Software for DB-25 Printer port compatibility

Hi,
I was wondering if it is possible for the software to be compatible through the printer port. I have a CNC machine I made already, and it runs through the Parallel port. I haven't tried this software yet, but if it cannot be run on parallel port is ther software out there that can? What other stereolithography software do you guys know of. I mean the toolpath creation software. Is there possiblility of g-code output?
Thanks.

hey there,

as of right now i know that we do not support db25 output. however, the code is open source, so it is definitely a possibility that we (or someone else) could add the support in.

are you planning on using your CNC to do additive or subtractive manufacturing? if you are planning on doing additive (by slapping our extruder on the printhead) then it would probably be a fairly trivial exercise to add a gcode output option to the software. if you're not willing to do it, we could probably put out a call to the web community and see if we could get someone to do it.

if you're planning on doing subtractive, you could probably find a .STL => gcode converter somewhere and do it that way. i'm not sure if you could make the parts that way or not, but there is a good chance you could do most of it.

Hi,
I'm not sure what you mean by additive or subtractive. Also, I was thinking of possibly using my CNC router and slapping a controlled syringe instead of the cutting head/router. What kind of code is it? C++?? I don't know much about programming but I may be taking a course in it soon.
Thanks.

Assuming you mean a 25 pin serial port, no problem.
[www.camiresearch.com]
If it is a parallel port connector, problem.

to clarify your question:

additive manufacturing is what we are doing... we start with nothing, add material (plastic) where we want something, use only the material we need, and end up with a finished object.

subtractive manufacturing is traditional cnc: you start with a block of wood, mill away the parts you dont want to end up with your finished object. essentially this is a 'negative' or reverse of additive.

the control software is written in Java, which should be easy for someone new to programming to pick up, especially since all the hard stuff like generating paths will be done, you would just have to do something like write adaptor code for your serial port, or an adaptor to output the paths as gcode.

Nope, I was just thinking for additive machining. Convert a router to deposit machine similar to stereolithography. I don't have much programming knowledge. What program to the industrial people use? Also, are there any tutuorials on this kind of programming on the internet?
Thanks.

cool, this should be *fairly* easy then.

what type of CNC machine do you have already? if its a standard 3-axis machine with stepper motors, you could probably just wire them up to the reprap boards, slap an extruder on it, and then use it directly with the RepRap control software. that would be the easiest and most compatible way.

if thats not possible (or desirable) then let us know what software you are using. from there you can find out what formats for printing it accepts. i'm not familiar with the RepRap code (yet) so I dont know how easy it would be, but I imagine theres a place where it goes from generated toolpaths => sending instructions to the machine. if you intercept it at that point, you could have it generate the file format and then feed that into your CNC controller program.

I will be doing something very similar soon. I need to change the RepRap software to send Ethernet UDP messages to my machine. I am not a Java programmer but I am a professional programmer in C, C++ and Python. I should be able to hack Java well enough for my purposes. I will post my observations / code when I do it so it might be some help to cncreprap if you are prepared to wait a few weeks.

i do remember reading something adrian was writing about there being a 'null cartesian' machine you can use for testing. it seems like the way the java is setup, that it has the ability to output to various machines.

if so, then it probably wouldnt be too hard to write a 'gcode' output machine. i'll look into this tonight. it would be very advantageous to have a unified host software interface that people can use to control various machines. some can use it to control reprap v1, others could use it to generate gcode, etc. there could even be a machine that generated the xml output that forrest and i developed. its not quite done, but its a good start.

personally, once the project grows and more people are helping with the hardware/supply side of things, i'd love to get into the software area. i'm also a programmer by trade, specifically in the web area. i know quite a bit about data interchange formats, and would love to see some cool things done in that arena with this software.