[Req] Export g-code for 5 axis cnc router

Chris Fullmer · 9 Jul 2009, 15:12

I don't understand what 5 axis means. And what do you need it for? Do you own a machine that work in 5 axes?

Chris

ely862me · 9 Jul 2009, 15:20

i don t own one yet but i want to make one(if i can )..
i want to be able to cut my cars in foam with a 5 axis cnc router
anyway soon a friend of mine will buy a 5 axis cnc router ..the point is that these machines accept data only from solidworks, catia and so on, especially cad-cam programs

Would be awesome if somebody can make a script to write such a code for these machines directly from sketchup as phlatboyz script ...

I m not sure exactly if g-code is used for 5-axis machines... maybe i ll ask this on phlatprinter site..

Anyway ,again, if somebody knows how these things works please let us know!

Thanks,Elisei!

Attached is a 5 axis milling machine cutting a jet ski(anyway,this is not the important part,the important part is to write that code which drive the machine)
[flash=425,344:oa6ppzqe]http://www.youtube.com/v/Zsdo92HpnKg&hl=en&fs=1&[/flash:oa6ppzqe]

thomthom · 9 Jul 2009, 16:09

Any reason you want it directly from SU?
Is there flaws with the options that exist now that involves exporting?

Chris Fullmer · 9 Jul 2009, 16:13

I think if you buy one, it comes with its own software to convert different filetypes. .skp probably is not one of them, but if you take the time to make a watertight model, you should be able to convert it to .dwg or .3ds or whatever type it does support, then it can convert to whatever it needs.

That was my experience using one to help with a landscape model.

Chris

ely862me · 9 Jul 2009, 16:48

OK..what means to make a car watertight?

Thanks!

Chris Fullmer · 11 Jul 2009, 05:30

I wrote a little plugin to help with making models watertight. It goes through the model and adds a text label to each face that is not watertight. Check it out here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=17876

TIG also has a script that goes through a model and tries to find all non-watertight faces and fix them autoamtically. Its referenced in the thread I linked to above, or the direct link to it is here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=143720]

Hope those help,

Chris

daiku · 11 Jul 2009, 13:57

As far as I know, the CNC machines need output from a solid modeler, and Sketchup is a surface modeler.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_modeling

Chris Fullmer · 11 Jul 2009, 15:36

Most CNC machines can work with a various file types. You just have to find one that SketchUp can get to somehow. So if they take .3ds or .dwg. The machine normally should be able to convert to a useable file type. So it can still work from surface model files. They just HAVE to be watertight so they can be converted into solid model files.

Chris

ely862me · 13 Jul 2009, 16:10

Yes,i ve seen myself that the smooth is lost when exporting stl..i ve downloaded the plugin for exporting stl ..
I think smoothing will be the problem.

Can t wait to see what they think!
Thanks a lot!

Elisei

ely862me · 14 Jul 2009, 13:18

Nice...i bet if they make a 1:10 scale will take about 1000 $, which is too much for a scale model, which i, probably,can make with less than 100 $ manually(but not so perfect).
Anyway what i wanted is to be sure if the exported stl file is still smooth when running it on a cnc 5 axis machine..
Thanks for updates!
Elisei

ely862me · 15 Jul 2009, 20:34

Very interesting..it looks that this 3d printing is good for buildings,especially models with flat areas... i bet that the printer can t make the surface smooth,because now(in the stl file) the triangles are separated,they represent an individual face for the printer; the printer will cut every face in the manner it is(so,good bye smooth surface).
This is the main reason i asked for a direct exporter of any code that it s accepted by a cnc 5 axis,because when exporting to other formats the properties of the skp files are lost(especially on organic surface).
Solidworks,catia,alias works with metal sheets,u make the main splines then u loft them and they become clean surfaces ready to be milled as they are...that s why the professionals works with them..
Anyway until a better solution i think the best way is to cut sections and make the surface manually .
Thanks!

Elisei

ely862me · 16 Jul 2009, 18:55

No problem, i wouldn*t pay that much money for it being given the size.

Thank you very much for the information u provided,it*s good to know!

Elisei

ely862me · 4 Jul 2010, 10:42

I understand that is easier to convert a skp file into a file format supported by the cnc software than writing that code in sketchup ..
The point is that when exporting from sketchup to other formats u don t know exactly what sketchup export,and usually u get lot of problems because the formats are not 100% compatible. U,probably, need to check them there as well ..
So far i intent to use the sections i cut from my car to achieve the car shape manually in foam.
It would probably be much better to start learning some cad-cam programs but they are too hard for me..and in sketchup i really feel inspired(that s why i still stay on it).
Thanks!

Elisei