Greetings,
I’m just getting setup and am learning to use Inkscape to generate GCode to import to ground control. During a test file, I set my work area as 48x96, made a design, then used the process used in another post to export an executable file for ground control. In doing so, it appears I generated a reference point to start from. When I open it in ground control, the file is scaled to start from the center point, and I only get a cut area of 1/4 of the sheet. Any ideas? Maybe these photos will help explain my issue.
Absolutely, fortunately there is a button in Ground Control which will let you move that “home” position anywhere you would like. To move the home position use the arrow buttons to move the machine to the home location you would like to use and then press the “Define Home” button over on the right hand side:
That should move your design to the target position.
How big is it supposed to be? Are you using mm or inches in inkscape and are you using mm or inches in ground control?
In inkscape, when you make your orientation points, there are 2 sets of numbers with arrows:
(kind of a poor picture)
The arrow on the left is your basis origin that is drawn at the home position when you open the gcode in the ground control software. the size of your page in inkscape makes no difference. it is really a matter of where you place that orientation point. If you move those numbers (always together, not individually) you can change where the drawing is located with respect to the home position that is defined on the Maslow.
If the issue is scaling, verify your units.
Ah, thanks for this. I posted something similar, just more wordy on another post.
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Thanks all, I’m using inches in Inkscape. I had a suspicion it was something to do with the orientation point in the bottom, just not sure what to do or how to do it. I’ll keep monkeying with it. Thanks!!!
so you can move the sled anywhere and hit ‘make this home’ and that will become
0,0 for the cut.
it’s best if you change you CAD so that 0,0 is at the center, but if you make it
in a corner, just move the sled there and define it as home before you start the
cut.
David Lang
To answer a previous question, I was trying to cut the design over the entire 4x8 sheet. I centered the orientation point and now that problem is solved.
I’m still running into the size issue. I’m trying to cut shapes only in the top left side of a 4x8 sheet. When I use the tool library and orientation point functions, I notice those text containers are now very large compared to previous files I was working on. I’ve switched between inches and mm in the document properties with the correct dimensions for both. After I run the path to GCODE, the entire image is covered with blue goo, so something somewhere is messed up with units, I’m really at a loss of where it may be happening though. I swear I’m not an idiot, but I must be missing something easy that’s not very intuitive to a new user.
I’ve seen inkscape do some non-intuitive things, so I can empathize with your experience. Your design size (0-1200 mm) is about 4 feet, so that is reasonable in size. Your orientation points are GIANT, so something still isn’t right. What size cutter are you using? What stroke size did you specify in inkscape? All the arrows are generated after you generate the gcode. If you decide to generate gcode more than once, you need to delete the older path set shown by arrows. I’m curious about this. If you would like to send your file, I’ll take a look at it in inkscape. Please PM me.
that looks like you have a ton of tiny circle segments that GC is seeing the
start and end of the segment as being the same, so it interprets it as a full
circle when you intended a super tiny arc segment.
on the cad side, you need to make it so it cuts larger arc segments
can you post the resulting g-code? what are you using for your CAM?
David Lang
I think what we are seeing is a very very very tiny shape the red and green circles indicate where the bit will move up and down so I think this is just a scaling issue