NC Output: File Extensions and Output Directory
Once a program is generated it has to be written somewhere, under a name your control will accept. Both are configurable, and the defaults suit some machines better than others.
Where the settings are
Click the gear icon at the very top of the CamDRAW docker, next to the logo, then open the NC Output tab. It is the third of the four tabs in the settings window.
The four fields
Job output directory is where generated programs are saved. By default this is your CamDRAW settings folder under AppData. Click the folder icon to the right to choose a different one.
Job file name is the base name of the program. The default is Job.
Machine setup output directory is where the machine setup file is written, and it can differ from the job directory.
Machine setup file name defaults to Machine-Setup.
Click Save at the bottom of the window to keep changes.
Pointing the output at the machine
The most useful change here is setting the output directory to wherever your control reads from: a network share, a folder your control software watches, or the drive you carry to the machine.
That removes a step from every job. Generate the program and it is already where it needs to be.
The file extension
The extension is not set here. It comes from the postprocessor, because it depends on the machine rather than on your preferences.
To change it, open the settings, go to the Profile tab, click the edit button on the profile you use, and look for the file extension field in the general area of the presetting file.
Supported extensions include .gcode, .cnc, .nc, .iso, .din, .tap, .knc, .txt, .prg, .ncp, .ngc, .mpf and .f4g, and others can be configured as needed. If your control expects something unusual, it can simply be typed in.
Separate files per tool
At the top of the NC program section in the docker is a checkbox labelled Create separate files.
With it ticked, a job using several tools produces one G-code file per tool rather than a single file with tool change commands in it. Each file is named after the job name with the tool appended.
This is what machines without an automatic tool changer need. The operator runs the first file, changes the tool by hand, runs the second, and so on. A single file containing an M6 command the machine cannot execute is no use.
The same behaviour can be set as a default in the postprocessor, under the output to separate files option, so a machine that always needs it does not depend on remembering the checkbox.
The three icons
Below the G1 G2 generate button are three small icons.
The first exports or saves the generated program, which opens a save dialog if you want it somewhere other than the configured directory.
The second opens the program in a text editor, which is the quickest sanity check: the first lines show whether the output is in millimetres or inches, and the tool changes and feed rates are readable in plain form.
The third opens the output directory in Windows Explorer.
The machine setup file
Every generation writes a second file alongside the program. Its contents come from the machine setup section of the postprocessor, and it is intended for preparing the machine: probing a surface, setting workpiece zero points, calling a macro.
All postprocessor placeholders are available in it, including the measurement parameters if you use surface probing.
Run the machine setup file before the job file. That order is what makes it useful. If you do not use it, the file is simply written and ignored.
A note on file names
Some older controls are particular about file names: length limits, no spaces, upper case only. If a program will not load on the machine but looks correct in a text editor, the name is worth checking before the content.