Inkscape Gcodetools plug-in English support forum

[Nick]

Generated Gcode in EMC2

Type	Extension of vector graphics editor Inkscape
Developer	Gcodetools develop team
Written in	Python
OS	Cross-Platform (Windows, Linux, MacOS)
Version	1.6.03
License	GNU GPL
Downloads	7800+

Gcodetools

Gcodetools is a plug-in for Inkscape. It prepares and converts paths from Inkscape to Gcode, using biarc interpolation.

This article is unfinished. You can help cnc-club expanding it.
Screenshots and photos are needed. Please post them at this thread.

Features (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Features

Preview of the generated Gcode in EMC

Gcodetools area pocketing

Gcodetools lathe

Gcodetools engraving by Rene

Bears by Durachko

Export to Gcode

• Export paths to Gcode
• Using circular (biarc approximation) or straight line interpolation
• Automatic path subdivision to reach defined tolerance
• Multiply tool processing
• Export Gcode in parametric of flat form
• Including personal headers and footers
• Choosing units
• Multi-pass processing
• Numeric suffix is added to generated files to avoid overwriting

Lathe Gcode

• Compute trajectories for lathe
• Fine cut
• Define fine cut's depth
• Define fine rounds
• Two different computation functions for fine cut
• Standard axis remapping

Path's area processing

• Building area paths
• Area paths could be modified

Engraving

• Building trajectory according to the cutter's shape
• Defining different cutter's shapes

Tool's library

• Defining different tool's parameters (diameter, feed, depth step, penetration feed, personal Gcode before/after each path, cutters shape, personal tool's changing Gcode)
• Tools can be managed by Inkscape's standard procedures (copy, delete, assigned to different layer)
• Multiply tools processing

Orientation system

• Applying scale along any axis
• Apply rotate in the ХY plane
• Apply translation along any axis
• Apply transforms according to arbitrary points

Post-processor

• You can create custom post-processor by writing down the commands or choose from the list of default post-processors
• Scale and offset Gcode
• Gcode commands remapping
• Parameterize Gcode
• Round floating point values to specified precision

Verifying tools for the scene

• Select and remove small paths (area artefacts)
• Tool's alignment check
• Cutting order check

Plotter cutting

• Export to Gcode for plotter with tangential knife. Forth axis A is knife's rotation.

License (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

License

Inkscape and Gcodetools are licensed under GNU GPL.

Install (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Install

Windows
Unpack and copy all the files to the following directory Program Files\Inkscape\share\extensions\ and restart inkscape
Linux
Unpack and copy all the files to the following directory /usr/share/inkscape/extensions/ and restart inkscape

Usage (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Usage

Spanish manuals and tutorials by txapuzas (También he escrito un pequeño manual de uso en español, está disponible en)
Engraving tutorial by Dormouse
Area cutting tutorial
Making gears using Gcode tools and gear extensions
Export to Gcode from previous tutorial
Version 1.1 manual and tutorial

Screenshots (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Screenshots

Gcodetools plug-in tutorial (2600*1300 px png ~ 700Kb)

Curve to Gcode result

Preview of the generated Gcode in EMC

Get latest version (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Get latest versions

Latest stable version Gcodetools 1.7

gcodetools.tar.gz

Gcodetools 1.7

(75.25 КБ) 103140 скачиваний

Older versions(ver 1.5)

gcodetools-1.6.tar.gz

Gcodetools 1.6

(56.6 КБ) 15530 скачиваний

(ver 1.5)

gcodetools.tar.gz

Gcodetools 1.5

(21.32 КБ) 11070 скачиваний

(ver 1.4)

gcodetools.tar.gz

(14.72 КБ) 27868 скачиваний

(ver 1.2)

extensions.tar.gz

(9.01 КБ) 10879 скачиваний

Dev-version

You can try the newest development version by getting it from github repository https://github.com/cnc-club/gcodetools via web interface or using git clone git@github.com:cnc-club/gcodetools.git .
You'll need to run python create_inx.py to create inx files. After that install procedure is the same with the stable version.

Translations

Gcodetools is included into Inkscape v 0.49 so it will have native translations as other Inkscape's extensions. Until it is released you can use some self made translation packs:

• Spanish translation: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/23923366/gcodetools_es_00.zip

Credits (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Credits

Developers:

• Nick Drobchenko (Nick)
• Vladimir Kalyaev (Dormouse)
• Henry Nicolas (Alfcnc)
• Chris Lusby Taylor (ChrisInNewbury)

Translators:

• John Brooker (greybeard from cnczone.com)

Develop (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Develop

At the moment following features are being developed:

• Plasma cutter extension
• Turning lathe extension
• Plotter extension

You can help us improve Gcodetools in several ways

• Writing a report / bug report
• Improve help and manuals
• Publish G-codes / SVGs / other code
• Publish photos / videos
• Make a bug report
• Help develop new features
• Suggest a new feature

Tested on (для просмотра содержимого нажмите на ссылку)

Tested on

Linux
Ubuntu 9.10 14.04 + inkscape 0.48 (older Gcodetools versions also work with 0.46, 0.47)
Windows
Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 + inkscape 0.46, inkscape 0.47
MacOS
There are some reports on successful work on MacOs.

[Nick]

Just open preferences tab and assign custom post-processor.

There's some help on post processor functions:
http://cnc-club.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=78&p=4682

[bill.french]

In the "stable" version -- any idea why it might not pick up the header file in windows? if put a file called "header" in the same folder where the output goes. Thanks!

[Nick]

hmmmm.... have no idea...

What is the full path to output dir, does it contain any spaces or special chars?

