Open source 3D printing development custom Gcode generator

Technology netizen Create Inc has developed an open source3D printingThe G code generator allows users to create custom G codes without the need for 3D models.Inspired by the FullControl GCODE designer developed by Dr. Andrew Gleadall of Loughborough University, Create Inc’sBrowserThe version has been implemented as a website, making it an easier option.ShouldsoftwareUltimately, it enables users to control every aspect of the tool path constructed by FFF line by line, paving the way for previously impossible geometric shapes, such as unsupported string structures and highly customizable grids.

Create Inc explained, “A typical3D printingThe pipeline has four steps. You or someone else creates a model for you, exports it and loads it into the slicer (1). Then, the slicer will generate G code for you (2). You send this G code to the printer of your choice (3), and the part is printed out (4). My goal is to get rid of the first two steps and directly generate G code. This is not a method suitable for all types of printing, but it is definitely a method that opens up new ways for us. “

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A custom multi-material Christmas tree model designed using Create Inc’s G code generator. Image source: Create Inc

What is a G code?

To understand the novelty of Create Inc’s G-code generator, one must understand what G-code is. G code is not necessarily specifically for3D printingThing (because it is also used for CNC machining operations), but it can be thought of as “3D printingMachine language”. It is a programming language used to draw the path of the tool head of the system during the construction process and determine when the nozzle moves, stops and extrudes.

The vast majority of any G-code file usually consists of two main commands. G0 and G1. The former is a very simple function that tells the printer to move without extruding any filament, while the latter prints a straight line according to the XYZ coordinates defined in its parameter list. Some other parameters related to these commands include movement speed, material flow rate, cooling rate, and so on.

The power of fully customizable G-code

Although the traditional three-dimensionalCADThe combination of software and slicing software is usually sufficient to design most types of geometric shapes, but it still does not allow us to fully control the printer’s movement.For example, use something likeSOLIDWORKSIt’s almost impossible for programs like Cura3D printingPine tree-like thorn-like structure, complex network structure with complete sets of interlocking “strings”, or non-planar tool paths that mimic mathematical functions such as sine waves.

For each of these parts, a customized line-by-line G-code is required, but commercial slicers and engineering design programs simply do not have this function. Create Inc’s online G-code generator took him about two weeks to develop, enabling users to programmatically string together G0 and G1 combinations. The site also has a graphical tool path viewer that displays all the individual commands added, allowing users to design geometric shapes that would otherwise be tedious or completely impossible.

Open source3D printingThe community is an innovative petri dish, providing new types of hardware and software that have not been seen before. Just this month,3D printingContent creator Teaching Tech
3D printingHe also showed his own open source version of rare antique fractal vise. Unlike the standard straight vise that usually only clamps straight objects, this 100-year-old fractal design can deform and clamp almost any part, no matter how complex the geometry is.

Elsewhere, an MIT student named Lucas VRTech previously designed and3D printingA pair of low-cost finger tracking gloves for virtual reality. The open source glove named LucidVR gives users the ability to accurately track their fingers without using a dedicated VR controller.

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