I put out version 0.3.0 of PureCutCNC today. It’s a free 2.5D CAD/CAM app —
draw or import your part, set up the operations, look at the toolpath, export
the G-code. Runs in the browser, and there are desktop builds for Windows, Mac
and Linux.
Most of this release went into how the tool actually moves:
Helix and ramp entries, so it doesn’t just plunge straight down
Trochoidal cutting for edge routing and slots
Corner relief (dogbone / T-bone) so square corners fit
Helical boring for holes bigger than your bit
Smooth tabs that ramp over instead of stepping up
There’s also a fix for arcs that some GRBL and FluidNC controllers were
rejecting mid-job. That one came from someone here reporting it, and the export
is now checked against GRBL’s own parser so it shouldn’t come back.
Free and open source. No account, nothing to sign up for.
Happy to answer anything. If you try it and it does something daft, tell me —
that’s genuinely how most of this release got found.
countersinking holes. currently if you create a second drilling operation with a different bit for the same hole you cannot set the drilling depth. it gets it from the model
chamfering edges with a chamfer bit. you can create the offset geometry by hand and engrave on it but it will be nice to have an automatic of programming chamfering
I also have another question. If I need to make multiple parts, I usually setup the cut for one to make sure that everything is working. What should be my workflow when I need to cut 5 or 10? I can copy the part itself but then I need to update all the cutting operations to include new shapes.
Thanks for the suggestions. I actually have an issue sitting in the backlog to address countersink and chamfer. I am pulling countersink into current iteration. I want to leave chamfer out of it for now since I would like to make that a new operation that can be applied to the pockets and edge cuts too, not just holes.
Regarding the multiple parts question - I was thinking about adding some kind of nesting (it is in the backlog somewhere). for now as you said - you need to copy thee initial part and add shapes into the operations. one thing that can help you - since the copies of a shape are just instances, you can select them all from the context menu, and then “use current selection” on the operation to include them. I am thinking to add an option on the copy command to automatically add copied instance into the same operations the original was added. that would make this much simpler.
