For example if I import a DXF file it puts it somewhere random in the grid. How do I move it to where I want it to cut in the steel? For example line to of the shapes up next to each other. Bracket.DXF (22.6 KB)
If I flip the machine location it puts it in unusable area of the space.
How do I orient the machine so I am in front of it and get it to have two copies of the part in the location that the image with the paper shows?
Why does it look like the cut will be outside the area of operation for the AD but it actually traces it just fine? Is there a way to make it so that the display has grids that actually represent the usable area? It should be some sort of semi-circle not a rectangle.
I know this would cut on my table, just trying to do dry runs now to make sure it follows the shape correctly.
I did find that on the load screen I could click the “Origin” button and that would put the shape in the middle. This is better, but I would still like to be able to place it in relation to the workpiece instead of having to move the workpiece around to get the cut in the right spot.
This puts the cut here and allowed me to have it orientated so I was in front of the machine instead of behind it and still cut fully.
Glad you found the origin button!
It came in wacky to begin with because it was Drawn away from the origin in whatever cad package it was created in. So it showed up exactly where it was draw with respect to 0,0. The Origin dialog in dxf import allows you reset the origin With Respect To the Drawing.
If you want to move your part around the steel…just move the arm to where you want it and hit the “Zero” button this resets the Origin With Respect to the Cutting Area
A lot of people get confused by this difference
Cheers
AM
PS the reason it still works outside the square on the screen is because the Arc Droid cutting area is not actually a perfect square. You can actually see this by choosing “Ext. Area” in the grid settings dialog. This will show the actual limits.
@BenA Quick tip video is pending…a zillion other things on the go so It’s taking a bit.
But Basically Minor/Major is how the grid is broken down one is spacing of the small lines and the other is the multiple of those.
So if you set at minor of .100" and a Major of 10 then your smallest resolution of the grid (snap or otherwise) will be 0.100" and the slightly thicker lines will be 1" apart
That is interesting about the origin. I created the part in SolidWorks with the origin at the very center of the circles, but then I put it in a drawing and saved the DXF out from there. Not sheet format. So, there must be some difference on the sheet origin compared to the model origin. I will have to look into that.
I did figure out the origin with the arm positioned, but it is hard to tell where the part will actually cut. I guess I could put the printout where I want it then center from there. That would let me know where the outside of the part would cut.
I did accidentally loose one of my cutouts because I accidentally had it cut the outside line first. Ooops, I figured out the 1, 2 button on the interface to make it cut inside out instead of outside in. Probably would have been ok if I would have had a table to support the workpiece. But I don’t have time to design and build one.
Try saving the DXF directly from the sketch instead. When you do it via 2D drawing, it probably establishes the origin from the edge of the paper.
At least that’s what happens if you do it in Fusion
