> And something that would be better done, and with fewer mistakes, with > a filter program of some sort. If I have to write it, well, my C is a > little > rusty but I think I could come up with something that works eventually.
This is basically what my emcprobe program did in EMC1: You told it a region specified as a range in XY, a safe Z, and resolution in an .ini file You then put a probe tip on to match what ever profile you wanted to machine with. The utility then ran by directly talking to EMC through NML and scanned the surface. It's output was a gcode file that you could then play back into EMC to machine the surface. The utility could handle multiple region definitions. For example you could scan one area at a fine resolution, and another area at a course resolution. Another tip. I would use modeling clay to build up smooth approaches to the edge of the model. I would then probe a square XY region slightly larger than the model. I wouldn't bother trying to scan along curves in the XY plane, since ultimately I would be machining with a ball mill and would end up with a scalloped surface. You kind of want the scallops at a regular interval. Makes it easy to final finish with a file. This is pretty much how the professional CAM programs do it. FYI, It took several hours to probe a 4"x5" surface even at .1 grid resolution. Because of this it is important to make sure the probe does'nt bind and the wires to the probe are carefuly mounted out of the way, etc.. I'd like to get this utility working with EMC2. However I can't afford the risk of upgrading my machine to EMC2 right now (too many active projects in the pipeline). ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This SF.net email is sponsored by DB2 Express Download DB2 Express C - the FREE version of DB2 express and take control of your XML. No limits. Just data. Click to get it now. http://sourceforge.net/powerbar/db2/ _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
