Choosing Your Machine Preset on First Start
The first time CamDRAW starts, a window appears asking which CNC machine you use. This selection loads a preset, also called a postprocessor, that determines how your G-code is written.
It is worth a moment's thought, but not worth stalling over. The choice can be changed at any time, and nothing about it is permanent.
What the preset actually controls
A preset is a set of rules for turning toolpaths into text your controller understands. It defines the file extension of the output, the commands for rapid and linear movement, how coordinates are formatted, what is written at the start and end of a program, how tool changes are expressed, and which axes exist.
Two machines can follow identical toolpaths and still need different files. That difference is what the preset holds.
Picking from the list
The welcome window shows a dropdown labelled CNC hardware. Scroll through it and look for your machine or your controller. More than sixty entries are preconfigured, covering machine manufacturers as well as control software such as GRBL, Mach3, LinuxCNC, EdingCNC, Estlcam, PlanetCNC, UCCNC, WinPC-NC and others.
If you recognise your controller rather than your machine, choose the controller. It is the controller that reads the file.
Select the entry and confirm with OK. The full list of preconfigured machines is on the supported machines page.
When your machine is not listed
Two generic entries cover most cases.
G-Code (Standard) is the industry standard format without tool changes. When a job uses several tools, the output is written to separate G-code files, one per tool. Choose this if your machine handles one tool per file.
G-Code (Standard) - ATC is the same format with automatic tool changes. A job using several tools is written into a single file with tool change commands between the operations. Choose this if your machine has an automatic tool changer.
Both are compatible with the majority of controllers. Starting here and adjusting later is a perfectly normal path.
Changing the preset later
The active preset is shown in the Profile section, the topmost of the four sections in the CamDRAW docker. Open that section and pick a different entry from the dropdown to switch.
The dropdown lists the presets stored in your profiles, not every preset installed on the machine. To load one that is not in the list yet, click the gear icon at the very top of the docker next to the CamDRAW logo, switch to the Profile tab, and use the import button on the profile you want to fill. The installation directory of all preset files opens automatically, so you can pick the one you need.
Each profile can hold a different preset. That is useful when the same machine does both flat and rotary work: store a flat preset in one profile and a rotary one in another, then switch between them from the Profile dropdown instead of reconfiguring anything.
If the output is not quite right
Presets are editable. In the settings window, on the Profile tab, the edit button next to a profile opens the full presetting file, where commands, coordinate formatting, program start and end lines and axis names can be adjusted to match your machine.
If you are unsure what to change, our support team helps with adapting a postprocessor to a specific machine or controller as part of a subscription or licence.