- #HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 HOW TO#
- #HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 SOFTWARE#
- #HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 CODE#
To be able to help you, however, we need you to start the process by creating the geometry necessary to describe your part for the mill.Ī file that is suitable for Mastercam and the milling process is not necessarily the same file that you use to make renderings or to produce a model from which you can make a 3D printed part. At the GSD, the process of using either of the two CNC Routers requires you to engage in this process somewhere in the middle of this spectrum by providing you with template files and the assistance of experienced users. Other machines require more involvement, both in creating the file that defines the tool paths and in the operation of the machine itself. The Roland Modela 3-Axis Desktop mill in the woodshop is an example of this type of machine.
#HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 SOFTWARE#
Some CNC milling machines come with proprietary software that can make the process as simple as: importing a mesh surface, making a few decisions regarding desired part resolution, and then hitting "go" on the machine once you've secured the material. Software that generates toolpaths for 3-axis CNC routers and mills will generally work with surfaces, meshes, curves, and points, depending on the particular motion that is being created for the machine. There are a number of different software tools that can create toolpaths from geometry (some require a closed mesh model, like an STL file to a 3D Printer, others work only with 2D curves, like a DWG file for a laser cutter). Last edited by Richard Gonzalez 03-09-2018 at 11:17 AM.The geometry that you create in Rhino or another 3D modeling program of your choosing will ultimately control the motion the cutting tool takes through the material to make your part. It does not know the stock size, it does not know what the final product looks like, or what bit you are using (if it’s in the g-code file, it is just as a comment, which is for you, and is ignored by the controller). The machine controller just follows the X, Y, Z movement instructions contained in the g-code file.
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These toolpaths are what get saved as g-code, and only these toolpaths. The purpose of a CAM program (in VCarve or Fusion 360 it is integrated, mastercam is a stand alone CAM program, there are many others) is to allow creation of toolpaths, which carve out your model, from a piece of stock (defined by you), using bits chosen by you. It sounds as if you are a little unclear. No model geometry exists in the gcode and you can not recreate the model from it.
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You need to make sure you also save your model (2D/3D geometry) in whatever form your design software saves it in. Your model is not saved in or as a g-code file. The only thing saved in a g-code file are the toolpath(s) created. You can edit them as text even if they are not named as something.txt. The g-code file is a plain text file no matter the file extension (.g-code. So, I guess the issue is whether or not your modeling software can convert to gcode Any editor can open the file and edit/modify since it is just text. So, after I finish the design, Vcarve converts the model into gcode and saves the file as an ASCII. I use VCarve to create 99% of my gcode files.
#HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 CODE#
I have used gcode created by other programs (like for circuit boards) and it worked fine, but I checked the code before I loaded it to make sure there was nothing "stupid" in it. That's one thing I like about Vcarve - it is almost idiot proof. It can get a bit tricky because of the different requirements of each control software application. I can also save Sketchup files as STL and convert those to gcode. I can also use Fusion 360 to save the gcode file for Mach3. So, I guess the issue is whether or not your modeling software can convert to gcode and you can set it up for all the particulars of your machine/controller software.
#HOW TO MACHINE AN STL FILE IN MASTERCAM X5 HOW TO#
They have a configuration file that knows how to talk Mach3. I am using Mach 3 to control my CNCRP machine.