Interface Specifications
From SeniorDesign
Contents |
[edit] CNC Router Interface Specifications
Current Interface Specifications Document
[edit] Team Members
- Paul Vincent
- Elliot Long
- Tom Blauvelt
- Jeremy Shively
[edit] Advisor
Professor Ernest Hall
[edit] Goal
Our goal was to design and build a hobbyist CNC Router with a budget of $500 for parts. We have published the design online for other people to follow along with open source software to control CNC Router.
[edit] Step 1: Create Drawing
Using programs such as Inkscape, AutoCAD, Solid Edge or Solid Works, the user will draw a 2D design that they would like to create. This 2D drawing is essentially a top down view of the design the user wishes to cut out with the router. Each line that is drawn will be able to have different cutting parameters, including depth, width, whether the cut will occur on the inside or outside of the line and whether the cut will be profile or pocket. Profile cutting is where a single line is cut around an object, pocket cutting is where the entire layer inside or outside the line is removed. The file will need to be saved as a .dxf file.
[edit] Step 2: Convert DXF to G-Code
Once the 2D drawing is completed and saved as a .dxf format, the user must now convert the drawing into machine instructions. The problem is that .DXF is a proprietary format that changes at the whims of its creators, Autodesk. This means that there are many different incompatible variants of the format. Depending on the program used to create the users 2D drawing, the *.dxf file is subtly different.
The only program we have found that has correctly handled all different version of .dxf files is the shareware software CamBam. To be clear, there are other programs that the user could use to perform this step, for our project however CamBam best fit our goals. It has a free download and allows the user 40 free launches before prompting the user to purchase it.
The converter must load the .dxf file and allow the user to define different cutting settings for each line in the 2nd drawing. These cutting settings are everything from cutting speed and depth to the pattern that the router should follow in cutting out around that line. Once all settings are defined for each line the user wishes to cut, the user can then render the drawing into g-code.
[edit] Step 3: Load G-Code into Software and Start the Build
The software has two different modes:
- Automatic Mode
- Manual Mode
In Automatic Mode the user loads the g-code file that was just created (typically a *.nc file type) and then clicks a "Start Build" button which will initiate an automatic build process. The software will render the g-code into commands the router is capable understanding and then begin sending commands to the router until the build is finished. At any point during the build the user can cancel or pause the build process.
In Manual Mode the user is presented with several buttons X+, X-,Y+, Y-, Z+, Z-
 Automatic Mode |
 Manual Mode |
 Settings Panel |
[edit] Step 4: Router Begins the Building Process
The CNC Router has a boxed frame to give it extra strength. The cutting tool is able to move up and down, left and right, and back and forth. With these three degrees of freedom the computer will send instructions for the path the cutting tool in order to create the users design. While the design is being created the status of the project is displayed on the screen of the computer.
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