Is there some way i can just have fusion finish its tool path calculations and then just post it out to the same directory with the same name automatically? I’m so tired of making one change and then having to wait for everything to regenerate and then having to post it out with the same name and then drag the file to the tormach machine. Isn’t this what computers are for? Why is it such an endless repetitive task.
So for those of you that like to code fusion addons. Button that auto posts after tool path calculation.
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I post directly to the Tormach share drive from Fusion. Cuts a step off. With my workflow however, I don’t want it auto-posting and overwriting that as I could be planning to post to a different file name next time around.
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Not without some additional programming first, though it is a fairly trivial matter to set your Tormach’s gcode folder as the destination for your post processor as Roy mentioned. I do the same, no dragging of files, just post directly to the machine.
Also, in your setup, on the post processor tab, you can define the program name so you don’t have to change it when posting. The default is 1001 (i think) but you can make it whatever descriptive name you want and the output file will always have that name.
Fusion does have a fairly open API though. I haven’t looked into it much but with some digging, you may be able to do what you’re wanting. I’m not sure if regenerating toolpaths has any kind of event listener but you could create a macro button that first regens the toolpaths and then posts without any additional input.
Yea. I turn my mill off most days so I have to re map the drive every time or deal with the error messages all night. Why can’t fusion just add 1 to the iteration. It’s not a lot of coding for someone coding all day. I know because if I create 10 new folders on my desktop each one has an appended integer +1.
I do hate fusion. It’s like a Lego set made from whatever bricks they had laying around. Sure you can make it work if you know every other piece of cad software ever made.
The further we go along with computers the more I end up having to do.
And when do I get my old man strength?
You can skip mapping a drive and use a UNC path and it won’t pester you if the target is unavailable. My 1100 is off most of the time too.
The only weird thing is Fusion used to create a fake directory structure if it couldn’t find the target device and they were difficult to tell apart at first glance. I think they’ve stopped that nonsense now but keep an eye out.
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Do you leave your computer on or reboot it periodically? I have both machines mapped to network drives and always shut them down at the end of the day. While I do occaisionally have mapping errors, it’s rare and usually related to the spotty wifi connection in my garage.
As for Fusion and and working around things, no sarcasm here, welcome to the world of CAD. It aint called SolidWorkaround for nothing and I’ve been using that program for decades now.
Also, I do have to laugh a bit at the grumpy old man bit. I have this debate with my dad all the time. Super smart guy but technologically inept. The truth is that what seems like a simple thing on the surface, often isn’t. I dabbled in programming for a long time, Qbasic, Basic, Arduino, C++, C#, Swift, Python, Javascript, and a few others. To understand what’s behind making code work you have to really break down the process to single steps. We are capable of performing multiple steps in a process at once, computers aren’t. Something that is a simple 1-step process for us, if you really break it down, can be hugely complex for a machine to do.
I like the notion of writing out the post each time with the file/part name and would suggest the YYMMDDHHmm be added. My programming days date back to before Brian and Denis wrote the first book on C (I as a proofreader).
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Forgive me if this does not relate to your question but…
After you have posted a toolpath fusion creates a snapshot of your post in the NC Programs section of the Manufacturing browser. This includes output folder, program name, operations included, and all post properties from the original post. To redo the entire original post with all your toolpath changes just right click the appropriate NC program , select Post Process, and you are good to go.
I usually rename the NC Program(s) to correspond to whatever toolpath set it represents to make it clear when I need to repost… Hope this helps
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