Roland Milling Machine Tutorial
Either computer connected to the milling machines will work, machine must be running in Linux. Restart if necessary.
We will use a program called fabmodules.
Verify that the engraving endmill is in the machine. It is a pen-sized bit with a tapered end. If the endmill in the machine looks like a small drill bit, ask a supervisor to help you change it out for the engraving endmill. Find a 2×3 board with copper on one side. Label the back of your board with a permanent marker. Start terminal – This can be found under dash- or on the desktop.When the black text window appears, type ‘sudo fab’ and when asked, the password.
A box will appear with dropdown options “from format” and “to process.” Select from image (.png) and to Roland Modela (.rml).
Hit “make_png_rml.” A new window will open.
On the top/center of the window there is a pull down menu. Make sure you have the ‘mill traces1/64’ option selected in this window. (see image below)Hit “load.png.” and select the file. The first board Fab Lab 1 students make can be found on the desktop named, 1CB.png. The picture of the board will show up, ensure you have the correct file.In the middle bottom column – change Diameter(mm) to .35Change z(mm) to -0.3Next hit “make.path.”Change view type to segments.The path the mill will follow will show up.Anytime a change is made you must hit ‘make. path’ to get a new path made with the new numbers, image, settings etc.
In the third column – Set speed at 15.
The “xmin” and “ymin” will determine where the end mill is going to start. Change this to 0 and 0.
Hit ‘make. rml’. Anytime a change is made you must hit ‘make. rml’ to get a new rml made with the new numbers, image,settings etc.
Now is the time to get your material set. Apply tape from the wide roll and install the board in the same orientation as the marks on the orange tray. Make sure to remove the yellow backing.
Place the board in the same orientation as you see in the program. Press down and fix the board to the cutting surface. Flatten the board so it is flat.–Very important–
When you have the board installed, close the lid.
Hit “move to xmin,ymin.” The end mill should move to that point on the material.
If the mill does not begin to move press and hold the up and down buttons on the mill until the blue light flashes and click “move to xmin,ymin.” again.
Double check that everything is correct. Then hit “send it.”
The mill should start cutting. Stay by the mill while it is cutting. This is the perfect time to document.
If the mill does not move, press and hold the up and down buttons on the mill until the blue light flashes and click ‘send it’ again.
If you notice something wrong, you can open the door or press ‘view’ on the front of the machine to pause. Use emergency stop only in the case of an emergency.
Press View when the machine is done cutting, but do not open the door until it has stopped moving.
Carefully remove the board from the cutting surface. You can carefully use a chisel to get underneath the board, but be careful not to let the chisel slip and cut your hand!
