Mecode is designed to simplify GCode generation. It is not a slicer, thus it can not convert CAD models to 3D printer ready code. It simply provides a convenient, human-readable layer just above GCode. If you often find yourself manually writing your own GCode, then mecode is for you.
To use, simply instantiate the G
object and use its methods to trace your
desired tool path.
from mecode import G
g = G()
g.move(10, 10) # move 10mm in x and 10mm in y
g.arc(x=10, y=5, radius=20, direction='CCW') # counterclockwise arc with a radius of 20
g.meander(5, 10, spacing=1) # trace a rectangle meander with 1mm spacing between passes
g.abs_move(x=1, y=1) # move the tool head to position (1, 1)
g.home() # move the tool head to the origin (0, 0)
By default mecode
simply prints the generated GCode to stdout. If instead you
want to generate a file, you can pass a filename and turn off the printing when
instantiating the G
object.
g = G(outfile='path/to/file.gcode', print_lines=False)
NOTE: g.teardown()
must be called after all commands are executed if you
are writing to a file. This can be accomplished automatically by using G as
a context manager like so:
with G(outfile='file.gcode') as g:
g.move(10)
When the with
block is exited, g.teardown()
will be automatically called.
The easiest method to install mecode is with pip:
pip install git+https://github.com/rtellez700/mecode.git
To install from source:
$ git clone https://github.com/rtellez700/mecode.git
$ cd mecode
$ pip install -r requirements.txt
$ python setup.py install
Full documentation can be found at https://rtellez700.github.io/mecode/
- add formal documentation
- create github page
- build out multi-nozzle support
- include multi-nozzle support in view method
- add ability to read current status of aerotech
- turn off omnicure after aborted runs
- add support for identifying part bounds and specifying safe post print "parking"
- add support for auto-generating aerotech specific functions only if needed.
- add support for easily adding new serial devices: (1) pyserial-based, (2) aerotech, or (3) other??
This software was developed by the Lewis Lab at Harvard University. It is based on Jack Minardi's (jack@minardi.org) codebase (https://github.com/jminardi/mecode) which is not maintained anymore.