A while ago, I created a very detailed PDF tutorial on how to use cad.py to cut a Hello World circuit on the Modela mill. I thought some people may find it useful, but did not have a good place to post it until now. Here is an example page:
The enitre tutorial can be download from here: Modela_cadpy_circuit_making_tutorial
Please comment with corrections, suggestions, etc.
Window size, editor width, height – control how CAD.PY software interface is displayed on screen.
x min and y min – define distance from bottom left corner of machine plate to the bottom left corner of part.
x width and y height – defines the size of the part
zmin, zmax, nz – used to define depth of cut (zmin), height of clearance moves (zmax), and number of cuts (nz).
Intensity min and intensity max – used to adjust thresholds for grayscale conversion. Valid range is 1 to 255 (black = 1 and white = 255)
Inches per unit – used to allow for other unit of measurement (e.g. mm). Should be 1.0 for inches.
invert image – used to invert image (make negative). Black becomes white and white becomes black.
input – source file. Either *.cad format (text programs written for cad.py – e.g. alien.cad) or *.jpg (jpeg bitmap graphics)
render – displays results of above setting. Be sure to re-apply if you make changes.
cam – open options relative to different equipment (modela, laser, roland, etc.)
maximum vector fit error – should be 0.75
tool diameter – size of tool you are using (1/64 = 0.015625”, 1/32 = 0.03125”, 1/16 = 0.0625”, 1/8 = 0.125”)
tool overlap – how much to overlap between tool cut passes. Typically 0.5 for half the diameter of the tool.
# contours – how many contours around geometry. Typically 1 for an outline or -1 to make all passes need to remove material around profile.
xy speed, and z speed – defines cutting speed. Differs depending upon material, depth of cut, diameter of tool, etc
x and y – used to immediately move machine to a location on the table. Typically used to manually set tool height.
send to machine – send the program to the machine so it cuts the part. Once it is sent you can’t do anything else with CAD.PY or the Modela until it is done.
