XLDATA.XLS is a very simple example of how spreadsheet data can be used to
create drawings. It creates a drawing of a simple cam and saves the drawing to
\My Drawings\Scripts\cldata.dra.

You can examine the VB script by opening the spreadsheet and going to
Tools>Macros>Macro and then hit the edit button.

If you are having problems it may be down to the Windows / Excell versions, I
use W2k with Excell from office premium.

If you have an early W95, it may not be possible to run scripts, in which case
you will need to download the Windows Script Host from Microsoft. (Start the CAD
system and select "Activate" on the Script menu, you should get a dialog box
appear, if not you need the Script Host. I can put it in the Files area as soon
as I figure out how.)

You can find the "Automation" documentation by click on Help > Whats New.
Navigate to the page titled "Automation". You can create VB Script programs by
clicking on "Create" in the "Script" menu. Doing this will create a vb script
program which can be used in turn to re-create the drawing - or any part of it.
With a little bit of hacking you are on your way to "family of parts" and all
sorts of usefull stuff. One word of warning, Scripts always seem work with
whatever is in the first window of the window menu.

Regards

John Pearce
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Egroupscdh (E-mail)
   To: Dolphincadcam (E-mail)
   Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 4:43 PM
   Subject: [dolphincadcam] XLdata.xls file


   I have version 7.0.0.2B.

   In ...\My Drawings\Tutorial I have a file "XLdata.xls".  When I open this
   file with Excel it looks like a way to import point data into a drawing and
   at the top it says "To See this data as a Partmaster Drawing , Select Tools
   / Macro / Macros..., and execute the macro".

   When I attempt to execute the macro I get a compile error in the Visual
   Basic: "Can't find project or library" where it's attempting to create an
   instance of "Dcad.Drawing".

   The object browser does not show "Dcad" as a library so I suspect that this
   is the problem.

   Has anyone gotten this to work?

   Where do I find documentation of the Dcad VB interface?

   Cheers,

   Chuck Hackett
   Omaha, Nebraska, USA



   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
   dolphincadcam-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Fraid not, but if you right click in the simulation window you can turn on
contour naming which at least makes them easier to identify.

Regards

John Pearce
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Egroupscdh (E-mail)
   To: Dolphincadcam (E-mail)
   Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 6:49 AM
   Subject: [dolphincadcam] NC TrueType Contours


   The experts among us probably know, but ...

   I have just discovered that if you convert a TrueType font to NC contours
   and then try to do "Area Clear"s of letters that have 'islands' (like: A, O,
   P, etc.) you have to explicitly list the internal island contours to leave
   them uncut.  I had assumed that somehow the NC contour conversion took care
   of this.

   Cheers,

   Chuck Hackett
   Omaha, Nebraska, USA



   To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
   dolphincadcam-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com



   Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Is there a way to select single objects without doing a 'window selection'
first?

My current method is to create an unobtrusive point somewhere in the
drawing.  When I want to select one item in a crowded area I 'window select'
this point then select it again (CAD's mode now toggles the selection state
of an item) which causes it to be de-selected.  I can then go on to select
single objects ...

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Thanks for the pointers Dave ...

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA


> -----Original Message-----
> From: pressgocnc [mailto:dave_pearson@...]
> Sent: Sunday, November 17, 2002 4:21 AM
> To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [dolphincadcam] Re: NC TrueType Contours
>
>
> Hi Chuck,
> Yes your right, and it can be a bit tricky to select which part is an
> outside contour, and which is an island.
> You can display the individual contour names in DCAM by
> using 'View' 'Options' and select 'Show geometry names'.
> I tend to rename the islands in DCAD, this makes them easier to
> select/deselect in DCAM.
> The best way I have found of doing this is to use the 'Enquire'
> function.
> 1: Create your NC TEXT as normal.
> 2: Delete the original text. Hint- Right mouse click in the delete
> operation allows you to be specific about what to delete.
> 3: Select 'Enquire', click on the island (geometry) for rename, and
> type the new name in the 'Name' box.
>
> I hope this helps.
>
> Dave Pearson

Bill, I am curious to know what kind of response you have had so far on
this?  Also, has Michael registered for this group? I've found him to be
very helpful and I'm sure that his participation would be welcome.

