Millmage displays garbage in COntrol Mode, but Frame shows correct location of design

MillMage Software Questions
1

I bought a generic Chinese 3018 CNC machne a while back and tried to use Millmage and gave up. When the new version 0.9 came out I thought I’d try it again, but still no luck. I make a simple text layer, convert it to a path, set the origin and click Frame, which shows the correct location on the piece. But when I click Process, it draws garbage on the screen, and if I then click Start it drillls a few random holes, which looks a bit like what it drew on the screen. All the help says it is a communications problem, but I don’t see why it draws garbage before I tell it to start carving. I have used LightBurn on a Creality Falcon Pro for 2 years and have used 3D printers for years and it is all easy and intuitive. This makes absolutely no sense after hours of struggling.

2

Can you show us a screenshot of what you’re describing as ‘garbage’?

3

This is what it said it was going to make:

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image973×845 17.3 KB

This is the design:

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image1291×821 30.3 KB

I actually have made progress: I gave up on text and drew some shapes. That worked. Is there an issue with text? I saw that I had to change it to a path, so I did do that. Maybe I should have left it?

4

Test converted to path:

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image521×318 24.6 KB

The output is nothing like this.

5

This worked.

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image581×209 4.04 KB

I have another (unrelated) issue: as soon as the CNC machine is connected, the mousepad becomes exteremely erratic: the cursor jumps all over the place and it pops up and clicks on menu items. So I only connect the machine when I’m running the design. The help I get online says that it is caused by RF noise, and recommends a shorter USB cable with ferrite beads. I’m using the cable that came with it which is short and has ferrite beads. I suspect it is a bug in the USB driver - the problem happens even when the motors aren’t running.

6

What is the tool you’re using to run the profile? Will it fit inside the shape without making a collision?

I suspect that the tool you have selected is too large for the geometry.

7

An unexpected source of RF noise is the 3018 spindle motor. I have a 3018 machine that I had to add noise suppression.

8

I’m guessing the issue was the fancy font: Ariel works, Beautiful Dreams does not.

9

The issue starts as soon as the the CNC machine is turned on, even without the motors runnng.

I found a solution: use a mouse, ignore the touchpad or disable it. There must be a conflict between the touchpad and serial driver.

10

Indeed! Mine says do not use USB when using the remote pendant. You would not think the mouse and touch pad would have a conflict. Maybe the brand of mouse?