[bill.french]

I've tried both c:\data and c:\data\ in preferences.

[Zoid]

Hello, I buy Roland blade holder with knifes to my cnc for vinyl cutting. It's not tangential knife but dragged knife. I can't find how to compensate free rotation of knife in Gcode (compensation arcs in corners and etc.). Is there some way how to achieve this with gcodetools plugin? Or do you know other way? Thanks

[Nick]

I've tried both c:\data and c:\data\ in preferences.

Hmmmm.... it looks strange... Are there capital letters in the path? It can cause the problem. And check that header file has exact "header" name, without any extension.

Hello, I buy Roland blade holder with knifes to my cnc for vinyl cutting. It's not tangential knife but dragged knife. I can't find how to compensate free rotation of knife in Gcode (compensation arcs in corners and etc.). Is there some way how to achieve this with gcodetools plugin? Or do you know other way? Thanks

We can add such functionality to gcodetools, but we'll need more info what modification should be done to the path.
Corners - just add an arc?
Curvy paths - ???

[Zoid]

Here is list of problems with roland draged knife
every compensation depends on diferent Knifepoint offset for different knifes
1.compensation arcs in corners
2. compensation of curvy paths
3.compensation arcs after jump, depends on knifes angle when leaves material
4. entrance circle for calibration of knife angle before start (it will probably perform some aditional cut in 0.0)

I think that all, but I'm not sure.

[Nick]

2. compensation of curvy paths

That's still a question for me. How shold look like compensated path for cirlces arc?

[sliptonic]

Hello,
I'm trying to use gcodetools to generate gcode for use with my laser cutter. The spindle RPM is used to control the pulse-per-minute (ppm) setting in LinuxCNC.
Regardless of how I set the spindle rpm value in the default tool, I don't see the resulting gcode change at all.

I guess I can force it into the gcode before path but that seems like a workaround. How is spindle rpm supposed to work.

Thanks.

[Nick]

Where have you found spindle RPM in Gcodetools. I believe there's no such option .
Yes you can use Path-before-Gcode to set up S parameter of define it in the header of the Gcode.

[fluxin]

I've got a waterjet machine that needs to make cuts continuously (meaning not turn the nozzle on and off) Is there a way to have many objects and combine them with a line to avoid either retracting during index or turning off plasma etc... The best option would be to be able to create a single path around all objects without crossing over a previous object! While that would be be incredibly cool, right now it would just be useful to find out a way to create a line between two objects the the waterjet nozzle follows. Thanks!

[Nick]

Can you give me sample svg with your paths, to get the whole picture.

There could be several tools to do it, need to try them first...

[fluxin]

Here is one example, I'm trying to fit all the parts in as tightly as possible, with this setup I can do an easy index part to part at the tops and not cut into the next part. There are better ways to fit the parts together, but then avoiding cutting over parts would be difficult.

[Nick]

Yep, kind of sittuation .

I do not think it'll be able to do it automatically.
But I think there are some techniques that can help you to get it easier manually.

First way is to use Edit - Clone - Clone pattern. But it requires some calculations (steps 1-5 in attached svg).
Or you can just put two-four stars as close as possible and draw a path between them, then copy them (while dragging press space bar) using snapping to corners. Once you've made some copyes you can select several stars to make copping faster.

Then you'll probably need a path to go from row to row, if not it'll be much easier . if not, you can select whole row and press Ctrl+K - to combine paths then press F2 to edit nodes, them select all nodes exept start/end nodes of first/last path and press button which makes two separate nodes connected.

Then just copy the rows.

It can take from 10 to 3 minutes depending on your Inkscape's skill.

[Dimitrios]

Hi Nick,

Today I finished to instal my 4 Axis, to use it to cut soft materials with a circular blade and Gcodetools.

Again I had a strange behavior when I tryed a simulation in LinuxCNC, with some code for tangent knife. It complains that there is a E word in line XX and stops work. But now I found the problem: it is simply that Gcodetools, when calculating the tangent knife angles uses sientific notation, and very small values are written in full precison number. Thats where the "e" for the exponent shows up and LinuxCNC does not like it.

There is a way to limit the precision when it generates the Gcode? Instead of writing very small numbers, we could place a limit on precision. Being very optimistic with my machine capabilities, anything less then a 0.001 radians is superfluous. I think I could go happily wit 0.01 radian.

Thank you for your atention and for this software.

Best regards

Dimitrios

[Nick]

Which version are you using?


You can try to fix it yourself just find in gcodetools.py All
A%s and replace them with A%f, and also there could be some Z%s that might be changed to Z%f as well.

Thanks for the bug report!

[Dimitrios]

Nick,

You are welcome!

Will try to fix it myself this weekend, I am very busy right now. I am attempting to learn python and will be happy to help!

regards

Dimitrios

[Dimitrios]

I am using the last stable version (1.7 ? can't remember now).

Dimitrios

[Nick]

there's two options you can fix it yourself, the way I wrote above or use dev version. The fix for this bug has just been applied.

[Dimitrios]

Nick,

The bug fix is on the developer version or you modified the stable version? I never downloaded a dev version, so I am a bit scared to do it now , not being a Linux guy, but trying to be...

My machine is complete, and the code generated in Gcodetools work very well. Only that it generates the A axis in radians, and LinuxCNC works in degrees. I do not know how to change it, either in Gcodetools or LinuxCNC, so I am doing the conversion by hand, in test files I am running.

I apologize for being such a ignorant in Python and Linux, in return I offer to test codes in a working tangential knife machine!

Best regards:

Dimitrios