Machsupport Forum
G-Code, CAD, and CAM => G-Code, CAD, and CAM discussions => Topic started by: MarkR on May 29, 2006, 03:10:04 AM
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Hi All:
I went searching the web to find a code editor (free of course...) that would allow me to change the poor habits of my drafting program (read that 'the draftor' :)).
I would like to be able to select a line of code and see that line highlighted graphically on a split screen. Specifically what I am looking for is the ablility to scroll through the g code and see what the machine will do per line. This is done in Mach 3 on the program run tab. You can scroll through the g code, but you can't edit the code (at least I have not seen how yet) as you scroll through the simulated cut. I see a change I want to make, and have to load the file into notepad, find the line of code, make the change, save it, and reload the file in Mach 3.
I have re-drawn a part that I want to cut on my 3 axis mill. It is actually a set of parts, drawn by someone else, and I imported them into my drafting program (designcad 14). I want to make sets of these parts at one time, so I copied and pasted them into one drawing, and attempted to arrange them so it would make a nice cut on the mill. Then I saved the file as a dxf file, imported it into LazyCam, and saved it as G Code. When I import the file into Mach 3 and scroll line by line through the cut, it jumps all around the drawing. I remember reading somewhere that this is due to my cad program and the order the drawing was made.
So, I need to cut and paste the code in a more organized fashion, and re-assemble the g code in a better way. That involves locating the cuts that are out of order, and re-pasting them in the code file better.
If I could simply scroll through the code (as I do in the main program run screen in Mach 3), 'see' the path (as you do in the main Mach 3 screen), and have the ability to cut and paste that code in a different place in the file, it would make it easier to 'see' what I have done.
Is there a program out there that will do this? I am just a hobbiest and some of the editors I have seen are too advanced for this simple kind of work....
Thanks for the advice! Attached is the .tap file so you can see what I am attempting to do.
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in M3 click on the edit button in the 'run' screen -
you can save out individual sections and put them together in one file if you want -
ds\\
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MarkR
try UltraEdit-32; it is a very good text editor that many computer programmers use for source code. it has an excellent search feature and numbers individual lines. you can download a trial version at http://www.ultraedit.com/index.php?name=Downloads&d_op=getit&lid=1
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www.ncplot.com
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I use this one.
It's free. ;D
http://betatechnical.com/autonc.htm