On 5/1/2012 2:00 PM, craig wrote: > A number of discussions have addressed software tools to generate G-code > mostly as part of another discussion.. > > 1. Some of us are interested in starting from various mechanical CAD > programs and file formats. > 2. Some of us are starting from existing graphics in various formats. > 3. Some of us build our own tools to generate it from mathematical formulas. > 4. Some of us build our own tools to generate it form our own simple > graphics. > 5. some of us want tools to help us write, edit and debug the g-code. > 6. Some of us are routing circuit boards starting form PCB other layout > programs. > > We use a variety of existing programs and languages to do these > things. Sometimes several tools are needed. > > A map of existing tools to get to g-code from various starting points > would be useful. > If not a map then at least a collecting most such information in one > place would be useful. > <...>
Interesting, Craig. I've been thinking along the same lines, although my interest runs mostly to your point 1 (and a bit of 2.) and I'm mostly interested in 3D but I certainly see the need for 2D. While reviewing the Wiki (see my previous crabbing about its organization) it seemed to me that this could be information to be added to and rearranged with the existing material about g-code generators, GWiz, and NGCGUI. The current CAM wiki-entry is an unwieldy laundry list. Like you, I'm interested in getting from point A (some CAD file format) to point B (g-code) via various routes. For me, point A might be a file in IGES or STEP or DXF or STL, etc., format. Perhaps I created it or perhaps it has been given to me. As an old data-exchange standards man, I'm also interested in the nuances of the data, since many of these formats can accommodate different representations of 3D data which impose different constraints on what can be done with them. Like you, I was thinking of a table or map as the basis of a selection guide, but I think it has to be backed up by fuller explanations and caveats in text and possibly pictures. As a start I've been building a spreadsheet of different programs/tools and the various formats they can open, import, convert, export, and/or save. At the moment, it runs to a dozen packages and several dozen formats (this cacophony of formats is probably more interesting to me than everybody else). I'm not a open-source purist. I use whatever tool works for me. I am, however, a retiree and hobbyist, so the programs have to be free or at least as cheap as beer. Hence, the programs I'm looking at include open-source software explicitly covered by GPL or equivalent and also closed-source software that comes with an explicit free-to-use statement that covers hobbyists like me. I also do not demand that the programs run in Linux although that is a bonus. As I get time, I'm testing whether I can get the programs that are distributed only for Windows to also run in Linux. It may be unfair, but I am arbitrarily excluding programs that appear to be dead (no development within the last three or four years, say) unless it is really good at something I want to do. Since I believe in Ronald Reagan's dictum---Trust but Verify---and also because I'm interested in how these different programs work, I am taking the approach of using them to create a model of a simple part that I could knock out on my mill (a mounting plate for a NEMA-23 stepper motor unless I get a better idea) and then passing the result through various file format/software paths to g-code. Much of our daytime is spent keeping Medicare in business but stress keeps me awake at night so I've been slowly accumulating information. It's safer to work with software than machinery when tired. Here's a partial list of CAD programs and tools I'm looking at. I do not claim expertise in driving all these different programs. It's a test of its developer's skills to see if a duffer like me can pick up an new program and create a simple part in it. -Open source: BRLCAD (this isn't really a starter for me but it was created by fellow feds; lack of good data-exchange mechanisms is a bigger buzz-killer than its user interface), FreeCAD, gCAD3D, HeeksCAD/HeeksCAM (probably a dry hole now), MeshLab, OpenSCAD, SALOME, Blender (not really CAD even with the now comatose CAD-plugin project but has its uses) -Closed source: Autodesk 123D, AutoCAD WS, Google Sketchup, PTC CreoElements/Direct Modelling Express, MecSoft VisualCAD, Babel3D (fee-per-translation service) Obviously, I haven't included 2D-only software like InkScape, LibreCAD, progeCAD, and DS DraftSight, of which there are a bunch. I've also excluded 3D-capable programs like Alibre Design EXP and CAD Schroer MEDUSA4 Personal that have crippled model-export capability. My list of CAM programs is much shorter, but with my approach model-creation software comes first. -Open source: PyCAM (there is a growing number of STL-to-g-code programs aimed at 3D printers but their goal is rather different) -Closed source: MecSoft VisualMILL (in effect, a VisualCAD plugin) Does any of this fit into your thinking? Regards, Kent ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Live Security Virtual Conference Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
