Program Overview
ReplicatorG is designed to be easy to use, yet powerful. Off the bat, we've designed it to support multiple machines, multiple drivers, and be fully configurable. All of this is wrapped in a familiar Arduino/Processing GUI that is easy to understand.
Setup your machine(s)
The first thing you'll want to do is add your machine configuration data to ReplicatorG. All of this information is stored in a file called machines.xml in the ReplicatorG folder. Future versions will have a GUI designed to handle the machine configuration, but for now you'll have to edit the file manually. If you're using a CupCake CNC] machine, then ReplicatorG comes pre-configured for easy use with your machine.
For detailed configuration information, please see the machines.xml configuration page.
Make sure to select your machine from the Tools -> Machine menu when you're finished.
Use ReplicatorG
First you'll need a GCode file. You can create these with a GCode generator, or you can use the sample file below:
G21 ;switch to metric
G1 X10 Y10 F200
X10
Y10
X-10
Y-10
Load your file into the ReplicatorG by pasting it into the editor window, or opening a .gcode file. GCode files are the basis of all operations, and you need one to do anything interesting. Once you have it loaded, there are some options available to you.
Skeinforge
Since 0003, we've started to include the Skeinforge application with ReplicatorG. This is a program that will take a 3D model and then generate GCode to print it with. It is a fairly complex program, but we've bundled it with a set of defaults that generate reliable GCode for a CupCake CNC machine.
In order to run skeinforge, you'll want to run the skeinforge/skeinforge.py file. There are a million options for configuring Skeinforge, which are mostly covered by its internal documentation. If you simply want to generate GCode, click the 'Skeinforge' button and select the file. If it is your first time running skeinforge, you will need to change the file filter to show STL files. Select the file and then Skeinforge will start to slice it up.
Warning: Skeinforge is not threaded and will essentially 'lock up' during this time. It generally takes a few minutes to process a file, but may take longer for larger models. Large, complex models may even take up to 30 minutes to complete. It is essential that you do not kill Skeinforge while it is running, otherwise you'll have to re-run the script again and have to wait longer.
Simulate
ReplicatorG has a built-in simulator that allows you to check your GCode without controlling your machine. This is handy for testing, or if you just want to play around with GCode without having an actual machine. Press the button, and the simulation will start.
Pause
The pause command will pause any simulation or build process. Simply unpause to continue exactly where you left off. This is very handy in case you need to make a mid-run change, or you need to stop the machine for any reason.
Stop
The stop command will completely stop and reset the simulation or build process. This is good for aborting the build, or if you wish to cancel a simulation after you have seen that it will work properly.
Build
This will start the actual build process. This will send real commands to your selected machine via the configured driver. Make sure you have your machine set up right before you use this command, and keep your hand on the stop button / kill switch the first time you run it just in case something goes wrong.
Starting a build will also start a simulation progress window that will show you the current state of the build. It will also attempt to estimate the build time for your project in order to give you an idea of how long it will take. You'll also notice that the very bottom status bar will show you the current command, total commands, and percentage complete.
You can pause and/or stop a build at any point in time.
New
This creates a new GCode sketch. ReplicatorG currently only executes the main sketch file. We may make use of the other files at a later date.
Open
Open an existing GCode file and/or sketch. Pretty standard.
Save
Save your current sketch. Also pretty standard.
Control multiple bots from the same computer
In ReplicatorG 005 support was added to allow you to manually select the serial port and be able to control multiple machines from separate Replicatorg instances. On Windows and Linux all you need to do is open another instance of ReplicatorG, select the serial ports you are using and you should be good to go. It's a little trickier on Mac OSX and involves a few terminal workarounds.
Conclusion
Thats about it! You should probably read up on the various generators that will create GCode for you. If you want to write your own GCode or generator, you should start with the GCode Primer.
