Taking DXF files to cut within the shopbot link

[Kenneth Rychlik]

I am wanting to take some current files that I have designed in another program and load the dxf's onto a sheet within ecabs. I have been trying to mke it work, but am having a hard time.

The reason I want to do this, is quite often it very time consuming in ecabs to just design a simple part ready to cut, but what I would like to do is take advantage of the tooling within the shopbot link. The way it is set up you don't have to assign bits and feed speeds on every single part the way you have to in my other program.

Even just making a rectangle ready to cut in ecabs is way to time consuming for me.

I am trying to get the best of both programs. Fast easy designs in the other program and fast easy cutting with the link.

Thanks for any tips you can offer.

Kenneth

[Rick Deskins]

Well, you could create display panel a litte larger than the size of your part that is in the dxf. Then take the display panel to the part editor. Once in PE, then go to contour mode. Load the dxf. Return to PE, then right click at choose Create Part Using Closed Contour. Select the closed contour and then hit next. It should be the outline of the part for you.

[Kenneth Rychlik]

Thanks Rick. I can load one into the PE. but when trying to move it onto the sheet, it crashes my pc every time. I tried to attach the dxf I was trying for an example, but the forum won't allow it. If I try to import a dxf with several parts on it it crashes before it gets loaded.

Kenneth

[Kerry Fullington]

Rick,

Recently I was helping a couple of members with problems importing .dxfs.
It seems that the curves in the dxf's are formed using multiple segments. One of the designs I looked at had over 9000 segments to import. This really puts a strain on things.
Is that the problem here?

Kerry

[Kenneth Rychlik]

I did a node edit to look at the detail and it has 53 nodes. This is not a special file that I need to cut. Just one I picked at random to try a test. There are some bezier curves in it.It has dog bone cuts on the inside corners of the slots. This is just one of the pieces of a rocking horse. It all cuts out of 1/2 sheet of ply so this part is about 18 inches tall.

Kenneth

[David Egnoski]

Kenneth,

Post the dxf and I'll give it a try. I've been doing quite a bit of work with dxf files lately and haven't had any problems.

[Kenneth Rychlik]

the forum won't allow a dxf extension.

Kenneth

[Nat Wheatley]

Copied from another post:

'To post this file, you can either ZIP the file or change the extension to .TXT'

[Kenneth Rychlik]

Thanks Nat. Learn something every day.

Kenneth

[Kenneth Rychlik]

FYI, It is just the head to this rocking horse. If anyone wants the full dxf I will pass it along free. It makes a great gift and can be taken back apart when the child outgrows it.

Kenneth

[David Egnoski]

Kenneth,

In the CAD program you are using, explode the horses head into its basic components. It's one line now. Once I did that, it worked fine in eCabs.

[Kenneth Rychlik]

Thanks David, But I don't think I have that button in my other program.

What are you using to explode it?

Kenneth

[David Egnoski]

Autocad LT is what I'm using. The Explode command "Breaks a compound object into its component objects", a series of lines and arcs. If you don't have that command, send me the entire drawing and I'll explode it for you.