DXF Export/Import Issues with CadKey and FastCam/SLS

[TronCarter]

I am trying to help a co-worker figure out a problem that he is having with FastCam/SLS. He just upgraded his mill to a version of FastCam (or whatever actually runs on the mill) and with the new version, FastCam can be installed on his PC. He creates a part file in CadKey 21.5, exports as a DXF, and then attempts to import into FastCam/SLS running on the same PC. I watched him do it with 4 drawings that look fine in CadKey, but when 3 of them were imported, several of the entities were not located in the proper position. For instance a line that was supposed to be at X=-1 for some reason put at X=+1. It seems that a lot of the "errors" are changing a negative X value to a positive value. One, very simple drawing worked properly.

At any rate, I was wondering if anyone has had any similar problems to this before. Is it a problem with the way CadKey exports DXF? Will the new version (of KeyCreator) solve this problem?

He would prefer not to learn a new software package like AutoCad, but would be willing to spend the money for KeyCreator if it worked.

Any help is appreciated.

Tron

[moldcore]

I may be of some help as I use KeyCreator on a daily basis. However I don’t use or know anything about Fastcam and have never tried to import a DXF (we use Surfcam) into our Centurion 6 or 5 machines. If you can send me the Cadkey file I could create a DXF using the latest KeyCreator program (7.02). There may be some issues if the Cadkey file has entities from layout mode but it should work.

Just curious, what controller are you using on the machine?

[TronCarter]

Thank you for the help. I am a novice at CadKey, can you tell me what you mean by "entities from layout mode"? I do know what an entity is, but am not sure about layout mode.

I'm not sure about the controller, how do I find out? Also, we are not ever getting that far. The same controller software that runs on the mill is also installed on his PC. The idea is that you can do all of the importing and tool paths while sitting at your desk and not have to do it through the mill console. Once the job has been fully converted to conversational, it is sent to the mill using RS232.

[TronCarter]

This morning I took some of the .ckd files to another department where they have KeyCreator 6. I opened them, exported as DXF, and then tried them in FastCam. They all worked perfectly. So, I guess we are just going to buy the latest KeyCreator and be done with it, but I am still curious as to why there is a difference in the DXF files. I have done some googling and found that there are different "versions" of the DXF format, but that is about all I could find.

[moldcore]

Layout mode is 2D drafting program inside Cadkey where you can take your 3D modeled parts and detail different views of each model, such as 3 views with a border and title block. Whenever you change the model, the layout is then automatically updated. You can toggle between the two modes (model and layout mode) at any time. If you’re not familiar with it then I wouldn’t worry about some of the quirks when making DXF files from it at this point.

As for the machine controller, it normally says Centurion V, 6 or 7 above the monitor on the machine itself or will flash on the screen display when the machine boots up. How old is the machine? I’m not sure if the controller will make any difference unless it’s one of those older Centurion IV models that Milltronics no longer supports. Like I said I'm not familiar with Fastcam and how it interacts with the controller.

[70cyclone]

You mentioned SLS(skill level select), so is it a centurion 1 on a knee mill or something? Shouldn't really matter in regards to DXF import.

I think years ago there was an issue with the way some software generated DXF files in that the entites didn't appear to be joined so Fastcam would do funny things with them.
It sounds like you may have your solution with the newer keycreator.

[jpawelk]

Please see the attached document regarding DXF file importation.