RCAD by me

[Robin Hewitt]

Not commercially available but after typing in nearly 4000 lines of C# I thought I might crow a bit

My program theme is "Instant gratification" on a flat learning curve. I do all the hard work in the AutoCAD drawing. By keeping it simple, someone else can open my .dxf file and cuts appear on the screen in the blink of the eye. There in no G-Code or any other kind of confusing code, it identifies and talks to either of my mills directly.

I use a .txt file to define the various machine and tool settings. See the pic. If I tell it "Cut outlines" it doesn't cut pockets. If I tell it "finish blue pockets" it will only trim pockets drawn in blue. The ultra simple tool path algorythm is not fast but it seems robust and caters for any dxf/txt file combination.

Best of all, I can use a USB2.0->Serial adaptor on a Windows 7 laptop. No more antique computers with paralel ports left in a cold dusty workshop for me. 'tis a liberation :dance: