What Software would work for me?

[krunch]

Hi everyone, noob here.

I am a middle school teacher with limited funding right now and am trying to expand my project base for my kids.

On the production side, I have a Denford Micromill 2000 controlled through VR Milling V2 software (V5, I think, will do what I want but is beyond my reach financially). I also have a Microturn Lathe.

On the design side, I have Inventor 2008 (& access to 2010 if necessary).

I currently have them outputting Inventor designs to a RapMan RP printer but I want to branch out and be able to have the kids create simple parts in Inventor then produce their designs on the Micromill.

Inv 2008 will output .stl files (I also have netfabb that has a few more options as far as .stl file creation goes).

How do I make the jump from a .stl file to a gcode (FANUC) file that can be used by the VR software to run the mill?

Is there any freeware out there that will translate .stl to FANUC gcode for me? Or am I limited to Denford's proprietary (expensive) offerings?

Thanks in advance...

[SirSmash]

I haven't actually done .stl to gcode myself (yet) but http://www.mecsoft.com/Mec/Products/FreeMill.shtml seems like it should do the job for you and it's free.

[krunch]

Thanks, I downloaded it yesterday & am playing to see if it will do what I want.

No joy yet.

Maybe I need to be more specific in what I expect my kids to do.
I want them to start out simple by drawing a circle on a rectangular block in Inventor and then have the mill turn it out in wax (one kid's as a sample). After that they would add additional details until a complete object was formed and then they would each cut out their "masterpiece".

So I am not sure the gridlike linear toolpath generated would be what I am looking for. I would think a circular cut of the circle (.125" wide X .125" deep X 4" diameter) using G02/03 codes would be more efficient.

So far, it doesn't look like MecSoft will generate that kind of code.

[krunch]

OK, Freemill won't do what I want, it will only cut G01 codes, no circular interpolations. Any other options?

I am going to repost in the CAM forum.

[ger21]

You can't get circular interpolation from .stl files, as there are no circles or arcs in them. stl's are triangular mesh surfaces. You'd probably be better off exporting a 2D drawing and converting that into G-code. There are a few free options for converting 2D .dxf files into code. But, you may find that you get what you pay for. I'd recommend Vectric's Cut2D for 2d to g-code. It's very easy to learn and use, and fairly inexpensive.

If you want to export 3D models and get G2/G3 cutting, you're going to need to spend some money.

[blowlamp]

Gerry.
Just to clarify the point with my experience of things.
Having done a fair amount of 3D stuff in CamBam and using an STL file as its model, I can confirm that it will output G2/G3 arcs wherever it can. This reduces the code length significantly and makes for very smooth machining.
As an example, a simple file was reduced from 39749 lines of G01 only code down to 274 lines of mixed G01, G02 and G03 code!!

Martin.

[ger21]

I wasn't aware of that.

But I still think that for what he wants to do, using .stl files is the wrong route to take.

[blowlamp]

Originally Posted by ger21 I wasn't aware of that. But I still think that for what he wants to do, using .stl files is the wrong route to take.

I wasn't aware of it either until I tried some of the other 3D only programs and was surprised to find they all output G01 line segments for everything.

Again for clarity, CamBam can do 2D and 3D work.

Martin.

[krunch]

Interesting info.

Thanks, I will experiment and see what I can generate.