DIYLILCNC Forum » Tag: toolpath

DIYLILCNC Forum » Tag: toolpath - Recent Posts http://diylilcnc.org/forum/tags/toolpath Free, open-source plans for a low-cost 3-axis CNC mill by Taylor Hokanson and Chris Reilly. Sponsored by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. en-US Fri, 18 May 2012 00:09:47 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 <![CDATA[Search]]> q http://diylilcnc.org/forum/search.php jimmycakes on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-671 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 15:01:59 +0000 jimmycakes 671@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Will do. I can't wait. I have plenty of 3D programs. I just need to figure out what I'd need to execute the models via CNC. Pieces should be cut in January. Wish me luck! : ) Chris on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-669 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 19:10:51 +0000 Chris 669@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @jimmycakes, 2.5-axis cuts are made with one predefined depth: something like the circuit board on the <a href="http://diylilcnc.org/gallery">gallery</a> page. Usually 2.5 axis cuts are made from 2D vector files, since the depth can be set manually. Parts with multiple or variable depths are usually made with 3-axis cuts. The teardrop shapes, and the more dimensional parts on the gallery page were made with 3-axis cuts. 3-axis cuts generally require a 3D model as their source. Glad to hear you're excited about the build process. Please keep us posted and send pictures! jimmycakes on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-668 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:09:20 +0000 jimmycakes 668@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Would 2.5 axis include the rounded tear drop shapes from the gallery page? I'd probably go free if I could. I can't wait to get this machine built. Thanks for the help. Chris on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-667 Sun, 12 Dec 2010 21:54:40 +0000 Chris 667@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ @jimmycakes, if money's no object, I'd go for VisualMill/RhinoCAM. But if you're only doing 2.5 axis cuts, PartKAM or another of the programs that handles profiling, pocketing, etc. may work just fine. jimmycakes on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-665 Fri, 10 Dec 2010 23:01:43 +0000 jimmycakes 665@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Most of the things I design are in Illustrator. What tooling program would you recommend starting out with. Regardless of price? Sounds like you really like PyCAM. sumpfralle on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-643 Mon, 08 Nov 2010 16:10:19 +0000 sumpfralle 643@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Hi Chris, thanks for the nice collection of available software! And especially I am happy about your comment regarding PyCAM - since I am one of the developers :) Maybe you could describe the bugs that you encountered when using it? A private mail is also ok for me, if you would prefer that ... Keep on the good work! Lars Chris on "Software Workflows" http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/software-workflows#post-640 Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:45:04 +0000 Chris 640@http://diylilcnc.org/forum/ Here are some suggestions for software solutions for each of the steps in the milling process. This is a running list of free/cheap open-source CAD/CAM software. 2D vector generation: <a href="http://www.inkscape.org/download/?lang=en">Inkscape</a> (Free, Win/Mac) 3D model (& 2D vector) generation: <a href="http://www.rhino3d.com/">Rhino</a> (PC is cheap, MacOS is still in <a href="http://community.irhino3d.com/">Beta</a> and free) <a href="http://www.blender.org/download/get-blender/">Blender</a> (Free, Win/Mac/Linux) <a href="http://sketchup.google.com/download/">Sketchup Pro</a> (Free demo, Win/Mac) <a href="http://brlcad.org/">BLR-CAD</a> (Free, Win/Mac/Linux) free & open source cross-platform solid modeler. Not easy to use, and very different from most commercial apps. <a href="http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/free-cad/index.php?title=Main_Page">FreeCAD</a> (Free, open-source, Win/Mac/Linux) Still in eary stages, but looks to be a really strong program in the near future. Easy interface, very similar to most modern CAD programs. <a href="http://narocad.com/">NaroCAD</a> (Free, open-source, Windows only) Further along than FreeCAD, a little more stable, but only runs on Windows. Easy interface, very similar to most modern CAD programs. Toolpathing (converting models to paths for a tool to follow): <a href="http://www.mecsoft.com/freemill.shtml">FreeMILL</a> is a pretty good basic toolpath generator for Windows. It's free, fairly limited, but also easy to install & use. <a href="http://www.cambam.co.uk/download/latest.html">Cambam Free</a> is not open source, but it is free and looks like it may offer more features than Freemill. <a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/pycam/">Pycam</a> (Free, open source, Win/Mac/Linux) The standalone version of Pycam is totally amazing... the best package I've seen yet. Still a little buggy, but a huge improvement over previous versions. <a href="http://code.google.com/p/heekscnc/">HeeksCNC</a> Looks pretty good, fairly easy interface but gives some unpredictable results. Still not quite as stable/full-featured as we'd like though. <a href="http://www.zebra3d.com/">Zebra 3D</a> is a work-in-progress (ie, free for now) plugin for Rhino. Looks like there's some good functionality. <a href="http://www.partkart.com/static/partkam">PartKAM</a> (Free, open-source, online app) PartKAM does 2.5d profiling, pocketing, engraving and drilling. It's what <a href="http://diylilcnc.org/forum/topic/cnc-cut-files#post-637">Jack used to cut out his DIYLILCNC panels</a>. Machine Control: <a href="http://www.linuxcnc.org/">EMC</a> (Free, Linux) <a href="http://www.dakeng.com/turbo.html">TurboCNC</a> Open-source but not free ($60), DOS only. <a href="http://www.machsupport.com/">Mach3</a> Windows, around $50, with optional CAM plugin.