Hi everyone! I’m a relatively new PocketNC user and I’ve been constantly impressed with what this little machine can do ever since I got it. I’ve had so much fun using it for the past couple of months!
As a hobbyist, however, I can’t justify (or afford) the very expensive software required to take full advantage of the machine’s simultaneous multi-axis capabilities. A few weeks ago I decided to try to create a small app for generating toolpaths myself, to see how feasible it was.
At this point, I want to share my progress and gauge the interest from other PocketNC users. Would you be interested in a small tool like this? If I work towards making it public, I will charge a one-time fee for it.
Currently, the app can
- Import and position .stl files
- Create setups and operations within them
- Generate toolpaths for a 5 axis chamfer operation (see videos)
- Export toolpaths as G-Code compatible with the PocketNC
In the future I plan to add
- A persistent tool library
- Ways to set the Zero point on stock/model
- Simple toolpath simulation
- Collision detection between tool/holder and fixtures
- More operation types (I’m particularly interested in 4th axis rotary next)
Here are 2 videos showing generation, export and simulation in the PocketNC simulator:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ4KknZfHyaX_1gubKSI-yciGBIaQ4qoS
If you are interested, please reply to this post or subscribe to my mailing list: https://app.keila.io/forms/nfrm_K36mrjRw
Best,
Gustav