Instructions for creating a simple drawing in

AutoCAD LT 2002 and exporting it for use in

SpectraCAM.

Create a drawing in AutoCad LT 2002

Open AutoCad LT 2002

From the “File” dropdown menu select “Save As”. Select the location to save
your file to and enter an appropriate name in the “Filename” box. Click “Save” to
save your new file. (It is important to remember where you put the file so you can
get it back later!)

Select Draw from the dropdown menu

Select “Rectangle”

Enter the lower left corner by typing “0,0” for x and y coordinates.

Press “enter”

Enter the upper right corner by typing “3,2”

Press “enter”

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To zoom in select “View” from dropdown menu and pick “Zoom” then “Extents”.
Drawing should fill the entire screen.

Now we’ll change layers in preparation for drawing the first geometry to be cut.
From the dropdown menu select “Format” then “Layer”.

Click on the “New” button. Then type the word “Circle”. This will give your new
layer a name that is easily recognizable.

To select the layer click the “Current” button to activate that layer for use in your
drawing.

Click “OK” to close the layer tool box and return to the drawing screen.

From the dropdown menu select “Draw” then “Circle” then “Center, Diameter”.
Next we specify the center of the circle by typing “1.5, 1” and press the “Enter”
key. Next specify the diameter of the circle by typing “1.5” and press the “Enter”
key.

Next we will turn on two special tools called “Grid” and “Snap” to make it easier to
draw the next few pieces of geometry by using the mouse instead of typing
coordinates from the keyboard.

From the dropdown menu select “Tools” then “Drafting Settings”. On the “Snap
and Grid” tab set the Snap X Spacing to 0.0500 and the Grid X Spacing to the
same. Make sure that there is a check mark in the boxes “Snap On” and “Grid
On”. Then select the Object Snap tab and make sure that the checkbox
“Endpoint” is un-checked and the box “Nearest” is checked. Click the OK button
to close the Drafting Settings window.

Change layer again using the steps above but this time name the layer “Initial”.

Let’s draw the letter “R” inside the circle that you have already drawn. We’ll use
the letter “R” so you can experiment with lines and arcs. After you understand
how to use lines and arcs, you should be able to draw any letter of your choosing
for this project.

Select “Draw” then select “Line” and draw a vertical line like the one shown here.
When you want to end the line just press the “Enter” key.

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Now we’ll draw an arc to create the letter “R”. From the “Draw” dropdown select
“Arc” and “3 points”. Next you will click in three locations. First at the top of the
vertical line, then the edge of the arc, then finally, the bottom or end of the arc
near the middle of the vertical line. When you have completed the arc, your
drawing should look like the letter P.

Now select “Draw” from the dropdown menu and “Line”. Draw a line from the
bottom of the arc to form the angled line to complete the letter “R”. At this point,
your drawing should look like this….

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Now we’ll draw 4 points. Make a new layer. Name it “points” and make it the
current layer using the same procedures as before. Then, from the dropdown
menu select “Draw”, “Point”, “Single Point”. From the keyboard enter “.5,1.5” and
press the “Enter” key. Then from the keyboard enter “2.5,.5” then the “Enter” key
to enter the second point. You may have difficulty seeing the points that you just
entered since they are so small. To see the points you can turn the grid marks
off (“Tools”, “Drafting Settings”, uncheck the “Grid” checkbox.)

Now is a good time to save your drawing by selecting “Save” from the “File”
dropdown menu or simply clicking on the floppy disk icon.

Up to this point we have been saving your drawing in a computer file format
called “.dwg” which is the standard AutoCAD format. However, this format is not
readable by other programs. If you want to use your drawing in other
engineering programs, you can save your work in a special file format that can be
exchanged and understood with other software. We will use the “.dxf” file format
that is a fairly common method. To save your file as a .dxf, select the dropdown
“File”, “Save As”. At the bottom of this window you will see an option called
“Files of type”. Pull down and choose the option “AutoCAD R14/LT98/LT97
DXF(*.dxf)” and then click “Save”. It is important to note where you saved the file
and what name was used so you can find it later. Also note that the .dxf file
format will strip away some of the drawing information such as dimension lines
and text. (If you have followed the instructions here, we have not used any of
that.)

Note: SpectraCam will correctly import the following line types ONLY:

Lines,
Arc,
Circles
Point
Rectangle

Using SpectraCam and Creating an NC File

Open the SpectraCam Milling program. From the “File” dropdown menu select
“Import DXF”. Select the file and click “Open”. From this point you should be
able to follow the normal procedures to create an NC file using SpectraCam.

Using the mouse, click on the letter “R”. The letter will highlight in red. From the
“Operation” dropdown box select “Contour”. From the “Tool” dropdown box
select “1/8” End Mill”.

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Click on the button “Setup” (Use the “Setup” next to the button “Go!”, not the
dropdown menu at the top of the window.) and make sure all of the entries match
the screen below….

Click on the button “Go!” and when the question “Accept Tool Path” comes up,
select “Yes”.

Now use the mouse and click on the circle around the letter “R”. From the
“Operation” dropdown select “Pocket”. Click on the button “Setup” and make
sure that all of the entries match the screen shown below…

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Click “OK” to close the setup screen and then click “Go!” to generate the tool
path. Your screen should look like this….

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Now select “Drill” from the “Operation” drop down box and then select one of
your drill points like this….

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Select “Setup” and make sure that all of your settings look like this….

Click “OK” to accept your settings and then “Go!” to create the tool path. Repeat
the drill process for each of the points that you want to drill.

At this point you have gone through three basic machining operations of
contouring, pocketing and drilling. Let’s save the new NC file so it can be used
on a CNC Mill.

From the “File” dropdown menu select “Save NC”. Give your file a distinct name
and save it in a location that you can remember.

Running your NC file on the SpectraLight or ProLight CNC Mill

Start the SpectraCam Milling control program. From the “File” dropdown menu
select “Open” and select the NC program that you created above.

From the “Program” dropdown menu select “Verify”. Click on the button “Verify
Program”. If the program seems to run as you expected you should then be able
to cut the part.
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The first thing that you must make sure of is that the machine has been zeroed to
the position of the part as it was designed in AutoCad. When we drew the first
rectangle, we placed the lower left corner at location zero on the X axis and zero
on the Y axis. You must now load the part into the CNC machine and orient the
CNC machine so that it will run your program correctly with the part in the same
position. To zero the machine, do the following:

1. Load the part into the CNC machine.

2. Using the jog control panel, move your machine so that the end of the
cutter is at the lower left corner of the stock (Assume that you are
viewing the stock from the top.)
3. From the “Setup” dropdown menu, select “Zero Position” and click
“yes” if asked if you are sure that you want to do this.
4. Using the jog keyboard, move the cutter upward and away from the
part about one inch.

To run the program click on the round, green button called “Cycle Start”. If your
program inserted a tool change or pause command, you may have to hit the
“Enter” key or press the “Cycle Start” button again to have the program resume
operation. Make sure you watch the machine closely and press the large red
“Emergency Stop” button if you see anything going wrong.

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