-Eric

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Chuck,
Yes your right, and it can be a bit tricky to select which part is an
outside contour, and which is an island.
You can display the individual contour names in DCAM by
using 'View' 'Options' and select 'Show geometry names'.
I tend to rename the islands in DCAD, this makes them easier to
select/deselect in DCAM.
The best way I have found of doing this is to use the 'Enquire'
function.
1: Create your NC TEXT as normal.
2: Delete the original text. Hint- Right mouse click in the delete
operation allows you to be specific about what to delete.
3: Select 'Enquire', click on the island (geometry) for rename, and
type the new name in the 'Name' box.

I hope this helps.

Dave Pearson

--- In dolphincadcam@y..., "Egroupscdh \(E-mail\)" <egroupscdh@W...>
wrote:
> The experts among us probably know, but ...
>
> I have just discovered that if you convert a TrueType font to NC
contours
> and then try to do "Area Clear"s of letters that have 'islands'
(like: A, O,
> P, etc.) you have to explicitly list the internal island contours
to leave
> them uncut.  I had assumed that somehow the NC contour conversion
took care
> of this.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chuck Hackett
> Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the dolphincadcam
group.

   File        : /VBScript Macros & Add-ins/XLData.xls Example/XLdata.xls
   Uploaded by : egroupscdh <egroupscdh@...>
   Description : Loads curve data to drawing from a spreadsheet

You can access this file at the URL

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dolphincadcam/files/VBScript%20Macros%20%26%20Add-\
ins/XLData.xls%20Example/XLdata.xls

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

egroupscdh <egroupscdh@...>

Gentlemen,
I just voted in the 'attachment' poll.  I voted NO because allowing
attachments leaves the group open to viruses as experienced by other groups.
The proper place for attachments is in the files area where they may be
disinfected and the group may view as desired. Something to keep in mind as
several list I am in have been attacked many times.
My $00.02, BIMBW
PJH

> From: pressgocnc
>
> Hi Chuck,
> I could be wrong, but I think this is for an earlier version of DCAD
> which used macro's. The current version uses VB Scripting instead.
> You can find some information on using scripts in DCAD
> under 'Help' 'What's New' 'Automation'.
> This is a good method for using DCAD with other Windows applications
> i.e. to create drawings using Excel/access etc, or export data from
> DCAD to create a 'Bill Of Materials'.
> It can aslo be used for creating 'Family of parts' drawings.
> I haven't had the time to sit down and play with it much, other than
> to write a script to create a contour for milling a variable pitch
> screw thread (feedscrew for an injection moulding MC), for wrapping
> around a 4th axis.
> I haven't explored this side of Dolphin very deeply, but it holds
> huge potential, it would be interesting to see what people could
> achieve with it!
>
> Dave Pearson

Hi Dave,

I had some time today to look at this more closely ...

What XLData.xls is, or more correctly, what it contains is VBScript code
embedded in an Excel spreadsheet macro.

To get it to work I discovered that I had to add the "Dcad" type library
(found in the Dolphin "programs" folder) to the VB project "References".

I also had to correct a minor type mismatch and call argument list mismatch
before it would run but it works fine now.

When I get a second to figure out how to put files in the "files" section of
this list I'll post the corrected version (for 7.0.0.2B at least).

As you say it will be useful for getting data out of Dolphin.  It also looks
like a good method for getting data into a drawing, like from a touch probe
to enable you to have a primitive Coordinate Measuring Machine.  I could
have used this recently when I had to copy the curved contour of a part for
the Omaha Zoo (I'm helping them rebuild a 2' 6" gauge steam locomotive).

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

The experts among us probably know, but ...

I have just discovered that if you convert a TrueType font to NC contours
and then try to do "Area Clear"s of letters that have 'islands' (like: A, O,
P, etc.) you have to explicitly list the internal island contours to leave
them uncut.  I had assumed that somehow the NC contour conversion took care
of this.

