Use of PCB-Gcode ULP in Fusion

[zigzag2015]

Hi,

I have used the ulp PCB-Gcode quite extensively in Eagle but wish to migrate to Fusion

and have struggled to get the ulp to work in Fusion.

Is there a procedure I'm missing?

The reported faults when running the ULP are along the lines 'Cannot find source/pcb.h',

so clearly the main ULP code is running but cannot find or load the associated files.

Craig

[zigzag2015]

Hi,

I've made some progress, I installed the complete contents of the PCB-Gcode file (fresh download)

on my local PC.......Documents/Fusion360/ULPs. Now when I run the ULP it correctly loads and

runs the code but can also navigate to and  load the relevant auxiliary files.

My only problem is that I don't know where the generated Gcode files are going???

I presume my project is in the cloud.....so where do the generated files go?

Craig

[zigzag2015]

Hi,

a little more progress....I've found the files buried deep down in a Temp file.

The drill and mill files are all intact, with appropriate comments, line numbers and gcode but the

top.etch and bot.etch files are empty, not even comments???

Can anyone think of a reason that the etch files would not be generated?

Craig

[mstlaurent02U7NVT]

so can u explain how u manage to get it work?

[zigzag2015]

Hi,

the short answer is that the EAGLE ULP program 'pcb-gcode' does NOT work in Fusion 360.

It would appear that Autodesk have altered how a 'pour' is calculated and that is critical to how 'pcb-gcode'

works. I started a support ticket with Autodesk but they told me its not a priority for them.......which I confess

pisses me off. They did point out however that you can use Manufacturing in Fusion 360 which largely replicates

'pcb-gcode' and indeed has some advantages, it is however very much more time consuming than the traditional

'pcb-gcode' method.

What I do now is export the Fusion 360 PCB to EAGLE on my local PC, and then use 'pcb-gcode'. Its a workaround

that I wish I did not have to do, having said that it does work, and I have made hundreds of boards since my original

post.

Craig

[techshopjim]

Is there any update on this?

I've been using Eagle for a LONG time.  Now I'm trying to use Fusion 360 now instead of Eagle.  I'm trying to make PCBs on my new Carbide Nomad 3 desktop CNC mill.  However, the Carbide Nomad 3 uses their own web-based app called Carbide Copper to take in Gerber and drill files and output gcode for their mill.  Unfortunately, the Copper program is buggy and fails on drill files wider than 100 mm, and ignores the board outline Gerber file.

Is there any way to get Fusion 360 to output gcode from the PCB data?

Or alternatively, is there a way to get PCB-Gcode to work in Fusion 360?  I have installed it into the same directory as the rest of the ULPs.  The good news is that the "pcb-gcode-setup.ulp" works fine.  However, when I try to run the "pcb-gcode.ulp" program, I get the following error message:

/Users/jim/Library/.../examples/ulps/examples/pcb-gcode.ulp(1387):

polygons loop is depreciated.  Use polyPours polyShapes polyCutouts instead.

How do I fix this?  

[zigzag2015]

Hi,
I first raised this issue over two years ago.

When Autodesk migrated EAGLE into Fusion they changed/broke the polygon pour feature on which pcb-gcode relies.
I raised the issue and once I was able to make plain what the problem was, I was told 'Our engineers will look at it, its
not a priority', and that's the last I've ever heard of it.

There is a method by which essentially the same thing can be done from within Fusion, and there is a video on how to do it.
Indeed, it has several advantages over pcb-gcode, but it's as slow as a wet week.

Autodesk have a habit of doing this. They will include or expand a feature but ONLY at the expense of throughput.
The most recent example is when they changed the ADD (add a part) about four months ago. Now whenever you want to ADD a part
it takes a minute or more to load the part table where previously (aside from the initial table population) would take 10 secs.
I struggle to see that any advantages came from the 'new and improved' feature, and they have gone well and truly gone backwards
on productivity. They have all but refused to acknowledge it.

Autodesk go to great pains to ensure they reach out all customers if they have a problem, and seem to think that constitutes good customer
support....but.....they tend to do nothing to fix the underlying problem.

What I do is export the Fusion PCB into EAGLE and then use pcb-gcode. A time-consuming workaround but still faster than the method
proposed by Autodesk from within Fusion.

Craig

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @techshopjim and @zigzag2015 ,

There are unfortunately no news on this front. I'll report this thread again to get more attention to it.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,