we-cim

[stray cat]

does anyone use we-cim? i have a couple things i cant get figured out thanks

[boodog710]

I have used We-Cim for three years. Be glad to help.

Jack

[Bigrhamr]

I use We-Cim. There's still a lot that I don't know about it but would be glad to help if i can, or just follow along if boodog has some good lessons for us.

[WSS]

Sounds like a promising thread. I am all ears!

WSS

[Bigrhamr]

Okay I'll go first.
I'm guessing there is a forehead smacking simple answer to this but I haven't got it yet. I took a few online training sessions and I'm sure this was covered but then I had to learn some other stuff so needed to forget this to make room in the noggin.

I can't select an instance by clicking on it. I click the enable selection button, then when I pass the mouse over a handle point the part turns red but click on it and it does not select it. I can use select all, some of the select filters
or I can use the drop down entity list and select through it, those all work but just not what should be the simplest way which is just clicking on a part.

[boodog710]

What are you trying to do with the part?

[Bigrhamr]

For example if I want to use copy,move,rotate, mirror etc...
Using transform-bump works by clicking the handle point of the desired part but with the other commands I can't seem to manually select any parts.

[stray cat]

i'm looking to take dxf files with line segments and make them all one line, i thought that's what the chain button did but when i take into dnya torch program it still has it cutting little lines.

Thanks greg

[Bigrhamr]

If you're bringing a DXF into Wecim you don't usually need to do anything as long as it's drawn without gaps.
Did you just get a DT? If I picture it right this sounds more like a DT setting, under advanced settings there is a box in the top right corner "join lines of g-code for continous motion" or something like that. Is it checked? Otherwise the machine will stop at each line.

[WSS]

i'm looking to take dxf files with line segments and make them all one line, i thought that's what the chain button did but when i take into dnya torch program it still has it cutting little lines.

Thanks greg

Greg, are we talking "a bunch of lines" into smooth arcs? The chain button is for setting up chain cutting which is used for making mulitple parts with only one pierce, most used with oxy, at least for us.

Tom

[stray cat]

Maybe that s what i'm talking about, i use corel draw and the lines are touching but the nodes are not joined. if i use the dyna torch program it joins them but not in we-cim, the only real reason i bought it is for the lead in/out. on single line cuts it puts a lead in on that too so not sure how to solve that problem either.

[WSS]

Maybe that s what i'm talking about, i use corel draw and the lines are touching but the nodes are not joined. if i use the dyna torch program it joins them but not in we-cim, the only real reason i bought it is for the lead in/out. on single line cuts it puts a lead in on that too so not sure how to solve that problem either.

OK, try this (I assume you have cutting shop too): Open cutting shop and get to your file. Hit F2 to show points, they will probably be a bunch of black dots.then go File>select all>uncleave selected poylines> Your black lines SHOULD turn red and have a circle w/small dot. Hit F2 again to see the change, if you have black circles w/small black dot and one blue solid dot, that is your individual cut path. To see what It looks like: select all>solid fill selected entities. Now to tackle the lines to arcs, with F2 hit (dots showing) use the optimize tool to click on the offending lines. It should remove the many lines and convert to arcs/circles. You can over do the optimize tool and lose detail, so be careful. Last thing when you save as DXF, make sure save as "lines/arcs" is checked or it will put many if not all of the lines back. That also helps with importing into we-cim. Your project can dump half of the file size sometimes and still keep the detail.

If you cannot get the selected polylines to join (they stay solid black dots) then it is a tedious journey around the file with the join tool. About half the files I get from PlasmaSpider will not auto join. I have no idea why. It is usually the very file you gotta have! One odd use for we-cim is that if it will not apply the cut path, something is wrong with the drawing. DT will not be able to do anything with it either. I run all my cut files through we-cim for nesting, even single pieces, one because it is easy, second it sends nice g-code to the machine.

I wonder if I could post my lead-in library( sharing is reciprocal )? Is that something we-cim users would be interested in? It is not much, mostly for 1/2" and up plaz and oxy. The tool library is spot on for a Hypertherm 1650. Give me some feedback, if anyone thinks that is a bad idea, please say so.

Hope this helps.

Cheers!
Tom

[stray cat]

Thanks Tom, i think i'm getting some where. but now i can't get the lead in/out in the right place far as the scrap to good piece i've tried everything, is there a way change that?

[WSS]

Are you using the "create manual leads" or the auto leads? If you are using the auto, look for breaks in your path that make an open loop. Or if that is what you need use the open profile check box. Most parts we do have both internal and external profiles. If you want, send me a DXF and I will run it through and send you both a .mm2(part) and a .cnc file(cut ready). I like to use the .mm2's to do repetitive parts. Today, 4 out of 5 parts were parts I had done before so I used the existing .mm2 files to nest with, no messing with leads.

A very good point of the DT/servo combo is it has great accel/deccel. Makes great internal small holes. I have a presentation by Jim Colt that lays it out plain for both belt/stepper and gear/servo type of leads. I will hunt it down to post here.

The pic shows a sheet of 3/8" AR400 being cut. I cut many of these today (6 sheets). The sheets were different sizes so I had we-cim open all day too, just to measure the next sheet and have it ready when the current sheet finishes.

Tom
tom@metaltechus.com