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Forum Index : Other Stuff : Laser cutting software - free?
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| domwild Guru  Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Hi, Am building Glenn's non-laser cutting mill and need the laser-cut hub. Found the WA based laser cutting firm (see Glenn's web page) reasonable with the price, in fact, one hub comes below the $66 min. As I am also still following ecoinnovations idea of a floating hub I would like more stuff cut. I also find as I cannot drill holes greater than 16mm I still need access to a laser cutter. As I do not have a CAD package is there a stand-alone free lasercutting SW available? Should produce DFX files, I believe they are the ones Glenn uses for the Smartdrive hub zipped file. Am getting too many hits on Google, this is why I am contacting this forum. I am only interested in simple shapes, like the washer to stop a hinged tower from sliding off and need to change Glenn's design of the hub to accomodate the floating hub, which is a 49 mm dia. pipe to hold two 42 mm OD 6205 bearings. Help! Thanks. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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Gizmo Admin Group  Joined: 05/06/2004 Location: AustraliaPosts: 5078 |
A9Cad is a nice freeby. http://www.a9tech.com/ Couple of tips for lasercutting, to keep the price down and the operator happy. Pierces cost money, it can take several seconds to pierce the hole on thicker plate. Try to pierces to the minium. You'll notice on some of the parts I've drawn the holes blend in with the outsite shape, its to save on pierces. Keeps holes wider than the material thickness. Dont try to lasercut a 8mm hole in 12mm plate, it will blow out. Dont send aluminium to a lasercutter, it will cost you a lot more to cut than steel. Aluminium reflects like 90% of the beam energy. Waterjet cutter, its the other way round, they cut aluminum easily but steel is slow. Dont go in with a scrap bit of paper roughly cut out to the shape you want, or even a part and say you want something cut out to fit this. CAD operators hate that, its a lot of measuring and scanning to get it into a cad format, and will cost you more. A drawing on paper with clear measurements is much better. If the CAD operator needs to measure marks on a bit of paper, and usually phone you to confirm measurements, it will cost you. Dont take in your own rusty pitted steel plate and expect them to use it, most will refuse. Plate needs to be clean and flat, and at least 50mm bigger than the part you want cut out. You'll find they will have stock of the plate you want, at a good price. Glenn The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is right now. JAQ |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Glenn, Thanks for your long answer and tips. Where do you get the time from? How would I go about changing your DFX file of the hub to a 49 mm centre hole instead of the serrated teeth to fit the F&P spline? Having done some plotting on flatbed plotters for Woodside Petroleum I should be able to give the correct commands, I hope? Can your recommended WA laser cutter alter your file easily if I ask him or is there such a process as in programming, that he needs your source file to be altered and then he compiles it into an executable file for the machine? It is a tall order to ask you for the "source file", if there is such a thing. Besides, you are the holder of the copyright. This is just an idea as he said with one hub I am still below the $66 min and I could get a second hub done for it I suspect. Thanks. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Also Linux has a nice 2D CAD software, QCAD. The Community Edition is free, GPL and open source. Unfortunately, available as binary package only for Linux (all important Linux distros). For the Windows, you have the time limited professional version. Fortunately, a nice guy decided to compile it under Windows (thanks to the crossplatform Qt library) so now can be used also in Windows. Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Thanks, Glenn and Vasi. Used A9CAD and it is OK for simple shapes. Could not get the fillet option to work, but who is complaining if it is free? Might just try QCAD and see how i go. Vasi: Just saw a Romanian film on SBS in Western Australia, something like "Legenda di tempo aur" or "Legend of the golden time" under communism. Great film; makes fun of life under the regime. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Hi @domwild, Good to hear you liked and for anyone, here is the web site. Great movie, terrible times. Now we can laugh too. Problem is, we have the same secret police with the same "respect" for their own people, they have bad sequels... and corruption everywhere. But.. I think that the people is trained and genetically selected to endure more than that :( . Vasi Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
"A9Cad is a nice freeby. http://www.a9tech.com/ " Glenn, I've downloaded it. Is there a tutorial or help section anywhere to give me a kickstart with using it? Klaus |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Hi Tinker, Here is something, not viewed yet... http://www.key2study.com/A9CAD_help.pdf Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| vasi Guru Joined: 23/03/2007 Location: RomaniaPosts: 1697 |
Here is the documentation for the free version of QCAD: 2011-07-15_054632_qcad-free.zip Hobbit name: Togo Toadfoot of Frogmorton Elvish name: Mablung Miriel Beyound Arduino Lang |
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| domwild Guru Joined: 16/12/2005 Location: AustraliaPosts: 873 |
Thanks for help. A9CAD's pdf files are just copies of the HELP menus, so unfortunately not too helpful. Looks like 10 pages. Downloaded QCAD and printed 129 pages of help. It appears to be a more mature effort than A9CAD. My fillet query to A9CAD did not get an answer although the webpage encourages bug reports. Not to worry, it is free and, by the looks of it, still under development. I'll try QCAD and see how I go. Taxation as a means of achieving prosperity is like a man standing inside a bucket trying to lift himself up. Winston Churchill |
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| Tinker Guru Joined: 07/11/2007 Location: AustraliaPosts: 1904 |
Thanks Vasi, that should get me off the start line. Klaus |
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