How to create a .

dxf file Layout in SolidWorks For use in programming a CNC Machine

1. First, create a new part file 2. Create a new sketch in the front plane 3. Create a 12 square, with the upper left corner of the square on the origin of the sketch plane (the origin is the red X,Y, arrows on the plane of the drawing), then extrude the square so that it is 1/8 thick (Figure 1). Save this file as CNC Layout Base

Figure 1. CNC Layout Base 4. Now, create a new assembly file and insert CNC Layout Base into the assembly.

5. Next, insert all of the links that you created, and lay them out on the 12 square plate leaving a border around the edge of the plate (Figure 2). This step can be done using the mate command, to mate all of your links to this plate.

Figure 2. Image for Step 5

6. Your layout should look similar to Figure 3 when all of the links have been laid out. Save this file as Team#_TeamName.SLDASM

Figure 3. Layout for Step 6

7. With the Assembly that you have just created, make a new drawing file and select Custom sheet size. Enter the width as 330mm and the height as 330mm.Insert the front view of your assembly into the drawing. Right click on the drawing and select Properties Make sure the scale is 1:1. Your drawing should now look similar to Figure 4. 8. Save this drawing again as Team#_TeamName.SLDDRW, then Save As, Team#_TeamName.dxf (Note that in addition to this drawing, you must also create a scaled drawing with the proper title block to include in the set of engineering drawings in your report. See Task #5 Assignment memo for more details.)

Figure 4. View of Screen for Step 7 9. Open the .dxf file you just created in SolidWorks, and import to a new part as, 2D sketch. Then, press finish (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Image for Step 8 10. Once you have imported your .dxf file to a new part file, you need to move the entities to the origin using the Move Entities ( ) command. Select all the entities by clicking outside of the box and dragging the mouse to draw a box that highlights the entire sketch. Then, click on the box under Start point: and select the upper left corner of the box. Move it to the origin by clicking on the red X,Y arrows as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: Image for Step 9

Positioning the 12 plate allows the CNC machine to reference a fix point (X zero Y zero) to machine the components as they are laid out on the plate. 11. You may need to scale your drawing at this point. To check if your drawing needs to be scaled, select one of the edges of the 12 box. If it is not 12 long, use the Scale Entities ( ) command to scale the whole drawing to make it 12 in length. Select all the parts by drawing a box around them, and scale them about the upper left corner so that the drawing stays on the origin. 12. Lastly, save as: Team#_TeamName.dxf. You may be prompted that this part already exists. Click Yes to overwrite the part. This file will be provided to the machine shop.