With this in mind, you sometimes have to ‘trick’ the software to do what you want. Inkscape does include an addon extension that can create G Code but it is really clumsy and unreliable and I do not recommend it. Inkscape is a high quality downloadable software that fills this need perfectly. To create your own SVG files you need SVG software. SVG stands for ‘scalable vector graphics’, a full explanation can be found on wikipedia. One of the best file formats to create free cnc patterns for your projects are SVG files. The examples in this article will be aimed at basic cnc machines like the 3018 engraver, as this is the type of cnc router that people start with in this hobby.įollow the link for a complete 3018 unboxing review and setup tutorial of this type of machine on this website. This will create any basic 2D shapes for your cnc router or mill. I will show the process of using a free G code converter which uses SVG files.

If you can relate to this problem, just keep reading this article, it will help you get started. Just learning what processes you need to go through to get to a finished project can be a lot to take in at first. One of the hardest and most frustrating challenges for a new cnc hobbyist is converting an SVG to G Code for your own cnc projects.

Inkscape alternative for gcode