Off course within the limits of the machine
I seriously hate the EASEL software right now. I know the machine is capable of making my simple part, but I cant get easel to import ANYTHING usable. When I made a part in fusion360 and exported it like the instructions said, the part only came out half way done. And heaven forbid, make an offline application. My machine is in the garage so I have to hook my cell phone up for internet access just to load the EASEL program, so I can loan the .nc file I made on another computer. FRUSTRATING to use is an understatement.
I used the post processor that is listed in the easel instructions. machine was supposed to cut out a 6mm thick part, from 6mm thick material. pretty simple. Machine dove down hard into material about 3mm deep, and made 1 pass, never finishing the part.
here is the post processor
https://d1ruu3w8cmk6tc.cloudfront.net/assets/f360-easel-b675f12579f5c7fdc0984f996077be9b.cps
If youâre working from an STL file, Iâll put another plug in for Kiri:Moto, https://grid.space/kiri/. It has a built-in gcode sender as well. Not sure whether it requires Net access after the initial connection, but for working from STL files, I havenât found anything better.
I have been struggling for days to configure Fusion 360, every time I choose teh easel post configuration and try to generate the file, it ends in a name.nc.failed.
I found Fusion 360, but it isnât FREE, only the trila version
Is there anything Inventables can say about this topic? I know that there are 3rd party apps out there but Iâd rather import a stl file directly into Easel and then be able to send it to my Carvey without having to learn something else just for this.
Perhaps they could say whether they do intend to implement this feature at some point or not?
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Would be nice to have Easel capable of supporting all kinds of other file formats. DXF, STL, STEP, DWG, etc. Itâs just one of those convenience things. Less time scaling and talking from program to program, more carving time.
Count me in: I am also interested in importing STL files
Hi Simon,
thanks for the feedback. Easel does import DXF through the apps. We will investigate STL and get back to you. Please let us know if we can assist in any other wayâŚ
@Zach_Kaplan, I hope you guys support ârealâ 3D geometry, not just poly mesh formats like STL. I know on a lot of my 3D designs having to interpolate arcs into polys just leaves so many facets, and for machining purposes is very Inefficient, since either you figure out itâs an arc or you also facet the curve. Which is why when I use Fusion360 CAM it produces such nice code since I am working off of true 3D geometry. And of course you donât need to worry about water-tightness since it is solid geometry (and no flipped normals, etc!). Even prusa has started the push away from stl with 3MF being their native format now.
Btw, you donât need to use easel if you are externally generating your g-code. I use cncJs on the machine connected to the x-controller and generate gcode in either v-carve pro or fusion. Cncjs has no design or cam capabilities, it is purely a console/gcode sender. Not sure why you canât get wifi to your garage from your home network (is your garage super far away from your house?) using your cellphone sounds rough. With cncjs it runs locally on the computer plugged into the x-carve and you just need to transfer the gcode files over (thumb drive, network drives, etc). Since my x-carve is in my basement I have the mini-computer running Ubuntu Linux host it and share the system drive so I can drop the files onto it from my laptop upstairs. It does not require internet access like easel does (I mean except for updates, etc), unless you want to file share like I do. In your case once you installed it you donât need internet access if you just wanted to use sneaker-net with a usb thumb drive. My Tormach is the same way in that the âusualâ way people are supposed to use it is the USB port on the controller, but since it is just a Linux box, I set up itâs file sharing on my home network and can drop files from across the house, but in theory it could sit in the middle of the forest and long as there is power and I carry the gcode on the usb drive. I only did that once I upgraded my laptop and it only has USB-C portsâŚ
Yes, please!
For anyone reading this thread (or having posted before) we know this is a BIG feature request from the community!
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Is the implementation of STL still being looked into?
This thread is 6 years old. Just seeing if the feature was ultimately dropped or not.
Very much so!
This was from 2015, six years ago and there is still no way to create or import 3D files. Being able to carve in 3D using a program as simple as Easel would be a complete game changer and open doors with no limits. Is there anything in the near future for 3D?
Sorry, just scrolled up and read a little. Its just frustrating so see such beautiful carvings and have no way of creating them on my own. Iâm not CAD and G-Code literate 
I know there are ways of doing it, its just over my head.
We have added the ability to import DXF files and you can do textures like this:
Can you please post the type of files or design you wish to carve? I picture or drawing is fine.
My go-to design software is AutoCAD, since 1982⌠not really willing to change up that knowledge. DXF works across many packages and versions. Glad to hear something is in the works. I do wish there was a Stand-Alone package for Easel as the internet in my area is spotty and sometimes non-existentâŚso I am unable to even use Easel.
We have DXF import now. Pleas give it a try.
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