Mecode

GCode for all

Mecode is designed to simplify GCode generation. It is not a slicer, thus it can not convert CAD models to 3D printer ready code. It simply provides a convenient, human-readable layer just above GCode. If you often find yourself manually writing your own GCode, then mecode is for you.

Basic Use

To use, simply instantiate the G object and use its methods to trace your desired tool path.

from mecode import G
g = G()
g.move(10, 10)  # move 10mm in x and 10mm in y
g.arc(x=10, y=5, radius=20, direction='CCW')  # counterclockwise arc with a radius of 5
g.meander(5, 10, spacing=1)  # trace a rectangle meander with 1mm spacing between passes
g.abs_move(x=1, y=1)  # move the tool head to position (1, 1)
g.home()  # move the tool head to the origin (0, 0)

By default mecode simply prints the generated GCode to stdout. If instead you want to generate a file, you can pass a filename and turn off the printing when instantiating the G object.

g = G(outfile='path/to/file.gcode', print_lines=False)

NOTE: g.teardown() must be called after all commands are executed if you are writing to a file. This can be accomplished automatically by using G as a context manager like so:

with G(outfile='file.gcode') as g:
    g.move(10)

When the with block is exited, g.teardown() will be automatically called.

The resulting toolpath can be visualized in 3D using the mayavi or matplotlib package with the view() method:

g = G()
g.meander(10, 10, 1)
g.view()

The graphics backend can be specified when calling the view() method, e.g. g.view('matplotlib'). mayavi is the default graphics backend.

All GCode Methods

All methods have detailed docstrings and examples.

set_home()
reset_home()
feed()
dwell()
home()
move()
abs_move()
arc()
abs_arc()
rect()
meander()
clip()
triangular_wave()

Matrix Transforms

A wrapper class, GMatrix will run all move and arc commands through a 2D transformation matrix before forwarding them to G.

To use, simply instantiate a GMatrix object instead of a G object:

g = GMatrix()
g.push_matrix()      # save the current transformation matrix on the stack.
g.rotate(math.pi/2)  # rotate our transformation matrix by 90 degrees.
g.move(0, 1)         # same as moves (1,0) before the rotate.
g.pop_matrix()       # revert to the prior transformation matrix.

The transformation matrix is 2D instead of 3D to simplify arc support.

Renaming Axes

When working with a machine that has more than one Z-Axis, it is useful to use the rename_axis() function. Using this function your code can always refer to the vertical axis as 'Z', but you can dynamically rename it.

Installation

$ git clone https://github.com/jminardi/mecode.git
$ cd mecode
$ python setup.py install

Optional Dependencies

The following dependencies are optional, and are only needed for visualization. An easy way to install them is to use Canopy or conda.

numpy
mayavi
matplotlib

TODO

add pressure box comport to __init__() method
build out multi-nozzle support
- include multi-nozzle support in view method.
factor out aerotech specific methods into their own class

Credits

This software was developed by the Lewis Lab at Harvard University.

hobuobi / mecode