Purpose

Creates a step from an external DXF and allows several types of vector files to be imported. It currently supports DXF and QPF Capping Profiles as used in the Capping tool. These can be saved and restored as HPanels, allowing editing.

Example

Description

In the above example, we have defined a rectangle (in the red box) from (0,0) to (800,1000).

• ShowBounds is n (or N or no or blank) which means don't show the bounding rectangle (it is usually not shown but can be helpful for debug/setup)
• The SubprogramName is Acorn, defaulting to Acorn.dxf as the import file.
• The Folder is where it goes looking for this is set to Snippets above. You can specify a full path but this is a relative path here, and so it looks for a Snippets subfolder to your LibraryFolder.
• RepeatCount and RepeatOffset work exactly the same as they do in other steps. In this example 3,4 creates a 3x4 array of 12 "subprograms".

Fields

SecMin	The X, Y, Z co-ordinates of the min corner of the section which this machining step is inside.
SecMax	The X, Y, Z co-ordinates of the max corner of the section which this machining step is inside.
JoinMin	The X, Y, Z co-ordinates of the min corner of the section which this machining step is joined to.
JoinMax	The X, Y, Z co-ordinates of the max corner of the section which this machining step is joined to.
CutSize	X, Y, Z contain the values from this component dimcut1, dimcut2, dimcut3 respectively.
FinishedSize	X, Y, Z contain the values from this component dim1, dim2, dim3 respectively.
PartID	A name for this step, init as component name, not sent to DXF usually.
Layer	The layer name written to the DXF, init as steptype but you should set this to something more meaningful e.g. in EzyNest. In addition, this layer value can be prefixed by + - or ~. The prefix is not sent to the DXF, but is used to indicate notches, where two steps are combined. A + is for combining two steps by adding the paths together. This can extend the outer shape. A - is used for subtracting or creating a notch. And a ~ is for flap donor steps. (See Flaps In Remote Components)
Group	The group name written to the DXF. Default value is ungrouped. Different groups will be nested separately, so for example a DXF with some ungrouped machine steps and some steps in group 10 and others in group 20 will nest as three separate parts.
ColorIndex	The color used in the DXF (usually unused by Machining but very helpful for viewing). Colors are defined by Voloview DXF viewer. (See also DXF Layer Colours): 0 - Black 1 - Red 2 - Yellow 3 - Green 4 - Cyan 5 - Blue 6 - Magenta 7 - Black(Again) 8 - Grey 9 - Brown 10 - Khaki 11 - Dark Green 12 - Steel Blue 13 - Dark Blue 14 - Purple 15 - Dark Grey
SubprogramFolder	Folder of the DXF to import, map and copy
SubprogramName	Filename of the DXF to import, map and copy
RefPoint	XYZ: a reference point in the old DXF for mapping
NewRefPoint	XYZ: the point it maps to (default setup, same point)
ScalePoint	XYZ: other corner of a rectangle used for scaling
NewScalePoint	XYZ: the point it maps to (default setup, same point)
Rotate	Rotation angle about Z axis (ie in XY plane). The rotation is about NewRefPoint.
RepeatCount	X: Whole machine step is repeated this many times. Y: If this is >1, then do a rectangular array of repeats.
RepeatOffset	XY: Offset vector between copies (for linear repeats). For arrays of repeats, X is the X offset and Y is the Y offset. Example Here is a little example of a BorderDeco step repeated in a 3x2 array:
ProfileFolder	Folder for QPFs, default BitmapFolder, can be relative.
ProfileName	Name of the profile. The default extension is ".qpf". An array of names is allowed, if defining multiple profile edging.
ProfileEdging	Array of edge treatments. See Edge and Pocket Profile Tutorial : Defining a Profile
Pocket	Entry is a yes/no determining whether the area inside the machinestep is to be removed. Applies to contours (closed polylines only).   See Edge and Pocket Profile Tutorial : Pocket