A similar method is used to specify drilling. Also, I don’t know if you can only do this by naming your layer “BREAKS:” or if you can specify a tab layer in the software. I’ll say yes, because it’s described here:
Again, if anyone spots any obvious mistakes, or can add clarity or further information please post here or PM me. I have not tested this file on Maslow yet, but I don’t think I have missed anything to get to this point.
FREE DXF TO GCODE CONVERTER SOFTWARE
Because Maslow doesn’t support these commands and we turned off automatic cutter compensation the software will generate a toolpath which includes the desired compensation.Ĭlick Export|Optimize and Export Shapes.
You can specify G40 No Compensation, G41 Left Compensation and G42 Right Compensation. The only one you need is Cutter Compensation. Once you have selected an object or group of objects right-click on them to bring up the context menu.
The software will calculate how many passes are needed, based on the Z Infeed depth setting.
FREE DXF TO GCODE CONVERTER FULL
You can do a partial thickness cut, or full thickness cut. You can multi-select objects with Ctrl-click, or dragging a box around a group of objects.įor each object, check the settings for the cut (specifically the Z final mill depth). The corresponding shape will be indicated in the list on the left, and the details of the cut will be shown below the list.Īgain, because you only have one tool all of the settings will be pre-filled. The arrow direction will help you apply cutting compensation (left or right) to account for the radius of the cutting tool.Ĭlick on each element in the right hand window. The green arrow shows the exit from the cut. The blue arrow shows the approach direction and start position of the cut. If there are extra elements there that you don’t want to cut you can deselect them in the list on the left. Now the window on the right will show only the elements you are going to cut. You can also collapse the layers so that the list looks less cluttered by clicking on the tiny triangle at the very left of the layer name. Click on the checkbox to deselect layers you don’t want, leaving only the layers containing elements you want to cut. On the left is a tabbed panel ( Entities and Layers). Since you have only one tool defined (tool 1) then all cuts will have that tool selected. It will be drawn in the window on the right. It’s possible we could make a generic one that is ready to go for Maslow, and a Maslow post-processor, but for now, these are the only changes I made from the defaults.įile|Open... open your DXF file. The config file is stored in username/.config/dxf2gcode/config/config.cfg I edited tool 1 to be diameter 6.35, speed 6000, start_radius 0.00 I changed the ones below:įirst and Second axis (2D plane): 700 mm/min Maslow does not recognise G41 and G42.Ĭonfiguration settings. Along the top we have File, Export, View, Options and Help.Įxport the shapes into a G-Code file (usually ending in. I am going to ignore the menu functions I haven’t used. Your favourite CAD software -> DXF file -> DXF2GCODE -> G-Code file -> MaslowĪssumption 1: You have a DXF file and you know what elements you want to cut (and whether you want to do an internal cut or external cut).Īssumption 2: You know what kind of tool you have on Maslow, and that it is set up so that Z=0 is the top surface of the workpiece, positive Z is above the workpiece (for safe moving) and negative Z is below the surface, cutting into the workpiece.Īssumption 3: You know the best feed rate for your tool and material, how thick the material is, and how deep you want to cut each element. Double yay! I am mostly using QCAD, but I have also used OpenSCAD to make a 2D projection of a model, which can then be exported as DXF. The other thing is you can use your favourite CAD software to make the DXF. Obviously, once you have the G-Code file you can load it up onto the Maslow. Some DXF file -> DXF2GCODE -> G-Code file