Jump to content

Welcome to eMastercam

Register now to participate in the forums, access the download area, buy Mastercam training materials, post processors and more. This message will be removed once you have signed in.

Use your display name or email address to sign in:

Best G-Code Backplotter for larger file sizes


Guest
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hello Guys. I have a question regarding g-code backplotters. I have tried a variety of backplotters but am having a difficult time finding one that will plot files in the 50MB to 2GB+ range. That is a tall order, I know. Many text editors don't like such files either. I generally use good ole ncplot, and it is amazing for what it is but it seems to choke on files larger than about 10-20MB, which is fine for 95% of my work but there are those edge cases where I am working with massive files and I would love to be able to verify them prior to running them on the control as the majority of the tools we use are $1700+ and even a relatively minor crash can result in thousands of dollars pretty quickly.

I have a great setup in terms of RAM(256GB) and other hardware. Does anyone with experience with vericut know how it handles very large file sizes? It is probably overkill for what I am trying to do, and crashes here even without simulation are very, very rare but some of the machining cycles here might take 100-300 hours. I would sleep much better at night knowing that everything looked good prior to pressing the start button. I work in the optics industry, and I am able to do some verification by reducing the resolution of the parts I am trying to cut and simulating that surface but would prefer to simulate the actual surface if possible.

Thanks for any input you all might have.

 

Martin

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi noob, great question. However,  those files are generally only for one to three tools as is. If you saw the majority of the tool paths you would laugh. These aren't crazy jobs like I have seen many here working on with a bazillion tools and holes all over at odd angles. My hats off to you guys in that arena. 

Many of the parts I cut are very simple aspheric surfaces for optical injection molds.  Nothing particularly novel or worrying there.

I run into particular trouble when cutting certain freeform fresnel lenses on 25" plates, or other weird things like simultaneous 4 axis lathe work. Much of the software used to generate such code is developed in house, by me or others, so it would just be nice to have a code double check prior to running on the control for these sorts of parts. I can probably divide the files and plot piecemeal,  not a bad idea actually. I am just hopeful that there is a more elegant route is all :)  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Vericut should handle large file sizes, up to a point. I know I've worked on some very large files that tested it's limits. Maybe Ron can chime in on that.

I'd seriously look at both Vericut and NCSimul. Both of those should handle your large files, in all but the most extreme cases. Also, they both do material removal as well, although I don't know if that would be an advantage for you or not?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I ran several GB of code through Vericut and it was able to handle it. Yes I pushed it to place 99% of the users never do, but I was able to get it done.

NCSIMUL with it ability to make changes on the fly and the graphics ability are very good.

I have done some good size files in CAMPLETE and it did a good job of back plotting the code. Real difference is Posting and Simulation in one package.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Awesome suggestions guys. I will look into all of them. I downloaded a demo of CIMCO and it worked fine on a 50mb file. Then I got greedy and made the mistake of trying the 3d feature. Insta-lock. But the backplot function did its job :) The material removal feature could be interesting and having access to it might be more useful then I anticipate but that would definitely be icing on the cake. Some of the features I am machining are on the single digit to sub micron scale so they are typically difficult to render properly, at least that has been my experience. I'm mostly interested in issues resulting in damage to the machine or tool. And a cursory glance at the plotted profile will generally show 95% of those potential issues.

Thanks again everyone for the suggestions..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

Join us!

eMastercam - your online source for all things Mastercam.

Together, we are the strongest Mastercam community on the web with over 56,000 members, and our online store offers a wide selection of training materials for all applications and skill levels.

Follow us

×
×
  • Create New...