gcode import to PRC

[sledzionac]

Hi everyone,

We finally got approval to purchase the full version of PRC from our school as we have developed a clay extruder for 6 axis printing. While we have been generating our own toolpaths through grasshopper, we were curious if anyone has been using Slic3r or any other standard 3D printing gcode generator to create toolpaths for the robotic arm to interpret. We were very interested once we saw "gcode import for 3d printing" in the list of commands, but weren't sure how to use it. From my understanding you need to have a custom post-processor written to generate gcode that will be compatible with this feature. Does anyone have any resources or know where to find a post processor that's already been written? I understand that MasterCAM has already done this, but we don't have access to this. While we do have access to Fusion, it was giving me errors when trying to convert gcode for 3d printing.

Thank you in advance for any help or insights you can offer.

[Johannes @ Robots in Architecture]

Hello,

The problem with G-code is that it's not universal, even if there are standard for it.
We initially developed the G-code import for SprutCAM and then added a specific import function for Fusion 360. The latter needs a custom postprocessor, which you can get by right-clicking the Fusion component.
The G-code for 3D printing was tested with Autodesk NetFabb, though it should also work with other software.
I've attached an example. A core aspect is how you want to drive your extruder. There are three options for the Extrusion Mode input..
If you enter E1, E2, etc. the extruder value from the G-code will be mapped to an external axis.
If you enter D1, D2, the code will toggle a digital output whether the extruder is on or off. You lose the speed information.
If you enter another string, it will map the value to a variable, which on the robot needs to be defined in the $config.dat. You could then e.g. scale that value and map it to an analogue output or something like that.

Best,
Johannes