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Hi Chuck,
I could be wrong, but I think this is for an earlier version of DCAD
which used macro's. The current version uses VB Scripting instead.
You can find some information on using scripts in DCAD
under 'Help' 'What's New' 'Automation'.
This is a good method for using DCAD with other Windows applications
i.e. to create drawings using Excel/access etc, or export data from
DCAD to create a 'Bill Of Materials'.
It can aslo be used for creating 'Family of parts' drawings.
I haven't had the time to sit down and play with it much, other than
to write a script to create a contour for milling a variable pitch
screw thread (feedscrew for an injection moulding MC), for wrapping
around a 4th axis.
I haven't explored this side of Dolphin very deeply, but it holds
huge potential, it would be interesting to see what people could
achieve with it!

Dave Pearson
--- In dolphincadcam@y..., "Egroupscdh \(E-mail\)" <egroupscdh@W...>
wrote:
> I have version 7.0.0.2B.
>
> In ...\My Drawings\Tutorial I have a file "XLdata.xls".  When I
open this
> file with Excel it looks like a way to import point data into a
drawing and
> at the top it says "To See this data as a Partmaster Drawing ,
Select Tools
> / Macro / Macros..., and execute the macro".
>
> When I attempt to execute the macro I get a compile error in the
Visual
> Basic: "Can't find project or library" where it's attempting to
create an
> instance of "Dcad.Drawing".
>
> The object browser does not show "Dcad" as a library so I suspect
that this
> is the problem.
>
> Has anyone gotten this to work?
>
> Where do I find documentation of the Dcad VB interface?
>
> Cheers,
>
> Chuck Hackett
> Omaha, Nebraska, USA

Bill,

I voted to allow attachments but I have heard at least two reasons why
people do not want attachments:

1) Increased message size/download time.  Doesn't effect me (cable modem)
but I gather that some people (especially outside the US) pay for internet
service by the minute.

2) Viruses.  Some are (in my opinion) paranoid about this.  I run a virus
scanner and keep it up to date and have never had a virus (but hundreds have
been detected and not allowed in to my system).

Personally, I think that if everyone runs an AV program that's up-to-date
(and they are ill-advised if they do not) attachments are a useful resource
if not overdone.

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA


> -----Original Message-----
> From: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
> [mailto:dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com]
> Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 11:43 AM
> To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [dolphincadcam] New poll for dolphincadcam
>
>
>
> Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
> dolphincadcam group:
>
> Allow or Remove email attachments
>
>   o Allow email attachments
>   o Remove all email attachments
>
>
> To vote, please visit the following web page:
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dolphincadcam/surveys?id=309731
>
> Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
> not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
> web site listed above.
>
> Thanks!

I have version 7.0.0.2B.

In ...\My Drawings\Tutorial I have a file "XLdata.xls".  When I open this
file with Excel it looks like a way to import point data into a drawing and
at the top it says "To See this data as a Partmaster Drawing , Select Tools
/ Macro / Macros..., and execute the macro".

When I attempt to execute the macro I get a compile error in the Visual
Basic: "Can't find project or library" where it's attempting to create an
instance of "Dcad.Drawing".

The object browser does not show "Dcad" as a library so I suspect that this
is the problem.

Has anyone gotten this to work?

Where do I find documentation of the Dcad VB interface?

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

> From: Chuck Hackett
> Sent: Saturday, November 16, 2002 10:10 AM
> To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: RE: [dolphincadcam] Re: Learning Dolphin
>
>
> John,
>
> I have attached a small drawing file ...
> ....
> (See, here's one example of how small attachments can be useful on this
> list.  Lots faster than putting it in the files section and then
remembering
> to delete it when it's no longer meaningful)

Well, I guess attachments are currently disabled.  If you like I can sent
the file to you directly.

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

John,

I have attached a small drawing file.  When I open this file and zoom in I
do not get the scroll bars.  I have checked and "Enable pan after zoom" is
checked.  Any other places I should look?

