An HD4 has been donated to our chapter-HELP!!

[merlewagner]

I just registered on the forum to gain some insight to our chapter's new acquisition. I belong to the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) Chapter 1298 in Brooksville, FL and we recently had an HD4 donated to us. So the next step is asking for some assistance in getting this set up and operational.

First, is there a source for documentation that covers installation, software, upgrades, etc? We did not get any software or documentation. Hardware wise, it looks complete with a few accessories.

Totally working in the dark here so any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

[ffloyd]

You will need software. Normally the HD4 came with VCarve Pro which is available from Vectric.com. Check the support section of the nextwavecnc.com website. They have the manuals available there. You may have to register the machine with NextWave in order to get to the portal page. Depending on whether or not you have the pendant rather than a computer direct connect, you may need a piece of free software from NextWave. Place a call or email to NextWave support to get registered. That is a start. Getting the machine up and running is a matter of some assembly. If that is already done, the next step is to get the CAD software. Check the Vectric.com website. VCarve Pro is about $699.00. You can get the trial version from the Vectric website. I have found that their software is excellent Hope this helps. There is a learning curve to VCarve Pro but once you get going, there is lots of support info including videos on the Vectric site.

[merlewagner]

Thanks Fred,

Found the documentation and will go through that. Will have to see if all components are there. Will power up and get the serial number, etc for registering the unit for it's new owner.
Will see if I can get a trial copy of Vectra.

More to come.

Merle

[merlewagner]

I powered up the HD4 today to see what happens and found that the power comes on but the pendant had no display. I took the pendant apart and the internals were totally corroded. I would need a new pendant.

Spoke to Nextwave today and and told them what was going on, they told me I don't need the pendant and could use a PC connected directly to the controller. They told me how to register and download the necessary SW.

Now I cannot get to their registration page. It times out so they have a system problem somewhere. Sent them a message concerning the portal so now I get to wait some more......

[merlewagner]

An update:
The HD4 is now operational with upgraded firmware, new control SW (Ready2Control) on PC. Ran a test file from the control SW and everything worked perfectly. We still need to purchase a new pendant so that folks can just run their project file.

The next step is putting together a seminar for the unit so that chapter members can utilize the machine. It was introduced at our membership meeting today and the response was amazing. I didn't realize how many people wanted to get involved with the unit.

Does anyone know of any course outline/seminar material that I could use to put a user course together? There may be some schools on line that might have something.

Merle

[arham65]

To operate your HD4, you'll require software. Typically, the HD4 comes with VCarve Pro, which you can obtain from Vectric.com. Visit the support section on nextwavecnc.com for available manuals. You might need to register your machine with NextWave to access the portal page. If you have the pendant instead of a direct computer connection, you may need additional free software from NextWave. Contact NextWave support for assistance with registration and any necessary software.