I need to be able to create 3D models of existing wooden door panels that can have varying degrees of warpage so I can bring in to Aspire so I can have an accurate model of the panels in order to V Carve or route a 3D model into the panels.

I see Mach 3 has a digitizing wizard. Will that Mach 3 built-in digitizing wizard and a digitizing probe off ebay get me what I'm after, or do I need something else, too?

Let's say I buy the probe shown in the following link. Where to I plug it in to? The G540? Do I need software other than Aspire?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/CNC-3AXIS-DIGITIZING-TOUCH-PROBE-3-8-SHANK-HIGH-PRECISION-LED/332578284189?hash=item4d6f35e29d:g:0b0AAOSwyYFaEzV1

Hopefully somebody can help me with this.

Thanks!
Chris

well. digitizing is a very "hot" Point.

you are talking about "accurate model ".

what do you define with "accurate" ??!

let's say you have a door Panel 200x100 cm, and you what to have a probing every 1mm,
ok that Needs 2000000 Points (in word's two million's).

i hope to give you a idea what accurate means, because every modelling Software is "living"
from data.


3d scanning is your friend, if you what do do this, but this is an other $$ diamention, as we are talking about.

sorry that i have "destroyed" your idea.

Thomas

No worries... You haven't destroyed my idea... I'm 100% sure it's doable, and 99.44% sure I can get it working on my system with some help, and under $200 USD. It's just the details that are giving me troubles.

You're right, though... I didn't define "accurate"... For most doors, I figure a 1" by 1" grid is plenty accurate. So, for the specific door in queue, it's around 500 points. If I need to double the resolution to 0.5" x 0.5" it's around 2000 points.

Thanks for the input,

Chris

Hi,
I regularly probe PCB blanks for a software auxillary program to 'flatten' the PCB. You might be surprised how long it takes to probe two hundred points,
Its going to be a loon long day if you want 500 or worse 2000 points.

Presumably if you are patient its achieveable.

Craig

ok then back to the originally question.

yes you can use this probe and mach3 wizard to create Point cloud's.

you will Need extra Software, no idea about Vectric Aspire, to create a 3d model of this Point data,
and the create a GCode.

the probe will be connected to a Smoothstepper Input, and this Input has to be configured as probe Input.

Hi,
as I posted earlier I use a software utility called Autoleveller. It was designed to probe circuit board material and modify your Gcode routing file to accommodate warp and bows in the blank
material. Even the slightest warp or twist has a very deleterious effect when isolation routing circuit boards and the software helps immensely.

I believe it would work equally well to 'flatten' a door panel.

http://www.autoleveller.co.uk/

Note that it is free but there is also a subscription version for 20GBP. I liked it that much I bought it. The paid version allows the software to create a probefile and can create a visual representation
of the panel including all it twists etc. Then it uses that data to alter the Z movements in your carving file and THEN you run the modified file. It does take a little of thinking about to start with
but I'd guess you'd be very happy that all that work had been done for you, all the extra software you require in one lump for 20 GBP!

Craig