(See, here's one example of how small attachments can be useful on this
list.  Lots faster than putting it in the files section and then remembering
to delete it when it's no longer meaningful)

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

-----Original Message-----
From: John Pearce [mailto:jhpearce@...]
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 9:24 AM
To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [dolphincadcam] Re: Learning Dolphin

....

You should find scroll bars along the sides of the drawing, if not then
select View>Preferences and check "Enable pan after zoom" option.
John Pearce


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi John (and Dave),

This is exactly the information I needed, thanks!

Is this information in the manual?  Maybe we can start a 'hints' file in the
file section with information that's not in the manual.  Maybe Dolphin will
then add the information to future versions of the manual.

Eric:  I'd be willing to help you with some tutorials from the new persons
point of view but at the moment I'm just starting to get oriented :-)


Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA


  -----Original Message-----
From: John Pearce [mailto:jhpearce@...]
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2002 9:24 AM
To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [dolphincadcam] Re: Learning Dolphin



     1.. There are 3 options,
   ..................

   John Pearce


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Enter your vote today!  A new poll has been created for the
dolphincadcam group:

Allow or Remove email attachments

   o Allow email attachments
   o Remove all email attachments


To vote, please visit the following web page:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dolphincadcam/surveys?id=309731

Note: Please do not reply to this message. Poll votes are
not collected via email. To vote, you must go to the Yahoo! Groups
web site listed above.

Thanks!

1. There are 3 options,
   1. Use the "Move point" tool,
      1. right click and select "Move area"
      2. Click and drag to select the objects
      3. Click on a reference point.
      4. Click on where you want the reference point to be moved to.
   2. Use the "Draw Symbol" tool
      1. Right click and select "Collect"
      2. Click and drag to select the objects.
      3. Indicate a reference point or "hook point"
      4. Give the symbol a name.
      5. Right click and select "Draw"
      6. Right click and select properties - Enter you new scale mirror etc.
      7. Click to draw the new symbol. You will not be able to edit the new object unless you explode it. - That's what the "bombs" are for on the Symbol toolbar.
      8. You can save a permanent copy of the symbol for use in other drawings using File>Export Symbol.
   3. Use the "Select Items" tool
      1. Click and drag to select the items
      2. Press Ctrl+C to copy or Ctrl+X to cut the selection
      3. Press Ctrl+V to paste the selection - you can do this across drawing if you have more than one open. You can also paste into Word and other apps that suupport "Enhanced Meta Files"
      4. Right click to get a dialog with scale and mirror options.
2. The CAM section cannot backplot, but you can use a special post-processor that generates a Visual Basic program which will draw the toolpath in the CAD section. If you want to "Backplot" existing nc files it will be necessary to write a program to decode the NC codes and generate a Visual Basic program to draw the toolpath. ( You can save the drawing - or the current selection - as a Visual Basic Script using Script>Create. )
   1. Select the m_vbscript postprocessor and create the "nc program"
   2. In the CAD program, Select Script > Activate ( You will need Win98 or WinNT/WinXP/Win2K)
   3. Click on "Add Script" and browse to the file created by the CAM.
   4. Click execute.
3. Look in "C:\Program Files\Dolphin PartMaster\Tutorials", you will find some useful Word docs there. If you have Word, Open each Tutorial.doc and save it as a Web Page. Restart the CAD system and open the Help menu, you should find a new entry "Tutorials"
4. Template are simply drawings that have been saved in the Templates folder. Any drawing can be used as a template,
   1.  Use View>Properties to set the paper size.
   2. Use the Layer gallery to setup the layers you want to have, do the same for the TextStyle gallery.
   3. Open each drawing tool's properties dialog and setup any other defaults that you want.
   4. DRaw your standard border
   5. Save the drawing in the templates folder.
5. Yes ! THe CAD system recognises "special" text entries in a drawing used as a template. Open the template drawing _defaultA.dra use file>open not file>new, you will see text objects starting with a $ sign, e.g. $DATE, these get substituted when the drawing is used as a template.
   _defaultA.dra uses Attributes to achieve the same effect. Open the file and in place of the standard title block text you will see
   
   These are "Attribute tags", the CAD system prompts for new values when you use the drawing as a template.
   Select View>Preferences and open the "Attributes" tab. Check the gallery option and click OK. Now go to Attributes > List and you will see a gallery style dialog in which you can enter new values to be associated with the attribute tags. (Double click in the 3rd column to change a value)
   You can create new Attributes by selecting Attribute>Create. Click to indicate where you want to place the new Attribute, then fill in the dialog box entries. Save the drawing in the template folder, and use it to create a new drawing.
   
