how can the program distribute copies of the workpiece?

[memfis]

As my dad used to say, it's my fault that he was greyish, only from the village (don't take it seriously, he was making an ss-20 rocket, among other things).

But please explain with simple examples, how -

1. Here I made a set of tracks for the part, but the parts are given "a lot" on one large sheet of blank. How can I make several copies and spread them over the workpiece?
2. here I made a part to be made from both sides. Therefore, we turn the workpiece upside down. How do the tools of the program reflect the set of ways?

Now, using Linuxcnc, I make copies of the parts, repeating the code after the offset (with my hands I write and watch how it is framed on the blank) G10 L2 P0 R90 X[#<_dx1> + #2] Y[#<_dy1> + #3].
And I do the reflection on the axes separately, through the execution in the console -
grecode -xflip cut -o otrez

and then I put it all together with my hands, which takes quite a while.

[chrisb]

Have a look at Path Array.

[memfis]

I'm familiar with this tool. But it's not the right tool. This option performs a flat movement of the track copy with the possibility of rotation in the same plane, i.e. it performs that function G10 L2 P0 R90 X[#<_odx1> + #2] Y[#<_ody1> + #3].

And you need a more complex option of reflection relative to the X or U axis. And then help in placing copies on a large workpiece with the most efficient use of it (cutting).

Here I have to additionally define material boundaries in the code and manually select offsets while preparing the program.

[herbk]

That's what we call a "nesting tool" (here, local)... A tool which places equal or different parts space optimized to a sheet of material.

Would be a nice to have.

[RatonLaveur]

Draft has a nesting tool. Perhaps it can be integrated in path.

Actually even Sliptonic i think made a video tutorial on this.

[m0n5t3r]

Arch also has a nesting tool under the panel operations; it still doesn't work

The way I did it on the last thing with many identical pieces was to set the stock size manually, set the number of copies in the job settings, then do the tetris by hand (move / rotate to best fill the available space, minding the cutter size):

Screenshot from 2020-01-12 22-19-07.png (152.06 KiB) Viewed 814 times

this also allowed me to, for instance, have half of the gussets oriented at 90 degrees to the other half, so 1) any slight machine misalignment / backlash gets averaged out and 2) I don't have 2 layers with the same grain orientation in the middle (they're supposed to be made by sticking together 2 pieces); an automated nester won't be able to do this (I remember seeing something about grain orientation in the Arch tools, though, not sure if it's being used)

[f3nix]

then do the tetris by hand (move / rotate to best fill the available space, minding the cutter size):

Hi.
Does the translate tool work for you? Or you had to use the placement dialog.

Cheers,
Mateusz

[m0n5t3r]

the placement dialog