Screwdriver
Member
- Messages
- 10,150
Easy when you know how
...and it would appear, easy when you don't. I have been overwhelmed with messages of support (thanks to all) and some incredible offers of help from a number of members.
I needed to make this:
Which I knocked up in Sketchup and assumed would be an easy thing to CNC. After all I just have to export it to a suitable format (.dxf for example), email it and someone presses print at the other end.
No. It transpires. Sketchup forbids it unless you pay a huge wedge for a subscription. I use the 2017 version which is the last one that is a local copy, the newer ones keep tabs on you with cloud based app and fees. I believe the CNC "friendly" version should be a lot simpler but I can't justify the expense.
So I literally "print" my 2d version to a .pdf with "vector printing" enabled. Then use "Inkscape" to export that file to any number of CNC file formats. All on a Mac, all well and good but I have no way to test it. Looks good to me.
I start a dialogue with Mr. Black (names withheld in case of a sh1tstorm) who offered to knock one up for me but my .dxf is hopeless.I suggest I will "easily" be able to make up a good file, just give me ten minutes and I'll fire up Fusion360.
OMG. It is horrible. As a lifelong Mac user and PC numpty, the lack of cut+paste leaves me floundering. I have developed a sort of workflow and a method for figuring out how to drive a program and Fusion360 is like trying to decipher the Rosetta stone. There are no little hooks or familiar features in the interface at all. This is going to take me days...
Mr. Black insists he'll just redo the entire thing from scratch I can't ask anyone to do that. Meanwhile Mr. Green sends a completed .dxf also from inkscape and at the same time one of the mods Mr. White has made a version in Autocad and I have .dxf coming out of my ears.
Incredibly Mr. Pink behind the scenes has taken a drawing, made a .dxf and knocked up a couple of brackets on a plasma CNC. I am baffled at how he (and the others) have made such accurate copies from a web image but there you go. I checked it against the original Sketchup and most of the dimensions are within 10ths of a mm.
The bracket is done and winging its way to Mr. Blonde as we speak. Should the villains of this piece wish to identify themselves, on your own head be it. A million thankyous to all concerned but to those unconcerned, let the games commence...
...and it would appear, easy when you don't. I have been overwhelmed with messages of support (thanks to all) and some incredible offers of help from a number of members.
I needed to make this:
Which I knocked up in Sketchup and assumed would be an easy thing to CNC. After all I just have to export it to a suitable format (.dxf for example), email it and someone presses print at the other end.
No. It transpires. Sketchup forbids it unless you pay a huge wedge for a subscription. I use the 2017 version which is the last one that is a local copy, the newer ones keep tabs on you with cloud based app and fees. I believe the CNC "friendly" version should be a lot simpler but I can't justify the expense.
So I literally "print" my 2d version to a .pdf with "vector printing" enabled. Then use "Inkscape" to export that file to any number of CNC file formats. All on a Mac, all well and good but I have no way to test it. Looks good to me.
I start a dialogue with Mr. Black (names withheld in case of a sh1tstorm) who offered to knock one up for me but my .dxf is hopeless.I suggest I will "easily" be able to make up a good file, just give me ten minutes and I'll fire up Fusion360.
OMG. It is horrible. As a lifelong Mac user and PC numpty, the lack of cut+paste leaves me floundering. I have developed a sort of workflow and a method for figuring out how to drive a program and Fusion360 is like trying to decipher the Rosetta stone. There are no little hooks or familiar features in the interface at all. This is going to take me days...
Mr. Black insists he'll just redo the entire thing from scratch I can't ask anyone to do that. Meanwhile Mr. Green sends a completed .dxf also from inkscape and at the same time one of the mods Mr. White has made a version in Autocad and I have .dxf coming out of my ears.
Incredibly Mr. Pink behind the scenes has taken a drawing, made a .dxf and knocked up a couple of brackets on a plasma CNC. I am baffled at how he (and the others) have made such accurate copies from a web image but there you go. I checked it against the original Sketchup and most of the dimensions are within 10ths of a mm.
The bracket is done and winging its way to Mr. Blonde as we speak. Should the villains of this piece wish to identify themselves, on your own head be it. A million thankyous to all concerned but to those unconcerned, let the games commence...