NC Preparation

The "NC Preparation" (NCP) command automates the creation of contours and the detailing of drawings as much as possible. The command is useful for those who make drawings of parts from flat materials (chipboard, MDF, plywood, steel sheets) and prepare them for CNC or manual manufacturing. For example, furniture makers, woodworkers and exhibitors. Create a model from 3D-solids, and lay out the parts in the XY plane. Further, the program will recognize the geometry of the parts and create flat contours for milling, sawing, drilling. The resulting contours will be prepared according to the rules of popular CAM programs, polyline layers will contain information about processing parameters. You can also create a viewport with all the details on the layout and call this command to label and dimension.

Features of the program

• • The NCP command can be called both in model space and on layout sheets with viewports. The number of parts in one viewport is not limited - all will be processed for 1 click.

  • Itself searches for details (3D Solid) which are visible through the viewport.

  • Makes flat contours of the part, pockets, dadoes, holes, sawing lines, edge lines of 5-axis machining surfaces with the "Outside Loop" command. The contours will be optimized and spread across layers.

  • Separately recognized through and blind processing; inclined end processing.

  • Expands contours for dadoes to the width of the cutter to the outside of the part.

  • Make the cutter outputs beyond the side of the part for complete cutting of the dadoes.

  • Handles the corners of the contours with the Inside Corner or Fillet Polyline command.

  • Calculates the depths of milling dadoes, the angles of inclination of the ends and writes them into the layer name.

  • Specifies the direction, diameter, and depth of the holes in the drill layer name.

  • On closed contours, you can put down the entry point of the cutter in the part - an additional node polyline in the middle of the longest liner segment.

  • The program can find the dadoes and edges suitable for sawing with a circular saw in 1 or 2 passes and create saw lines in the center of the blade of a given thickness.

  • The program can create a Pseudo-3D image from lines and circles, unfolded in space using the pseudo-3D Thickness property.

  • Can replace the contours of non-vertical drilling with special blocks.

  • After creating the contours of the part, the program can call the Dimensions for Detailing (DimDet) command, which will create all the necessary annotations: dimensions and leaders.

  • The height of a MTexts in the model space found will be corrected (see the command TextHeightUpdate)

  • The program has flexible settings, all features can be disabled.

  • Tolerances and accuracy of calculations can be adjusted.

  • The names of all layers are customizable. They can record any part parameters and even processing parameters saved in the material properties of the parts.

  • Already configured 9 CNC-styles for different naming layers, different modes and machines.

    • Milling

    • Milling Through/Inside

    • Milling Inlay

    • Milling Biesse BSolid CNI

    • Milling BiesseWorks TCH

    • Milling Homag WoodWOP (German or English layer names)

    • Milling Thermwood

    • Laser

  • You can use layers, styles, and mark-blocks from a template file.

  • The default settings automatically adapt to inch or millimeter drawings

Read about downloading and installing the program here.

To run the plugin, you will have to register account and top up your account balance or receiving bonuses.

Then you can activate one of the licenses:

• • Annual license - 20 EUR.

  • Unlimited license - 100 EUR. Free updates for 1 year.

  • The trial period is 20 days.

All functions of creating contours and annotations can also be used in the DXF Export  command.

• Use a drawing file with the hole mark blocks you want, the layers you want, and the dimension styles you want. If the program does not find it, then it will try to load all these objects from the template file.

• Call the configuration dialog with the AvcOptions command. On the "NC-Preparation" tab, check the cutter diameter, tolerance and all program settings. Check the required NCP command options. Delete the layer name templates if you don't need such contours.

• Customize the Dimensions for Detailing command as well if you need dimensions and multileaders:

  • Set the current dimension style (_DimStyle). Pay attention to the accuracy of displaying linear and angular dimensions.

  • Set the current text style and height of the texts (_Style and _TextSize). The height of the texts should correspond to the paper space, not the model.

• Lay out the solid parts in the XY plane. It's best to use the LAY command

• If you want to create dimensions in paper space, then set up the layout and the viewport on it so that one or more solids are visible. If several solids are visible, then leave enough space between them for dimensions.

• Select solids in the model or viewport on the sheet and call the NCP command. If nothing is selected, then the command will ask you to select parts. At this point, options will appear on the command line to switch the style and open the settings dialog.

• On a sheet, the command works with only one viewport. If there are several of them on one sheet, then there will be a request to select a viewport.

• The command maximizes the viewport on the screen and locks its scale.

• Milling depths and hole diameters in layer names will be rounded within the specified tolerance and formatted with the specified template or substitution format.

• Further, if the "Dimensions for NCP" option is enabled, then the "Dimensions for Detailing" command will be called and it will create all the necessary dimensions and leaders in accordance with its settings. 

• If the command is called from the model tab (not from the model visible through the viewport), then all annotations will be written to the model.

• After doing all the work, the command will write to the command line how many solids have been processed.

• The original solids will be removed. If you need to set dimensions, but you need to save solids, then you do not call the NCP command, but the "Dimensions for Detailing" (DimDet) command

• Adjust the position of the leaders and dimensions. The program cannot arrange them nicely.

Watch the command line - all program messages are displayed there.

Settings

You can set up the command in the A>V>C>Options Palette (AVCOptions command).

All options have a tooltip.

You can read about substitutions allowed in layer names here.

Keep in mind that if you leave an empty string in the name of any layer, then the program will not create contours of this type at all. For example, if you don't need invisible lines, then delete the layers Mill Under, Drill Under, Saw Under and Hidden. There is an exception to this rule - the Saw Dado and Saw Under layers. If they are deleted, then the contours of the dadoes will still be saved in the "Mill Impassable" or "Mill Under" layer.

There are many settings and for your convenience, you can use ready-made sets of settings - CNC styles. You can create up to 9 styles. The program has already pre-configured many styles for different machines: Milling cutters and lasers, Biesse, Homag, Thermwood. You can switch the current style in the header of the settings window. And during the work of the command, you can call the SwitchStyle option and select the style by its number.

Attention! The current NC style affects all contour commands. By switching the style in one command, you will work with this style in all other commands too.

The operation of the command is affected by all options from this window. A layer management and a layer template can be set on the A>V>C> tab in the Common Options section.

Known Issues

• Remember that the command is intended for obtaining contours for 2.5D-milling flat parts. It will not be able to draw drawings of complex products.

• BricsCAD .Net API can not make FlatShot from solids, so I had to create a simplified algorithm that projects the edges of solids. I can not determine the visibility of edges and create silhouettes of surfaces.

• Expansion contours only works on the edges of the part, bringing the cutter out of the part. Internal dadoes do not expand. Their contours are simply transferred to the "Mill Impassable" layer, and you have to decide what to do with them. This is not a bug, this is a feature. Unfortunately, the program takes into account only simple cases of obstruction. Be careful.

• Not all impassable contours will fall into the "Mill Impassable" layer. The program easily notices impassable areas in the middle of the dadoes, but does not notice too thin ends. I do not know how to fix it yet. I hope the CAM program itself will not allow you to process an impassable contour.

• The impassability of the dadoes is determined by the ability to make the contour offset inward to the diameter of the cutter. But AutoCAD often can not make an offset. Just can not. And the contour will fall into the "Mill Impassable" layer. Check all the contours that fall into this layer - maybe some of them can still be milled with a given cutter. In BricsCAD there is no such problem, offset is done whenever it is theoretically possible.