Amateur radio, programming, electronics and other musings

Archive for December, 2013

I created a template for the Power Pole enclosure using Eagle by adding all of the elements to a layer called milling. This meant I was able to precisely see where the cut-outs and holes should be milled out of the enclosure.

I exported to DXF from Eagle and tried to convert that to G-code but there must be something up with the export as most applications failed to read the file properly. To get around this I printed to a PDF and then imported the PDF into InkScape. I then resized the canvas to fit the import and saved that as a DXF file.

I then used dxf2gcode to convert the file to G-code. This worked pretty well. I then used a tool called OpenSCAM, an Open-Source software which can simulate 3-axis CNC machining to load and render the G-code file.

Now I have the G-code generated I just need to find the time to test the CNC machine I built for the first time.

gcode-render

dxf2gcode

Power Pole PCBsI have started to receive all the stock for 50 distribution boxes. The PCBs have arrived and the rest of the hardware will trickle in over the coming days.

I am now in a position to calculate the price of each unit and will do so over the next few days whilst writing the build instructions.

If you are interested in a unit (or more), please email me and I will then let you when I’ve posted the information.