[NeoMoses]

I'm trying out DeskCNC and was wondering if it was possible to generate a toolpath from a "polyline" made in AutoCAD. I have been successful when the polylines were closed areas, but many times while drawing I will start with a line that represents my toolpath and then draw the rest of the picture in just to make sure everything fits.

It would save me a lot of time if I could make the center of the tool follow a non-closed polyline, and not "contour" around the edge of it. Is this possible?

[cncman]

I think it needs to be closed, I don't think Deskam is smart enough to cut along a path verse a contour or a island as it were.

[NeoMoses]

If DeskCNC won't do it, is there a program that will?

Also, I've been seeing some very weird behavior out of DeskCNC. It seems to put many random G2 and G3 arcs where there should be none, mainly at square corners. It really likes to put very small radii (around 0.050" to 0.070") curves where there should be a square corner. Is this some "feature" that I can disable, or is this a bug with the program?

[balsaman]

Try Ace converter. Free. www.yeagerautomation.com . It only understands polylines from Autocad DXF versions 12 and earlier.

You may need to download CNCPro, as it's packaged free with it.
I don't see it downloadable seperately anywhere on the site.

Eric

[NeoMoses]

I've tried Ace Converter. It only understands circles and straight lines. It cannot handle ellipses or any polyline that is somewhat complicated, but it is a handy little program for points and straight lines.

[balsaman]

Works for an elipse for me....converted it into a whack of little G01 moves...

Eric

[peterpan]

Neo Mose wrote:
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If DeskCNC won't do it, is there a program that will?

Also, I've been seeing some very weird behavior out of DeskCNC. It seems to put many random G2 and G3 arcs where there should be none, mainly at square corners. It really likes to put very small radii (around 0.050" to 0.070") curves where there should be a square corner. Is this some "feature" that I can disable, or is this a bug with the program?
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That could be because of radius compensation. At a square corner, when compensated for radius, the toolpath swing in a 90 degree arc with the corner as center and "tool radius as radius"

Peter

[HomeCNC]

I agree with PeterPan, Was this an outside corner? You can't do a radius compensation on an inside corner. This type of programming is easier on the CNC machine and will allow you to run at higher feed rates. If this corner is sharp in the gcode you will here a "bang" when the machine makes a quick change in direction. With a radius there it makes a smoother transition.