CNC Shark Forum

Has anyone tried milling PCB's using their CNC Shark Pro HD?

The software package "pcb2gcode" as well as others such as FlatCAM, CopperCAM, etc. all can generate GCode from Gerber files to mill PCB's. However, most of them output Mach3 GCode. Can Mach3 GCode be used on the Shark? Is there a complete list of GCodes that are supported by the Controller that I can find so I can manually check the GCode from the above packages to see if they look OK. (Of course the final test is to try to cut some air but that's not a perfect way to check compatibility.)

This topic may be of some use, but it is also 4+ years now since I really looked - http://cncsharktalk.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 97&p=10186 - but in the end I'm not aware that NWA has published an authoritative list of supported G Code commands.

If you do ask support about this and they provide a list - please post to the forum. Good luck.

FlatCAM gcode seems to run unmodified. It omits the stop at the end. Using DipTrace free version I can manage SOIC outlines and pads 0603 and larger.

All

Also, I've used the EAGLE (now part of AutoDesk) export add-on to successfully machine boards direct from designs on the Sharks.
If you do PCB design, do that export BEFORE you do the "copper pour", since the export effectively does that.
I don't recall having to do anything special to the GCode besides verifying it before running it. The drill pattern, I think I used
what they put out, since I was aghast that they didn't do any pecking, but okay that it turned out perfect in the end .

Cheers!

Thom

I've never exported directly from Eagle CAD to the CNC machine, but I've exported from Eagle for VCarve, then used Vcarve to generated the gcode for the CNC. I've done a few circuit boards this way, including a custom touch-plate that works by USB rather than the more expensive "proper" solution.