Visolate NC file won't open in Cambam (but does in Mach3, CNC-USB etc)

[HankMcSpank]

An oldish topic, but never got an answer - perhaps becuase it was tucked away in a thread with a non targeted title, so now trying in this sub-forum to see if I can prick up the ers of 10bulls himself!

The attached Visolate created NC file below (Visolate is a java program that creates Voronoi regions from PCB gerber files & produces g-code as output) opens up in MAch3 & USB-CNC, but nothing happens when I open it in Cambam ....whilst it can be worked around (by opening in USB-CNC, & then exporting to DXF...then opening in Cambam),  it would be nice just to have the file open in Cambam in the first place...now if the NC file didn't open in any other program I wouldn't even ask...but it does open, so I will ask!

the original thread where I first raised this...

http://www.cambam.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=2191.0

[GeorgeRace]

I don't see the attached file on this post.
George

[lloydsp]

Hank, here's your file, in a different format.

It imports into CB just fine.

The difference is that CB does not honor incremental positioning mode.  Your original file is in incremental mode.

I wrote a simple Excel file to re-build the incremental moves into absolute positions. It resulted in the .nc file attached.  The .CB file it produces when imported is attached, too.

BTW... any time you import g-code, if you get a "splatter chart" about the origin, you can be sure the file was in cremental mode.

Remember that cb doesn't convert imported code into drawing objects, it just creates a machining path that can be shown as toolpaths.  YOU can conver those to lines, if you wish.

(that also means that after opening the hank file.cb file, you have to "generate toolpaths" to show them.)


LLoyd

[HankMcSpank]

The difference is that CB does not honor incremental positioning mode.  Your original file is in incremental mode.

Thank you...I guess therefore the question now is....how much of an ordeal is it for 10bulls to modify Cambam to accept g-code files with incremental positioning content.

[lloydsp]

I don't think it would be too hard, but it would be important to associate it with a post-processor.

If those other packages are importing successfully without knowing what machine the file was made for, they were just "lucky".  Lucky, in the sense that the file only contains G0 and G1 commands, so it's as generic as a g-code file could be.

Even if the file didn't have the G91 call to identify incremental mode, there's a pretty simple statistical analysis of the vectors generated by g-code that will tell you if it's an incremental or absolute file.  With incremental files, if they are treated as absolute, many, many cutpaths will pass through a small circle surrounding the origin, while absolute files seem to "go somewhere", so to speak.  Of course, your file DID have a G91, so it was pretty easy to tell... but still interesting to look at what it generates when treated as an absolute file.

I don't think this is a job for a change in CB, though.  This should be a script or plug-in, at least at first.

If I had time to ferret out all the structures in CB, I'd write it myself (but NObody is HELPing document the plug-in writing process for us TIME DEPRIVED users who WANT TO HELP!) 

Lloyd

[HankMcSpank]

Ever had a BIG doh moment?

Well. one just came my way - having used Visolate a lot whilst on holiday abroad, I kind of ignored the g-code paramaters cos it seemed populated with stuff I didn't want Visolate to decide (feed rate, travel clearance, traversal speed etc) ...but wouldn't you know it, tucked away in the very corner of the GUI is an option to select g-code absolute mode...just tried it, and that format of NC file imports into Camabm just fine.

I'll get me coat.....

[lloydsp]

Now THAT's funny!

LLoyd