[gearsoup]

So, after countless discussions with my father-in-law, he has asked me to build him a CNC router. That is not a problem, as I've got a solid design and I can get him one in short work. Here is the catch: He does not want to learn any "complicated" CAD/CAM packages. I work with AutoCad, Solidworks and MasterCam on a daily basis, so these are all basic too me. Put it this way....He just got a PC and e-mail access a year ago or so. Before that, he was using his typewriter for his billing and stuff.

I am confident that I can show him the in's and out's of Mach3, of that I am not concerned. What I am concerned about though, is him generating G-Code for it. What would be some good sources of relatively easy G-Code generation, within a somewhat reasonable pricerange. And no, I'm not talking Windows Notepad. He want's to do 2D artsy type stuff (basically animal shapes, jigsaw puzzles, random stuff, light engraving, etc) Basically looking for a way to turn line art into a g-code...

[CarveOne]

The easiest way for him to do it is to give it to you and get the gcode back.

Vectric's Cut 2D is probably as easy as it gets. $149 and there is a free trial download. Once he learns the basic procedure it will do what he needs.

CarveOne

[ger21]

Basically looking for a way to turn line art into a g-code...

The easiest way to do that is V-Carve Pro, which can do raster to vector conversions. Not the cheapest, though.
Imo there is no easy way to turn line art into g-code, unless it's already in a vector format.

There are plenty of inexpensive raster to vector programs out there, but you'll then need a cad program. Regardless, results will vary with the quality of the raster artwork.

[gearsoup]

CarveOne;
Lol, I like your first idea. Truth is, he has always had this thing about keeping it "in-house". Yeah, it would be cool to always keep tabs on what he is running on the machine, but truth be told, my life is really too busy for that, as I expect that he will be running this machine quite often. Winter is approaching, and he is nearing retirement age.

I dowloaded the trial of Cut2D and it appears to be quite user friendly. Now, how would one get line art generated for Cut2D, without the use of a CAD system...

ger21,
If he uses a raster to vector program, wouldn't that program save it in a format useable by a program such as Cut2D?

[CarveOne]

Inkscape is an open source program that can do edge detection and convert it to many other file types. DXF, EPS, etc. Those are usually importable into CAD but may need some work before useful gcode can be generated. Sometimes you get thousands of little short vectors that need to be joined and the nodes edited. It can be quite time consuming sometimes.

CarveOne

[ger21]

ger21,
If he uses a raster to vector program, wouldn't that program save it in a format useable by a program such as Cut2D?

Yes, it should. Inkscape is free, and works OK.

[CarveOne]

I have read that there is a gcode plug-in for Inkscape. I haven't tried it so far.

I took an overhead photo of an aluminum aircraft instrument panel laying on dark brown Masonite hardboard for contrast. Inkscape did a very good job of the outline shape but the screw holes were not round due to shadowing in the holes and the camera angle. The holes are close enough that I could place the proper diameter circle in the center of the shape and it was very close to the correct x-y position.

CarveOne

[Frederic Gagnon]

Try Part Kart - Collaborative Prototyping and Manufacturing, they have an online tool to generate G-code : Partkam. it's very convenient for simple shapes.

[cyclestart]

I have read that there is a gcode plug-in for Inkscape. I haven't tried it so far.

Gcodetools ?
cnc-club.ru •
It works pretty well for 2D stuff. Not as user friendly as some other programs and it does assume some knowledge of inkscape. Can't beat the price

I took an overhead photo of an aluminum aircraft instrument panel laying on dark brown Masonite hardboard for contrast. Inkscape did a very good job of the outline shape but the screw holes were not round due to shadowing in the holes and the camera angle.

I tried to import a scanned image of a thin specialty wrench, same thing.
It was worth a try??

[CarveOne]

Gcodetools ?
cnc-club.ru •
It works pretty well for 2D stuff. Not as user friendly as some other programs and it does assume some knowledge of inkscape. Can't beat the price


I tried to import a scanned image of a thin specialty wrench, same thing.
It was worth a try??

I got better results in Inkscape than in Vcarve Pro. There are some settings in VCP I didn't try that may have helped some. I just went with the one that produced good enough results without any fiddling with settings. I think Inkscape will work well for fairly sharp line images.

If the gcode plug-in is relatively easy to use then it is worth trying.

CarveOne

[silyavski]

hi,
for me personally there is no doubt that a dedicated graphic software should be used + cam processor or even some times other graphic software to translate better the drawing files from the first one before sending it to the Cam

my advice is
1. To learn to work in Sketchup, after 3 days learning it i started drawing complex 2d and 3d parts
2. you can skip that but what i do is i fix the Sketchup dxf file with Corel Draw which is almost automated. You can use Inkscape here
3.I use V carve but you can use Cut2d

or skip all this and go with V carve even if its quite dearer, but know that at the end you have to use some times dedicated software for drawing, so you can start this way from the beginning

But know that what i can do in Sketch-up in 2 min i can not do in other software for less than an hour, and i am good at software. In Sketchup you learn 10 buttons and draw like crazy, i still dont know other software for creating and dimensioning drawings that is so easy to work with. And its free also. There are drawbacks for very complicated kinds of drawings but it will not concern your father.

[cyclestart]

I have read that there is a gcode plug-in for Inkscape

There's a link to it in my previous post ?
It's not a good fit for gearsoup's dad.