I see that MakerCam is no longer an option for generating g-code? I have read through pages and pages of this forum and found possible solutions, some won’t work on the Mac. I have looked at Estlcam or CamBam, but neither on of these will run on a Mac. Kiri:Moto is overkill for what I need to cut and I don’t think I can save a file type that will I’d be able to import.
I am on the Mac platform, use Adobe Illustrator to create my drawings. I can export my designs as an SVG, DXF. The pieces I’m cutting are very basic shapes cut out of half-inch plywood/MDF, I don’t need a really sophisticated program. Does anyone have a recommendation?
As an adobe user, inkscape will likely be not as polished, but it can be used to open SVG’s or even create them and generage gcode. It will get the job done and I’m pretty sure you can run it on a mac. You can also use Blender if you want, though I haven’t taken the time to learn how to use it. I use inkscape because it was close enough to corel draw that I use for laser cutting.
Mac user here. My primary workflow is gimp and/or Inkscape to get target image. Depending on source material (I am not very artistic and generally start with an existing jpg/png or svg), I then either import (svg ) or trace (jpg/png) into Easel (easel.inventables.com). Easel’s free tier has everything I have needs to generate gcode for my Maslow. Runs in a browser so it’s device agnostic like makercam. It’s preview and simulate have been great for getting exactly what I want.
Mac user here also. I was in the same boat, and while it seems overkill I did end up settling on Fusion360 (free!). I found great info in this thread: Fusion 360 getting started and tips
You can still use makercam, you just need to download it to your computer - the most recent version is available on github here and you can run it in flash projector.
That’s the mac version of flash projector, the linux version is here, and the windows version is here.
MakerCam runs on flash. Chrome no longer supports flash but Mozilla Firefox does. As far as I know, you’ll be able to run MakerCam for the foreseeable future. Hope this helps
You can export SVG from Kiri for simple cuts if GCode is too much. Just switch to “laser” mode and specify a single layer cut. Laser mode also outputs GCode, but doesn’t have as many controls as CAM mode.
For simple cutouts in CAM mode, enable only waterline finishing and disable everything else (except maybe for tab cutouts).
Hey Kurtp, I’m new to the Maslow game (just built it last weekend!), but I’ve been CNCing on macOS for a few years. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but can you reference your reasoning for MakerCam no longer being an option?
I successfully use MakerCam in an offline mode by launching it’s “.swf” file inside of the Flash Player 18 native app on my macOS Catalina workstation. It doesn’t use the internet.
Is there a reason I won’t be able to continue doing that going forward?
(note this isn’t the machine I use to do my CAD work; it’s just the CAM machine hooked up to the actual cutter)
