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Benjamin Gatti
USA
1 Posts |
 Posted - 17 Oct 2006 : 11:20:16
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Any ideas on a pathway from Easy-PC to gcode?
Benjamin Gatti |
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DavidM
United Kingdom
458 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2006 : 04:35:50
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As the CAM outputs from Easy-PC are Gerber, DXF, and ODB++, you'd probably be best looking for something that imports Gerber and generates the milling code. A full-featured CAM product like CAM350 (https://www.downstreamtech.com/CAM350.html) looks like it should be able to do the job, or perhaps something like DeskCNC (http://www.cadcamcadcam.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=18). There is also CircuitCAM from LPKF (http://www.lpkfusa.com/Software/ccam.htm) but I'm not sure if this only drives their own milling equipment.
Please note that we can't specifically endorse these products nor have we actually tried using them ourselves to produce milling data. We'd be interested to hear how you get on!
David Manns
Technical Support
Number One Systems
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Leon
United Kingdom
1 Posts |
Posted - 18 Oct 2006 : 05:15:28
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Join the Homebrew PCB group:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Homebrew_PCBs/
Several members are milling their own PCBs using software to generate G-code. I much prefer the standard photo-etch process, it's a lot quicker than milling and I can get down to 5 mil tracks using a cheap HP inkjet printer to produce the artwork.
Leon |
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buckeyes1997
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 04 Aug 2009 : 15:41:32
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I have wanted to do exactly what you suggest for one off prototypes in house. What we end up doing is taking our gerbers from Easy-PC and then import them into Eagle (<-competitor software) and create the g-code that way. Its a shame that Easy-PC does not do this directly and they seem to have no interest in providing this option.
Here is a great link to show you how it can be done with the help of Eagle ULP scripts once you create the gerbers from Easy-PC.
http://www.brusselsprout.org/PCB-Routing/
Good luck
ps-this post is not at all meant to bash Easy-PC because I really love the software however perhaps this illustrates the need to keep up with other software on the market. |
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DavidM
United Kingdom
458 Posts |
Posted - 05 Aug 2009 : 14:53:18
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I appreciate the sentiment, we do recognise the need for this feature but in fact we have been asked for it so few times that it hasn't raised itself sufficiently far up the list of all the good stuff people have asked us to include.
I see that the Eagle output is in fact driven by a ULP script so it isn't actually part of the Eagle product but written by a user. Then again, at least Eagle has scripting ability which Easy-PC doesn't (yet) so there was scope for doing it in the first place. That again is something we've been asked to include, so we have plenty to keep us busy!
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buckeyes1997
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jul 2010 : 16:21:17
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.....STILL NOT IN V14!!!
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buckeyes1997
USA
18 Posts |
Posted - 01 Oct 2010 : 13:44:33
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quote:
Originally posted by buckeyes1997
.....STILL NOT IN V14!!!
....and in several threads EPC admits that perhaps they have "saturated" and run out of features to add. I know add the ones people are asking for right?
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Peter Johnson
United Kingdom
498 Posts |
Posted - 07 Oct 2010 : 10:58:19
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I'm not connected to marketing, so I'm expressing a personal opinion here. I think there's a conflict between headline features which will help to sell new copies (essential for any business!) and features such as the one being discussed here, which whilst useful to some users, isn't likely to inspire a potential purchaser.
It's finding new marketable features which is difficult. Improving the product is still ongoing, and there's a huge wish list for this, so it's no wonder that features have to be prioritised. |
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Hanspeter
14 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jul 2012 : 17:34:06
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quote:
Originally posted by buckeyes1997
quote:
Originally posted by buckeyes1997
.....STILL NOT IN V14!!!
....and in several threads EPC admits that perhaps they have "saturated" and run out of features to add. I know add the ones people are asking for right?
........AND AGAIN STILL NOT IN V15!!!!.
What should I do with my ZEN CNC?
Here in Ghana you can't source a pre-sensitised FR4 PCBs.
I will have to order these from the UK. Stocking these
will not help, my old stock has expired! and I have a huge
stock of DS FR4 PCBs and hoped CNC routing these boards
would resolve the huge delay in get a new pre-sensitised FR4 PCB.
