Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard McClellan
I've just built a homemade CNC machine for fun this summer and am now trying to figure out the best way to go from CAD to G-Code. I'm controlling the machine with Mach3, which is a free program that runs standard G-code.
I have both the Solidworks Student Design Kit and the Student Edition of Inventor (but I prefer Solidworks), and would like to find a free (or low cost) program to go from CAD files to G-code. I've tried using a trial version of CamBam, which makes it very easy to generate G-code, but it can only import dxf or stl files. Is there an easy way to convert a Solidworks file to dxf or stl?
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No, you cannot convert a 3d file to a flat image. You need to first make a drawing (I forget how to do this in solidworks) and
then convert the drawing to a dxf or stl. You can then use a Cam program to convert the dxf/stl to g-code.
If you actually
BUY Mach3 you will get a free copy of Lazy Cam, which is what I've been using. Its a pretty simple program for hobbiests.
I prefer to write the code by hand though, or at least edit what lazy cam spits out.