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IndustryArena Forum > Machine Controllers Software and Solutions > G-Code Programing > GADJ - Tool for Engraving Uneven Surfaces
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
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    GADJ - Tool for Engraving Uneven Surfaces

    Hi Guys,

    I've been hanging out over on the Zen Toolworks forum (got a 12x7), and I ended up having to write some Perl code to combine gridprobe results with an image I was trying to v-cut engrave to get things to work well. Thought I'd share it out, in case anyone needs it.

    The theory is:

    1. Using a touch probe and gridprobe.ngc (in EMC2), record probe results for the area of the work piece you'll be engraving. Using a z-axis touch off at the coords that you'll be starting the real job from. Record the start coordinates of the probe run.
    2. Take those probe results, as well as the coords for the probe start and job start, and the g-code for what you want to engrave, and feed 'em into GADJ.pl (a perl script with configuration options at the top). GADJ should spit out a modified g-code that takes into consideration the surface variations of your work piece.
    3. Go to your job start coordinates, zero everything, and run the new gcode.


    There's a bit of a more detailed procedure in the zip file. Let me know if you have any comments/patches/additions to add in, i've tried to make the code very easy to add to or modify.

    I figure this tool should be handy for more than what I am currently using it for, which is engraving an aluminum sword blade. It should work fine for PCB milling as well, or wood, or whatever.

    Note: Version 1 has no support for modifying arcs. I do not know how to do this yet.

    Note2: Check the output from GADJ! Use at own risk! It's working fine for me, but I'm lucky - you might not be

    Thanks,
    jason
    Attached Files Attached Files

  2. #2

    Re: GADJ - Tool for Engraving Uneven Surfaces

    I am looking for a version that can correct arcs and long lines as well. (Did I leave anything out?) (In other apps like yours, the inner loop in the parser code breaks up arcs and long lines into shorter lines which are then transformed like the others.) I think this problem may have been solved in other "Z leveler" apps.

    Have a look at the code of
    Autoleveller | CNC workpiece levelling

    and

    Pcbzcorrect
    Tales of a modern life: Java program to probe Z for PCB milling VERSION 2
    http://github.com/MarcusWolschon/PCB...er/PCBZCorrect

    I think one or both of them should have a way to break up the longer lines and arcs into smaller segments. Some only break up an object into smaller segments if it is larger than the probe spacing or thereabouts, to prevent over-doing the break-ups which slows performance.

    I have a very strong interest in this kind of app. I also want to be able to correct x and y for correcting the cutting of long workpieces which are slightly mis-aligned on the table.

    I gave exchanged emails with the developers of both apps I listed above, and so far there are no takers to do an app similar to yours (which can probe non-conductive workpieces with an actual probe, as opposed to the conductive-only limitation of using the cutting tool as a probe for copper pcb leveling), but correcting arcs and long lines by breaking them up into smaller line segments. Maybe it would be easier for you to bring in the code that breaks up arcs and long segments, than it would be for others to build what you have here.

    Let me know if you decide to upgrade your app with the ability to handle arcs. I could see this kind of app as being expanded into x and y, and also contain methods for many modes of probing, both on linuxcnc and mach3. Both apps have a way to save probe data and correct axis.

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