Some of the traces were the wrong width and some annuli didn’t survive the drilling. It looks like for simple boards, the technique works ok, although there were some limitations. That caused a bit of an edge that needed sanding, but solved most of the other problems. He then switched out the engraving bit he was using for a proper end mill. He simplified the board layout and tried again but that didn’t work well.
Naturally, the first attempt wasn’t great and he aborted it. Even if you didn’t do an entire mockup, milling the profile of the board might be a good idea. Interestingly, the mock-up served as a position guide for the board. The final boards, of course, use copper clad FR-4. He first did a mock-up with some MDF scrap. He also has ideas on aligning the Z axis. Other tricks include leveling a spoil board by just milling it down and mounting different size bits. There were a few tricks he used to make sure all the tracks are picked up. However, once you have Gebers, you can join the video’s workflow about 5 minutes in.Īt that point, he uses FlatCAM to convert the Gerbers to a single G-code file that integrates the paths and drill files. We’ve only heard a few people pronounce Gerber (as in Gerber file) with a soft G sound, but we still knew what he meant.
#Cnc simulator pro tutorial 2 how to#
If you don’t use Eagle, you’ll need to infer how to do similar changes and get the same kind of output. He shows what parameters he changes to make sure the traces don’t get eaten away and how to do the CAM job to get the files required to make the boards. He starts with Eagle, although, you could use any creation package. shows how he makes PCBs with a CNC machine and has a lot of good advice in the video below.
Or maybe you need a lot of fast iterations so you can’t wait for the postal service. But sometimes you really need a board right now. By allowing you to view the simulation side by side with the code, it helps you quickly identify errors and wrong configurations that can result in making the workpiece useless.It is getting so easy to order a finished printed circuit board that it is tough to justify building your own. In addition to this, you can modify the appearance of the workpiece, the simulator screen background and its effects.ĬNC Simulator can be used in automation engineering for debugging and testing g-code programs and viewing the path of the Lathe machine prior to proceeding to the implementation process.
#Cnc simulator pro tutorial 2 code#
The built-in code editor features syntax highlighting, line numbering, auto completion and reformatting, allowing you to customize the font style and the coding colors for both the text editor and the debugging window for break and execution points. The main window comprises options for controlling the simulation playback, enabling you to start, pause or stop the procedure, as well as jump forward to a new step.
The debugging mode allows you to identify execution errors in your code.
The currently active command is highlighted, so that you can easily find any error that might occur and the operation parameters can be viewed in the main window. Alternatively, you can preview the result of the CNC program in 3D using the OpenGL technology. The 2D simulation enables you to view the path that the CNC lathe machine follows as the instructions are executed one by one. The application features an intuitive interface, comprising two separate panes, one for writing the g-code and the other for previewing the result. It is designed to assist machinists in learning about g-code writing and CNC programming, while also providing them with a way to test their instructions and commands. CNC Simulator is a comprehensive utility that enables you to simulate a Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machine.