The DXF you provided worked flawlessly. The one I exported didn’t. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong? I cleaned up the lines again and exported again.
test.dxf (13.0 KB)
Sorry to resurrect a fairly old thread, but I found this via google, and one thing I have found when testing this tonight is that it seems to destroy fusions inside/outside locations, meaning that everything is either an inside cut and offset, or an outside cut and offset. Which isn’t great, maybe I could design around that, but I’m not sure if I want to lose that.
I know when I export a DXF from Fusion, I end up with 2 Layers, an Outside and an Inside, and I can set my lead ins and offsets accordingly.
Have you noted any issues with this? Or found a workaround?
You can copy one layer into the other and sheetcam will assign cuts according. That is if this is your issue. Sheetcam knows how to assign cuts correctly when the correct offset is chosen. This is the easiest fix. I always try to design in one layer.
With your design in two layers it does create a issue you would need to make separate cutting operations.
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Interesting, I’ve always used it like this, with fusion making a file that has 4 layers
But after running it through Deepnest, whether I make it an SVG or DXF, I only get one layer
So if I open a Fusion file in Inkscape, it will show each lineset as different layers
But when I open the Deepnest file, it has deleted all the layers and changed all the lines to now be in multiple objects, but a single layer
Now this is a pretty simple file with only 6 parts, so finding my internal profiles and moving them to their own layer could be done in Inkscape and be done in a few minutes, but destroying those layers from Fusion means that if I have say, 50-100-200 parts would take me hours.
I have another file for some brackets that I was considering doing, and I’ll need 40 brackets, each bracket has 10 internal profiles in it, so to find those 10 internal profiles in the drawing would mean I have to go in, find every single part, and then explode it, find every single internal profile, blow them to their own layer, and then export it back out as an SVG to then import back into Sheetcam.
Now i did this just now as a test with Inkscape, and it made them into their own layers, and I can now see that they are independent layers in Sheetcam, at least as far as the preview goes
But even still, when going to operations, it shows a single layer
So from what I can see in Sheetcam, at least the way I have been working with the files I have been pulling from Fusion, there is no way to independently assign offsets from my layers.
I could design the outside 0.75mm larger, and the inside 0.75mm smaller, and then set a 0 offset kerf and cut that way to still get dimensionally accurate parts, but to me, that feels like a “hack” way of doing things.
Plus I have noticed that the Deepnest program blows out my sizes, so I have to then scale everything to make it dimensionally accurate again (Deepnest is set to mm that I’m programming in, and Fusion is set to mm), as the exported file is not accurate in the slightest from Deepnest
You do realize that you don’t have to make separate operations? Sheetcam will create a outside cut for the res lines and inside cuts for the yellow lines. It will assign offsets according to the color of the line.
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But that’s the thing. Deep nest is not making different coloured lines. It is just making a single coloured line.
When you open it in sheetcam? Can you post your file here. It will be a little while before I can look at it but some others might.
That Sheetcam screenshot is not showing multiple layers. It is showing the different colored lines for what Sheetcam has determined is inside and outside contours. The Red lines are identified as outside contours. The Yellow lines are identified as inside contours. If you had any open lines, they would be White and would be assigned as zero offset. In Sheetcam, you could set up a single operation with “outside offset” selected and it will assign the correct offsets based on the line colors. If you choose “inside offset” with a single operation,it will reverse all of the offsets and produce undesirable results.
I can’t tell you what it would do in Deepnest, since I’ve never been able to get it to do anything but keep calculating until I am annoyed and quit trying.
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I got it to do one of my cut patterns but it wasn’t any better than what I could do manually. As far as it continuing to “calculate”, I read that it will continue to try for more arrangements until you stop it. Don’t know if that is accurate or not.
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That is correct. I use it all the time with good results but needs a bit tweaking to get it to work. It will try and try until you tell it to stop. On the left side pane will be a list of possible solutions with the top being what it thinks is the best, but you can pick anyone.
I save it as svg before importing into sheetcam.
Remember to add a rectangle and select it as sheet as that is what it uses as its bounds for nesting.
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Thanks for confirming. I don’t mean to bash Deepnest. It is really nice that it is available and it is free. I just have not required it.
I will say the nesting that Fusion will do with the paid version is at another level (Arrange): It is pretty amazing.
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Here is my settings incase anyone wants to play around with it.
It is quirky at times, I often think to myself why did it put the part there when it fits there etc. It also needs an internet connection if your playing with DXF’s as it uses its servers to convert to SVG. I looked at other options and I think sheetcam has a plug in for a nesting software but its a paid software. For my needs I can live with the quirks since its free.
I have a paid F360 license but I only use that for Milling cycles on the MR1. I’m a Solid works user and I just cant get to grips with F360 for designing, I spend most of my time trying to locate where all the functions are.
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