Beginner's Help

Use this forum to ask questions about how to do things in QCAD 2.1/2.2.

Moderator: andrew

Locked
smaj100
Registered Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:02 pm

Beginner's Help

Post by smaj100 » Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:17 pm

I am fairly new to CAD, and want to work on getting all the way from cad/cam to CNC. This is purely as a hobby. I am trying to take some basic firearm pieces that I have blueprints for and want to recreate them and then cnc the pieces out.

(Before anyone starts with the legality issue- it is completly legal for an individual to do this for personal use as long as your state allows it)

I have several dxf and dwg files but when i open them in qcad it shows nothing. I am also a little confused on the basic steps, do I need to create several files and cut the pieces in stages? The original trace, then the pilot holes then the outline? I'll be using a 3 axis cnc mill with a manual roatating 4th axis. I wanted to be able to precisely move the piece from side to side with minimal chances for not getting the things lined back up.

I have been able to draw the basic shape but when i try to put in holes the gcode is only tacing the outline of the hole and i am unsure how to tell camxpert to lift and drill a hole instead of tracing right through the block.

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9019
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: Beginner's Help

Post by andrew » Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:28 pm

smaj100 wrote:I have several dxf and dwg files but when i open them in qcad it shows nothing.
There are several entity types in DXF / DWG files that are not supported in QCAD (note that QCAD 2 only supports the DXF format). These are mostly 3d entities which make no sense to render in QCAD (2d).
smaj100 wrote:I am also a little confused on the basic steps, do I need to create several files and cut the pieces in stages? The original trace, then the pilot holes then the outline? I'll be using a 3 axis cnc mill with a manual roatating 4th axis. I wanted to be able to precisely move the piece from side to side with minimal chances for not getting the things lined back up.
Manufacturing steps depend largely on your particular use case and machine.
smaj100 wrote:I have been able to draw the basic shape but when i try to put in holes the gcode is only tacing the outline of the hole and i am unsure how to tell camxpert to lift and drill a hole instead of tracing right through the block.
For holes, you might want to create points instead of circles for the purpose of manufacturing. Again, this depends largely on your machine, the language it understands, etc.

smaj100
Registered Member
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 08, 2011 7:02 pm

Thanks for the update.

Post by smaj100 » Tue Jul 12, 2011 2:34 pm

I was able to find a step by step sorta guide for CAMBAM, which has allowed me to start adding profiles and drill points into my qcad file. I think your first answer was the problem as the dxf files I was trying to open are 3d renderings.

Thanks,
Lee

Locked

Return to “QCAD 2.1/2.2 'How Do I' Questions”