Don't want to switch from easypc, has been using it
since 1987.
Of cause, I use easypc as part of my tool chain for a living,
besides have to beat the Chinese at their at development
cost here in Ghana.
Cheers!!
Hanspeter. |
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Benno
Netherlands
79 Posts |
Posted - 20 Jul 2012 : 20:43:52
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Hi Hanspeter,
why not use any of the other tools to create G code for your milling machine? If you google there are many tools available.
I think too EasyPC is a great tool, that still needs improvements.
What I would personally favour is that resources are used to create some form of plugins into EasyPC or if that is to hard some form of scripting like the ULP of Eagle.
I do not like the way Eagle works and don't want to throw away my investment in boards and components in EasyPC, but Eagle does have a great community effort we totally miss. There are all kind of ULP's that add functionality.
I wish we would get something similar in V16.
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JayDee
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
Posted - 22 Sep 2012 : 11:48:49
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Hi,
Just my 10 cents on Isolation milling.
I've been an On/Off EPC user for about 10 years now, I got my company to upgrade a few years ago to V14 and have never really needed to upgrade since, However looking at a complete new EPC purchase for another company and the inclusion of Isolation milling would make it a No-brainer for this particular customer. We currently export to a 3rd party CAD/CAM package which is a bit clunky.
I think with the significant increase in the DIY CNC scene the inclusion of Isolation milling would be a strong selling point.
If you wanted an intermediate solution, it would be great if Number One had a conversation with someone like CAMBAM "http://www.cambam.info/screenshots/"
and helped ensure that a simple and reliable translation from EPC to G Code was available to the EPC user. Win-Win all round and minimal coding required by the EPC developers.
JayDee |
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Benno
Netherlands
79 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2012 : 13:25:10
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I read cambam can import DXF.
EPC already can export as DXF. Isn't that a usable solution then?
Is there already some standard fileformat that can be used with these kind of CNC machines?
Perhaps I can invest some of my time in writing a conversion tool that takes Gerber and NC files (a standard in PCB design packages) and exports that to some format the milling machines can use. I think G-code is not a real option since afaik that is depending on the machine it is running on, but perhaps I am wrong.
What would people that want this feature be willing to pay for a conversion tool like that? |
Edited by - Benno on 24 Sep 2012 13:25:49 |
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JayDee
United Kingdom
13 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2012 : 17:02:52
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CAMBAM has direct reading of Gerber files and a plugin for excellon drill files and the main guy at CAMBAM is actively developing the product so the Gerber import/conversion is getting better as time goes on.
I have not personally used CAMBAM as i was using the CAD/CAM software at work but looking to use it with my CNC PCB rig later this year.
My reason for mentioning it here is that, as we all know, when exporting from one program to another there is always a chance of everything no quite exchanging perfectly. As such if two software groups talk to each other then the exchange between those specific programs can be made simple, slick, reliable and robust. To the advantage of both the software houses and the end customer. Its always worth suggesting...
Also look through the CNCZONE forum, there are quite a few links to free/open source Gerber to G-Code isolation milling converters, varying quality from what I've heard.
Ref: G-Code its a long established industry standard and really just a list of moves and speeds in three different axis. Using software like mach3 or EMC to drive the physical machine and you can get G-Code to run almost any computer controlled machine tool. |
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Benno
Netherlands
79 Posts |
Posted - 24 Sep 2012 : 21:16:30
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Ok then I misread the cambam site.
In this case I would personally use the Gerber and NC drill files. They are the standard in the business and every PCB manufacturer can work with them.
If Cambam does it's job good, you at least would know your gerbers are correct if you use your CNC for prototyping.
For me that would be the main use of a CNC for prototypes. You can easy make a mechanical proto, because in practice that are the errors that frustrate me the most. Examples are footprints that are just incorrect or my PCB has some component preventing it from fitting in a housing.
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Edited by - Benno on 24 Sep 2012 21:18:06 |
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Topic |
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PCB Milling (g-code)