   Attributes are designed to enable 3rd party applications store and retreive data in PartMaster drawings. A sample app called AttributeList.DLL can be found on the distribution CD. Copy this to Program Files\Dolphin CadCam\Addins, creating the folder if necessary. In the CAD system there will be a new menu item - "Addins" with a single entry. Click on it to generate a list of Attributes in the current drawing - this is the basis of a simple parts listing system!
   
6. You should find scroll bars along the sides of the drawing, if not then select View>Preferences and check "Enable pan after zoom" option.

Hi Chuck,
Just going out, so a quick reply for now.....
1: Depends on the version you are running. Prior to 7,0,0,1 you
convert the objects for transformation (mirror/rotate/scale) to a
symbol, then when placing the symbol you have the transform options.
In the current version when you cut 'n' paste an object, if you right
mouse click prior to pasting you get a new dialogue with all of the
transform options (mirror etc.).
2:Yes it can backplot, but this requires a post processor for the
purpose, I think I may have an example somewhere, I'll try and dig it
out and e-mail it to you if you like.
3:Not sure on this one.
4:I only ever use the supplied templates. It's easy to create your
own, they are just a standard drawing, saved in the Template folder.
5:There are some new templates that allow you to 'fill in the boxes'
when they load so that your drawing starts up with your name, drawing
No. - name etc. These may be version specific though.
6:When zoomed in you have 'sliders' at the edge of the screen for
this purpose.

Sorry for the lack of detail, but I have to dash.

Well done to Bill for starting this much needed list!

Dave Pearson
--- In dolphincadcam@y..., <egroupscdh@W...> wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> I thought I'd kick things off:  A few questions I've come up
with ...
>
> 1) How does one move (translate), rotate, magnify/shrink a set of
objects in
> the CAD section?  The only way I could find to move a set of
objects was to
> select them, 'cut' them and 'paste' them at a new location - seems
like the
> long way.
>
> 2) I thought I read somewhere that the CAM section could 'backplot'
g-code
> (i.e.: I have a g-code file and want to turn it into
contours/profiles).
> How does one do this?  Was I mistaken?
>
> 3) I have found many examples in the 'examples' folder but no
documentation
> there.  Are there 'White Papers', etc. that go into these things
more deeply
> like:  this is why it was done this way, this is how this was
accomplished,
> etc.?
>
> 4) Do you have a template for letter size paper (as opposed to the
European
> sizes)?
>
> 5) Is the name block I see on other templates just drawn on or is
there
> something special about it?
>
> 6) How does one 'pan' the paper in CAD to view different sections
when
> magnified to larger than the screen?
>
> BTW: I discovered that the 'Release Notes' file (under
PartMaster/help in
> the programs menu) has a lot of useful information in it.  Just
discovered
> it today.
>
> Regards,
>
> Chuck

Hi Eric

As of right now I do not have any details. We need to find out how
many people are willing to come for training to see if it is even
economically feasible.

If it looks like there will enough attendees I can try to make
arrangements to use the Magtek shop. There are several conference
rooms, video projectors, white boards and access to the model shop.
We could even setup some tables in the shop and do the training right
in the shop. we would then have access to at least 4 desktop PCs for
those who do not have laptops. We could use the mills and lathe for
demos as well.

We are close to LAX airport and hotels so accommodations should not
be a problem.

