G-code exporter

[ger21]

I've started writing a g-code exporter that runs inside Autocad. It should work in version 14.01 (with VBA) and up. Right now it will read polylines only, and convert them into G-code.
If you want your polyline toolpaths to be continuous, use the pedit command to join them together. A rapid move is inserted between all individual polylines. Currently the number of passes is not enabled, so changing it will have no effect. It seems to be working OK right now, but let me know if you find any problems, or if you have any suggestions. I tried using ACE converter and it has quite a few limitations, so I'm writing this. No .dxf's needed, just export gcode right from AutoCAD. Let me know what you think.
Oh yeah, how do you use it? And where is it? Get it here:

edit: I posted an updated version in message #3

First thing you need to do is create a folder called Gcode on your C: drive. This is where the files are written to:
C:\Gcode\

Unzip the file. In Autocad go to tools>macro> load project. Select the file gcode.dvb and load. Enable macros when the dialog box comes up. Go to tools>macro>Macros (or Alt+F8), select the macro, and run. All polylines in the drawing will be converted to g-code, but nothing else. No lines, circles, arcs, - just polylines for now. If you normally draw with lines and arcs, you can use pedit to convert and join them into polylines. It's much easier to offset 1 polyline for your bit diameter, then a bunch of segments. I plan to add support for at least 3D polylines in the future, maybe more.
One last thing, I and J in G2 and G3 are incremental, so they should work fine in TurboCNC.

Gerry

[NeoMoses]

Looks interesting and could be very handy for those quick projects. I'll give it a shot when I get home. Thanks!

[ger21]

I've updated it to include multiple passes. If anyone has tried it, I'd like to here if it's working OK. One person said it didn't work in ACAD2000, has anyone else seen this? I still need to add feed speeds, hopefully I'll be able to get that done this week. Also added a readme.txt file. There is now a newer version posted below.

Gerry

[thirty78]

Hi
a very nice and handy little program that work fine on acad 2002 and mdt6.

Thanx

[ger21]

I got bored so I added feedrate support. I think right now this should be almost as good as ACE. I didn't mention that it will process polylines in the order they were drawn, so I don't plan on adding the ability to manipulate order, just plan accordingly. Here's the new version.

Gerry

edit - This version had a bug, new version below

[ger21]

Here is a new screenshot.

Gerry

[CNCadmin]

Very nice and easy to use!

[ger21]

I found a bug in the feedrate box, it only allows 1 digit to be input for the feedrate. Here's the fixed version.

Gerry


I pulled the file until I can fix a bug with the depth. I should have it back up in a few hours.

[wjbzone]

Gerry,
Looks like a good start. It works in acad2000 for me.

Is the rectangle generated at the end an option?

I also noticed if I have more than one polyline, the generated depths of the second polyline start at the ending depth of the first polyline. (using multiple passes)

Bill.

[ger21]

I must have messed that up when I added the feedrate. It was working right before. I'll fix it tonight when I get home. What rectangle? Is it adding code for a rectangle? I'm not seeing that here. Thanks for the input.

Gerry

[wjbzone]

Gerry,

Sorry about that, the rectangle was on my drawing. (My default autocad template has a rectangle drawn in paperspace).

Bill.

[ger21]

Fixed the depth problem.

Made a small change, new version below.

Gerry