Convert CAM Toolpath to DXF

[jcooleyMFJGR]

We have a plasma table in our shop that uses a controller that does not accept Gcode.  Looking through the documentation on that board and the associated software, it says that it will accept toolpaths as DXF files.  I had a presentation with a sales person from Autodesk on a completely different product and thought about asking them about this, and he said that you can export Inventor CAM and Fusion 360 CAM toolpaths as DXF files.

I made a test part to try this out.  Just a simple plasma cut, and then tried exporting it using the AutoCad DXF post processor.  When I try to post this program, I get an error saying the post process failed:

Generated by: Inventor CAM Ultimate 7.0.0.17442
...
Error: Failed to invoke 'onOpen' in the post configuration.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Error: Failed to invoke function 'onOpen'.
Error: Failed to execute configuration.
Stop time: Thursday, July 28, 2022 1:11:56 PM
Post processing failed.

If I can get this to work then I can avoid having to switch out the board on my plasma table to something that does accept gcode, which will be costly.  Has anyone ever been succesful with generating dxf files from CAM toolpaths?

[Rory_M]

Would a DXF straight from Inventor do the job? As it's a plasma cutter, I assume it's just needing a profile to follow.

Could you export a simple drawing of a rectangle to DXF and see if that works first?

You could even right click on the face of a model and select "Export Face" to save it as DXF.

[jcooleyMFJGR]

I did try to do a simple rectangle with the same results. 

The problem with just exporting the geometry rather than the tool path is that the software that our plasma table uses lacks some features that our technicians want/need/prefer to use, like being able to make edge cuts in thick material, choosing the starting point, or choosing the order of cut.  We are really unimpressed with the software we are using which is why I am trying to use Autodesk products to program the toolpaths.

[mcgyvr]

Try using a generic post processor or something and then exporting to dxf from the HSM Edit program.. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOERJxgW4kQ

Can you post your Inventor cam file here for others to experiment?

[jcooleyMFJGR · Accepted solution]

So I ended up on a call with one of the sales reps who went over the issue I was having and it turns out that something is not updated in the post processor on Inventor CAM.  He is going to bring the issue to the software team and see what they can do to fix it.

In the meantime he did show me that Fusion 360 works just fine saving the gcode files as DXFs.  That video that mcgvr posted was helpful as well, though HSM was glitching out and wouldn't let me try that solution.  Thanks for the help everyone.