I submitted .dwg and .dxf files of parts in my Request For Quote to my local machinist. I selected the Default Export Scheme when exporting the parts from Rhino 7.
When he couldn’t open the files in his version of Autocad (2007 is what he told me he had) I pointed him to the .PDFs and .JPEGs.
He warned me that making a particular pair of parts is going to be “Labor intensive”, meaning very expensive. He asked if I could supply a list of a curve’s edit points and radii to help reduce setup time in order to mill the parts for me.
For starters I tried Set One Curve in Grasshopper and connecting a panel to it’s output to get a list of points. When that didn’t work I decided on exporting the problem parts in each of the remaining Export Schemes to see if that solves the problem…
This is probably a simple thing to do (I hope).
Any suggestions on generating a list of edit points on a curve are very much appreciated.
Thank you.
What I’m after is a list of X, Y and Z coordinates for each point of the contour of the bottom of the airfoil, which, in this instance is the irregular (not straight) curve at the top of the model which I uploaded
~ David
EDIT
Thank you David Cockey. That worked perfectly.
Hello- it seems like maybe the supplier wants something contstructed from arcs and straights, is that correct? As for the curve’s ‘edit points’ you can turn on edit points (EditPtOn), select these and ExtractPt, then export these as a points file. But there are no constant radius parts of the curve - i.e. no arcs… you’d need to recreate a version of the curve from arcs.
I’m not a CNC machinist and he’s not too fluent in AutoCad so I really am guessing at what would reduce the time it takes him to program his milling machine.
Hopefully one of the 9 Export Schemes will allow him to view the part in the .dwg and .dxf files I provided.
G-Code supports three movements, a line between two coordinates, a clockwise arc, and an anti-clockwise arc.
If you use DXF, you will need to do the extra work in Rhino so only lines and arcs are exported.
The CAM Imperial and CAM Metric DWG/DXF export schemes have the export settings fixed.
However, before you save it out, you need to convert the curvy line (not lines, circles, and arcs, but everything else), to chains of arc segments.
Use the Convert command to make arcs.
Set the Angle tolerance to zero to disable it.
Then use the Tolerance to control how far you are comfortable with allowing the chain of arcs to pull away from your NURBS curves.
The dots on the preview will show you the arc converting will replace your NURBS curve.
The problem is if you don’t convert to arcs first, Rhino NURBS curves will be approximated with short, straight line segments that approximate the smooth NURBS curve.
You’ll need to convert your Degree=3 (and higher), curves in Rhino before exporting them as DXF/DWG.
Then when you Export to DXF, use the “CAM Imperial” export scheme for inches and “CAM Metric” for millimeters. Both of these export simple geometry as lines and circles.
Always check your DXF file by opening it in Rhino before you send it for cutting to make sure it looks good.
Another option is to export using the IGES file format. Nearly all CAM applications support curves through IGES. Choose an appropriate IGES export option configuration for your CAM application.
G-Code supports three movements, a line between two coordinates, a clockwise arc, and an anti-clockwise arc.
If you use DXF, you will need to do the extra work in Rhino so only lines and arcs are exported.
The CAM Imperial and CAM Metric DWG/DXF export schemes have the export settings fixed.
However, before you save it out, you need to convert the curvy line (not lines, circles, and arcs, but everything else), to chains of arc segments.
Use the Convert command to make arcs.
Set the Angle tolerance to zero to disable it.
Then use the Tolerance to control how far you are comfortable with allowing the chain of arcs to pull away from your NURBS curves.
The dots on the preview will show you the arc converting will replace your NURBS curve.
The problem is if you don’t convert to arcs first, Rhino NURBS curves will be approximated with short, straight line segments that approximate the smooth NURBS curve.
You’ll need to convert your Degree=3 (and higher), curves in Rhino before exporting them as DXF/DWG.
Then when you Export to DXF, use the “CAM Imperial” export scheme for inches and “CAM Metric” for millimeters. Both of these export simple geometry as lines and circles.
Always check your DXF file by opening it in Rhino before you send it for cutting to make sure it looks good.
Another option is to export using the IGES file format. Nearly all CAM applications support curves through IGES. Choose an appropriate IGES export option configuration for your CAM application.
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