[question] - FreeCAD and Xcarve machine

[nemesis]

Hi all,
I recently became a member of a local fablab,and I'm making so FreeCAD enrollment there
for the design topic and the 3D printing topics I'm quite skilled, so it's easy for me to proove the benefits of FreeCAD versus soft like tinkercad or SW cracked (as lots of people do use it cracked for hobby)

We recently add a Xcarve (from inventables) to the shop.
It sounds like the machine is drived by GRBL.
today we use Easel as this is the default software, but honestly I already see the limitation of this software for those who wants "accurate" stuff.

So now here comes my 2 questions :
First one, does somebody has already used freeCAD to generate gcode for a Xcarve? if yes, what feedback can you give?

Second question(s) is more linux / CNC / FreeCAD workflow related.

let's assume a design something in FreeCAD, and generate a gcode file.
using UGS (assuming it recognize the Xcarve) I can send it directly to the machine?
I assume there are some starting Gcode or End gcode to adjust as for a 3D printer? no?

I watch lot of sliptonic videos, but anyway I still have the felling to miss something in the workflow.

So any information welcome

[nemesis]

So I found that UGS definitely work with xcarve as this is the method from inventables to work offline.

https://inventables.desk.com/customer/e ... ?b_id=9566

so basically I guess I just need to to set my start point in the corner of my stock as it is done in easel.(of course be sure of the stock orientation)
align th bit to this point with ugs
and push start....

[nemesis]

so basically I guess I just need to to set my start point in the corner of my stock as it is done in easel.(of course be sure of the stock orientation)
align th bit to this point with ugs
and push start....

So or the record, and the newbies in CNC like me.
it works like that

[mlampert]

awesome - thanks for reporting back!

[m0n5t3r]

I don't have an Xcarve, but I do have a machine driven by GRBL; I use cnc.js on an orange pi zero to control the thing and send gcode, the freecad GRBL postprocessor works fine with it

as for generating the gcode, since you watched sliptonic's videos already, just click random things until it works (and use camotics or the builtin simulation to catch mistakes before having the xcarve gouge your work piece, then run the job with the Z zeroed well above the stock so you catch even more mistakes...)