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Problems and errors
- Drawing gaps:
- Small gaps are a quite common problem for files created by "drawing programs" and downloads from the internet...
- If it happens with "real" CAD programs make sure the program automatically snaps to endpoints while drawing.
Almost any CAD software is able to do this but you may need to activate it first...
- Estlcam tolerates gaps up to about 0.5mm - if larger the automatic shape recognition will fail.
If this happens just zoom in and have a look for gaps...
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You could now either correct the drawing - or just create the toolpath point by point which is usually
much faster...
- Conclusion: annoying and time consuming but no major problem...
- Loops and overlaps:
- This should have been a rectangular cutout - but the right, top corner is totally messed up...
- The reason for this is a drawing error in this corner:
As soon as you zoom in you'll see that this is no corner at all but 2 intersecting lines.
This causes a loop and inevitably throws the toolpath to the other side of the shape...
- Estlcam will try to recognize and correct things like this - but sometimes just fails...
- Causes, troubleshooting and solutions are the same as for gaps.
However loops are much more troublesome - especially if you don't notice wrong toolpaths in time...
- Double lines:
- Exact duplicates will automatically be detected and deleted.
Trouble starts as soon as 2 lines of different length are superimposed upon each other or lines are just "almost" identical...
- If this happens the automatic shape recognition often fails even though the drawing seems clear and without gaps.
Even worse: it may cause small, almost undetectable loops causing totally messed up toolpaths...
- This problem can be downright treacherous and hard to detect and solve.
You can try to delete some lines using a CAD program and see if there are other lines beneath...
- A few 3D CAD programs are prone to do this when deriving a drawing from a 3d model...
- Aliasing:
- If you zoom in and your drawing consists of a lot of small 90 and 45° "steps" it has most likely been created
by a (not so brilliant) bitmap to vector converter...
- While this is already a challenge of its own for the tool radius compensation this kind of error is rarely alone:
usually the file will also contain a lot of gaps and overlaps...
- While it is still possible to create some more or less precise toolpaths in (point by point mode)
it would usually be the best idea to redraw everything from scratch with a proper CAD program...
- "Line graves":
- Some converter tools have the habit to create polylines with tens of thousands of line segments.
A typical sign are large file sizes even though the drawing itself is rather simple.
This leads to long calculation delays and makes Estlcam generally slow.
If you use a converter have a look if you can set its precision and don't overdo it...
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