[CitizenOfDreams]

Depends on your workflow. To me it's easier to import just the traces and do everything else in CamBam.

[asasergio]

I tried to open different Gerbers and also .SVGs but the Open Gerber routine does not work.



So I uninstalled FlatCAM 8.5 and installed 8.4.1 and then 8.3, always with the same result.

I consulted the FlatCAM discussion group to have some hint of my problem and did not have answers. There does not seem to have much activity.



Perhaps the problem is related to the installation and WinPython or my OS Windows 10, I do not know.
I do not find more installation details on the website.

[CitizenOfDreams]

Does FlatCAM open DXF files? You can open your Gerber file in CamBam and export it as DXF.

[blinkenlight]

This is... actually weird; the file without the copper pour you tried seems to work fine for me in GCAM; this is what I get with your exact setting:
Attachment 337858

Of course, it looks "enlarged" because the engraving tool chosen at step 2 is a very thick 1/8" milling bit; if I choose the "0.2mm v-tip" tool instead, I get a normal path shape, milling around the tracks:
Attachment 337860

The rendering of the final piece looks like this (of course, 0.5mm would be much too deep to mill with a V-shaped tool; this rendering does not take that into account, it assumes a 0.2mm tool groove):
Attachment 337862

There are only two reasons I can think of why it worked for me but not for you - either GCAM has problems working under windows 10 (I don't know what it does, I only test it up to Win 7; 10 is not supported although it should just work) or there might be something about the path name of your file that GCAM doesn't like (special characters or something similar): you might want to copy the file to a very simple path (c:\temp\ or something like that) and try opening it from there. Frankly, I have no other ideas why it wouldn't work for you...

[asasergio]

Could You send a screenshot of a small G-Code generated by CamBam, whatever it is? Can be from Notepad.

I ask it because I have noticed that the G-Code compatible with GRBL (Arduino) seems to have their own dialect and all G-Codes I got so far are not compatible with the G-Code of GRBL.
*
G-Code compatible with GRBL (Arduino) seems this format...

[CitizenOfDreams]

Basic G-code commands (such as G0, G1, G2, G3...) are compatible across the board. I don't see anything in your screenshot that would not run on GRBL, Mach3, LinuxCNC or any other controller. What exactly makes you think there is an incompatibility? What are the symptoms?

Here is the beginning of the file generated by CamBam:
( Made using CamBam - CamBam CNC Software )
( top_copper 2016-10-30 2:37:56 AM )
( T4 : 0.2 )
G21 G90 G91.1 G64 G40
G0 Z0.5
( T4 : 0.2 )
T4 M6
( Profile1 )
G17
M3 S10000
G0 X10.1913 Y5.7255
G1 F25.0 Z0.0
G3 F100.0 X10.4346 Y5.9906 Z-0.1 I-0.1415 J0.3741
G3 X10.5168 Y5.9382 I0.6314 J0.8989
G3 X10.5188 Y5.937 I0.5493 J0.9513
G3 X10.5168 Y5.9358 I0.5472 J-0.9525
G3 Y4.0332 I0.5493 J-0.9513
G3 X10.5188 Y4.032 I0.5492 J0.9513
G3 X10.5168 Y4.0308 I0.5472 J-0.9525
G3 X10.2424 Y3.8063 I0.5492 J-0.9513
G3 X9.8998 Y3.9998 I-0.3426 J-0.2065
G1 X8.8998
G3 X8.512 Y3.6979 I0.0 J-0.4
G1 Y4.648
G1 X9.382
G3 X9.909 Y5.175 I0.0 J0.527
G1 Y5.6997
G1 X10.0498
G3 X10.4346 Y5.9906 I0.0 J0.4
G0 Z0.5
G0 X8.3934 Y5.7824
G1 F25.0 Z0.0
G3 F100.0 X8.4498 Y5.835 Z-0.0207 I-0.2435 J0.3173
G3 X8.7066 Y5.702 Z-0.1 I0.3 J0.2646
G1 X8.193
G3 X8.4498 Y5.835 I-0.0432 J0.3977
G3 X8.7066 Y5.702 I0.3 J0.2646
G0 Z0.5

[george4657]

In flatcam are you using "OpenGerber" and NOT "Open G-Code"
"Open Excellon" opens drill file
You export G-Code when finished.

[asasergio]

Yes. GCAM does not recognize special characters that may exist in the Windows folder structure.

I copied GCAM to the root (C: \) and Gerber to the sample folder GCAM. It worked.

[CitizenOfDreams]

Yes, international characters are a common problem with some software...

[blinkenlight]

Huh, I problem I didn't even know I had. Thanks for discovering it, I'll have to look into why this isn't already UTF-8 -capable...

[asasergio]

Only the G-Codes generated in plugins PCB-Gcode/Eagle and Gcodetools/Inkscape run without problem.

All other G-Codes that I experienced, start the route and then immediately stop with the message "Error: Unsupported command".

(Your script)...
Attachment 337900

[asasergio]

Inkiscape generated G-Code sample, that work in GRBL (Arduino), by bCNC controller.

[CitizenOfDreams]

Does it tell you which command it does not like? Can you eliminate them one by one?

P.S. I suspect it's the G64 code (cancel exact stop mode) that GRBL does not like. In that case you need to tweak the post-processor in CamBam so it does not generate G64.

[asasergio]

CNC screenshots tutorial with step by step as milling PCB generated in Fritzing (v. 0.9.3b) or other CAD application, with Gerber files converted into G-Code with CopperCAM and finally milled with bCNC ( GRBL / Arduino ).

Youtube: CNC PCB from CAD to CAM with Fritzing CopperCAM and bCNC

If you prefer, the tutorial can be downloaded in .pdf here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B37...1ZNDZFTEE/view

Fritzing: Fritzing Fritzing
CopperCAM: https://www.galaad.net/coppercam-eng.html
bCNC: https://github.com/vlachoudis/bCNC