I have looked and looked and cannot find anyone that offers a CLEAR course of action to go from PDF or JPG to a workable G-Code that Grbl can process without glitches.I have of course watched h-o-u-r-s of videos on Youtube but many of the great ones refer to Programs that are no longer updated/supported or require you to be a Python programmer to understand. I have a simple need...and was hoping for a simple and CLEAR course of action to go from point "A" to point "D" without the need of an engineer degree or programming degree. Here is my process I am trying to adhere to...:
Design single sided PCB in ExpressPCB
Take either a PDF or JPG version of my PCB and produce at a 1:1 scale my PCB with my Chinese Desktop Mill & Laser Engraver Combo.
Pretty simple....So I would think.
Worth noting:
*I have a full licensed version of Mach3, LazyCam, RDWorks, Turbocad Professional 21 at my disposal.
*Mill in question is running off an Arduino/Grbl Shield so only supports G-code files, etc.
*I have been going about this by way of designing my PCB in ExpressPCB but opt for "isolation trace routing" which is simply where I invert my image and what is normally white turns to black and what was black now becomes white. This allows me to route "around" my trace and pads "isolating" them from the rest of the copper on the PCB we wish not to remove simply for times sake, etc...
If anyone has some helpful information I would greatly appreciate it....