Regards

Bill Griffin



--- In dolphincadcam@y..., glee@i... wrote:
> Bill, do you have any more details?  (Cost, Place. Tentative dates,
etc?)
>
> I'm interested if it is in Southern Ca.
>
> Let me know how many people and perhaps we can help with
facilities, etc.
> I can host 6 -8 in my conference  room with projectors and CNC Mill
&
> Lathe in the shop.
>
> -Eric

--- In dolphincadcam@y..., "Bill Griffin" <bill@g...> wrote:
> Hi Group
>
> I recently spoke with Michael at Dolphin concerning training
classes.
>
> What kind of interest would there be in a training class held at a
> location in Northern or Southern CA? This class would be taught by
a
> representative from Dolphin in the UK.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bill Griffin

Bill,
depending on time & date, I have a location that we could use for
So. Cal. (Downey & South St. off the 91 Fwy)
The classroom will hold about 35 ppl, there is also a shop area
(approx 900 sq ft) to setup a small machine to do some demos &
parking for about 25 cars. btw both places are airconditioned.
Femi

Bill Griffin wrote:

> What kind of interest would there be in a training class held at a
> location in Northern or Southern CA? This class would be taught by a
> representative from Dolphin in the UK.

Might be difficult to make time, but I'd at least be interested in
trying to get to a northern CA class.
Northern to most folks I guess being the SF Bay Area instead of the real
northern CA, Sacramento and beyond...<G>

Jon

Depending on cost I'd be interested, especialy if it's in southern CA.  My
sister lives in San Diego and always wants me to visit :-)

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Griffin [mailto:bill@...]
> Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2002 1:56 PM
> To: dolphincadcam@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [dolphincadcam] Dolphin Training (US)
>
>
> Hi Group
>
> I recently spoke with Michael at Dolphin concerning training classes.
>
> What kind of interest would there be in a training class held at a
> location in Northern or Southern CA? This class would be taught by a
> representative from Dolphin in the UK.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bill Griffin

--- In dolphincadcam@y..., "Bill Griffin" <bill@g...> wrote:
> Hi Group
>
> I recently spoke with Michael at Dolphin concerning training
classes.
>
> What kind of interest would there be in a training class held at a
> location in Northern or Southern CA? This class would be taught by
a
> representative from Dolphin in the UK.
>
> Thanks
>
> Bill Griffin

Great idea!!!
Where do I sign up for a training class in So. Cal ?
Count me in
Femi

Hi Group

I recently spoke with Michael at Dolphin concerning training classes.

What kind of interest would there be in a training class held at a
location in Northern or Southern CA? This class would be taught by a
representative from Dolphin in the UK.

Thanks

Bill Griffin

Wow, the list has been open less than 24 hours and we already have 11
members.

Thanks for setting up the list Bill.

As background:  I'm retired (software developer) and my situation is home
shop use of Dolphin.  To see what I spend most of my time working on check
out:

http://www.whitetrout.net/chuck/844/Index.htm


My CNC equipment consists of:

Emco Maier Super 11 lathe which I have converted to CNC using an Ahha RC-500
driver box and Artisan software.

Enco 9x42 mill that I converted to CNC and shared the RC-500 with the lathe.
I never converted the Z axis because I was still working to find a method I
liked.  I didn't want to drive it through a spindle clamp-on plate (side
forces, flexure, etc.) and through the rack and pinion has way too much
backlash for drilling, etc.  Then I came across:

Bridgeport Series I that I acquired at a very reasonable cost and am in the
process of converting to a new Ahha RC-500.  I have carefully removed all
the old (working) B-port control components and they are looking for a good
home if anyone is interested.

I have a small surface grinder that I may add steppers to some day when I
have some spare time (what's that?!).

I have BOBCAD v17 but I was continuously frustrated by the user interface,
lack of documentation and poor support.

Upon recommendations I was seeing on the CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO list I recently
purchased Dolphin and so far I'm pleased with what I see.

I'm afraid my questions will be very mundane to those of you who are old
hands at CNC and Dolphin and I ask your indulgence in advance.

Cheers,

Chuck Hackett
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
7.5" gauge UP Northern 844