InteGNPS Supports Other CAD Software
We recommend AutoCAD for drawing and nesting because it is the most convenient option. However, you can also use other CAD software, such as IntelliCAD series products. If you use other CAD software, please follow the guidelines below.
Drawing Tips:
Draw parts at a 1:1 scale. The unit can be mm or cm; the default unit is normally mm. Please see About in InteGNPS for the drawing unit setting.
Lines and arcs should be joined end to end to form a closed contour; otherwise, the contour will be treated as open.
Polylines are supported in InteGNPS 16.33 and later. Ellipses should be converted to polylines or lines. Blocks are supported, and mirrored blocks or nesting blocks are also supported, but the absolute X and Y scale values of mirrored blocks must be the same.
No software compensation or lead-in/lead-out will be generated for open contours or marking contours.
In DXF files, inner contours, outer contours, marking contours, bridge entities, drilling circles, and riveting circles should all be placed on the correct layers. InteGNPS supports mixed cutting styles. The table below defines the layer settings for different cutting styles.
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Part contour layer definition in InteGNPS
|
| Layer |
Color |
Color name |
Color fig |
Layer meanings in InteGNPS |
Notes |
| 0 |
7 |
White |
|
Outer contour |
|
| 1 |
1 |
Red |
|
Outer contour as bridge |
|
| 2 |
2 |
Yellow |
|
Inner contour as bridge |
|
| 3 |
3 |
Green |
|
Inner contour |
|
| 4 |
4 |
Cyan |
|
Drilling contour |
Circle center is drilling center |
| 5 |
5 |
Blue |
|
Punch marking contour |
Second marking torch |
| 6 |
6 |
Purple |
|
Powder marking contour |
First marking torch |
| 8 |
8 |
Gray |
|
Rivet contour |
Circle center is riveting center |
Notes:
The colors above are recommended values. InteGNPS refers only to the layer, not to the color. Unlisted layers will be treated as layer 0. |
Text and dimension entities will be ignored by InteGNPS.
Nesting Tips:
Draw a rectangle as the plate boundary. This is more convenient for nesting, although it is not mandatory. The lower-left corner of the boundary should be the origin with coordinates (0,0). This origin is also the origin of the cutting machine. Insert parts inside the rectangle and keep reasonable gaps between the plate boundary and the parts.
Insert the drawing into the plate rectangle. Inserting each part as a block is more convenient for moving and rotating, and blocks are required for auto-nesting. Simple parts may also be drawn as basic entities only.
Insert lead-in flags in sequence for the cutting contours. The insertion order determines the cutting order. The lead-in flag is actually a block named START. No lead-in flag is required in the part drawing itself. The meaning of each lead-in flag block layer is shown below:
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InteGNPS lead-in flag layer definition in InteGNPS
|
| Layer |
Color |
Color name |
Color fig |
Layer meanings in InteGNPS |
Notes |
| 1 |
1 |
Red |
|
Normal direction, consistent with the programming parameter settings |
The block name must be START, case-insensitive |
| 2 |
2 |
Yellow |
|
Reverse direction, opposite to the programming parameter settings |
The block name must be START, case-insensitive |
| 3 |
3 |
Green |
|
No lead-in, normal direction, consistent with the programming parameter settings |
The block name must be START, case-insensitive |
| 4 |
4 |
Cyan |
|
No lead-in, reverse direction, opposite to the programming parameter settings |
The block name must be START, case-insensitive |
|
Notes:
The color of the lead-in flag is only a recommended value. InteGNPS refers only to the layer, not to the color. Unlisted layers will be treated as layer 1.
A lead-in flag drawing named START.DWG is included in the InteGNPS installation folder, and you may also create this file yourself.
The START lead-in flag block cannot be exploded. You can change the layer of the START block when you need to change the cutting direction.
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When a DXF file is used for auto-nesting, each part should be inserted as a block in the nesting drawing. The plate rectangle does not need to be included in the nesting file.