Is there a dfx2gcode manual anywhere on the web? Or an expert on the forum?
I can now get dfx files into a gcode that looks vaguely workable, but I can't understand what many of the dfx2gcode headings do. I'm trying to cut a set of 2-dimensional shapes out of a thin sheet of balsa, so I only want a 2-d cut - and the z-axis keeps on drifting up after each shape until it finally hits the limits. I must have got some obscure setting wrong somewhere, but without knowing what they do, I'm rather stuck... and there doesn't seem to be a help file anywhere...
dfx2gcode support...?
-
RoguePirin
- Posts: 216
- Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 3:22 pm
- Location: Illinois, USA
Re: dfx2gcode support...?
There is a User Guide for it.
Shapeoko 3 #677, Nyloc nuts, ¾" HDPE base with t-nuts, Dewalt 611 w/Super PIDv2
Re: dfx2gcode support...?
Thanks for the response.
However, the link just takes me to a single page entitled "How to change the starting point of a shape" - with half a dozen lines of explanation and no other directions. Am I doing something wrong?
However, the link just takes me to a single page entitled "How to change the starting point of a shape" - with half a dozen lines of explanation and no other directions. Am I doing something wrong?
-
WillAdams
- Posts: 8528
- Joined: Mon Apr 09, 2012 6:11 pm
- Location: Pennsylvania --- south of the Turnpike, East of US-15
- Contact:
Re: dfx2gcode support...?
Probably that's all the documentation there is.
This is a good example of why I wish Literate Programming were more widespread.
This is a good example of why I wish Literate Programming were more widespread.
Shapeoko 3XL #0006 w/Makita RT0701 Router w/0.125″ and ¼″ Elaire precision collets
Nomad 883 Pro #596 (bamboo)
Nomad 883 Pro #596 (bamboo)
Re: dfx2gcode support...?
My problem is understanding what is happening on the Z axis.
I am hoping to mill shapes out of a thin sheet of balsa - 1/8" or less - so probably in one pass. I have a 2-D dfx file which I have run through dfx2gcode, and it seems to default to three passes - raising and lowering the spindle frequently. It lowers more than it raises, with the result that the Z axis soon hits the limits.
I suspect that some of the settings in dfx2gcode probably relate to this, but there is no simple description of what they do - just a title.
I am hoping to mill shapes out of a thin sheet of balsa - 1/8" or less - so probably in one pass. I have a 2-D dfx file which I have run through dfx2gcode, and it seems to default to three passes - raising and lowering the spindle frequently. It lowers more than it raises, with the result that the Z axis soon hits the limits.
I suspect that some of the settings in dfx2gcode probably relate to this, but there is no simple description of what they do - just a title.
Re: dfx2gcode support...?
Examining the G code output from Dxf2gcode, I find that the X and Y axis values are specified in inches (which is what I am working in), while the Z axis is specified in millimetres.
So, for a 1" square cut where the cutter is required to raise itself by 1", I have G code giving x -1. Y -1 and Z -25.4. Which, of course, makes a mess of the Z movement.
I can't find out why Dxf2Gcode is doing this. I don't think you can specify the axes to use different units! Has anyone got any ideas?
So, for a 1" square cut where the cutter is required to raise itself by 1", I have G code giving x -1. Y -1 and Z -25.4. Which, of course, makes a mess of the Z movement.
I can't find out why Dxf2Gcode is doing this. I don't think you can specify the axes to use different units! Has anyone got any ideas?