In tests, we have found that our CAD to CAM software does this better than AutoCAD. Specify a precision value or press Enter to end the command.

In AutoCAD 2012 you can now convert a spline to a polyline using ‘SPLINEDIT’. You will need to convert splines and ellipses into arcs before you can join them up into a polyline. CNC machines like polylines – which can only include line and arc segments.

You may need to play with the tolerance a bit until you get the results you are looking for.ĬNC machines don’t like compound curves such as ellipses and splines. I have found that it is better to run each option of the overkill command individually for the best results.

Lines, partially overlapping, but drawn at the same angle are combined into a single line.

Arcs drawn over portions of circles are deleted.

Duplicate copies of objects are deleted.

The ‘Overkill’ command removes redundant geometry in the following way. ‘OVERKILL’ was an AutoCAD express tool that has now been included in the main product. This can cause them to go back and forward over the same area needlessly. (click on the images for a larger view) OverkillĬNC machines don’t like overlapping geometry. For splines click in the ‘Fit Points’ cell and use the forward and backward arrows to step through each fit point, making sure that the Fit point Z is set to 0 (Zero). For 2D polylines make sure that the elevation is set to 0 (Zero). Select each entity you are having a problem with, and check out its properties.įor lines, check that the Z value of the start and finish points is set to 0 (Zero). Type ‘PROPERTIES’ at the command line to open the properties palette. If you are using AutoCAD LT, you can use the properties palette as a detective tool to help you see what’s going on. ‘Flatten’ is an AutoCAD express tool, so it isn’t available to AutoCAD LT users. You can use the ‘FLATTEN’ command to set all the Z coordinate values to ‘0’. Geometry that does not have a Z coordinate of Zero, when it really should do, can massively confuse the CAD to CAM process. Copying the relevant geometry to the correct layer is a simple as point and click. To make this easy, use the ‘COPYTOLAYER’ command. Create a Layer in your DWG file for CNC paths and copy the relevant geometry onto it. Place your geometry on a ‘CNC’ layerīe nice to your CNC programmer. Here are a few AutoCAD tips, tricks and tools that you can use to clean up the 2D geometry in your DWG files ready to bring into your favourite CAM programming software. From CAD to CAM – do you work with a CNC programmer? or maybe you are a CNC programmer!

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