Fusion 360 to PlasmaC workflow

Hi Guys,
I have used Fusion 360 CAM for Milling plenty but trying to work out the workflow for Fusion 360 to PlasmaC.
When you setup a 2D profile in Fusion 360 you choose a tool (or create one) that has a kerf associated with it. Similarly you choose cutting feedrate etc. When you post to a gcode file it will contain the kerf offsets and cutting speeds etc. So far this is identical to milling.
My confusion comes when I open PlasmaC and I am met with the "cut parameters" window with fields such as kerf width and cut feed rate. Obviously you can create different materials with different kerfs, cut feedrates etc within PlasmaC.

If kerf width & cut feedrate are already built into the gcode what does PlasmaC do with the settings in PlasmaC?

What is the correct workflow please?

I just save as DXF and lay the job out in Sheetcam so I have access to the nesting features. I think F360 has (or is about to have) nesting in a manufacturing module at added cost.

I use the Sheetcam post processor for Plasmac available on the forum.
There is also a user contributed post processor for F360 too.

Thanks Rod but I don't want to run sheetcam. I already run Fusion 360 for design & CAM on other machines and don't have a need for nesting as I am just doing one offs as a hobbiest. Fusion can do everything I need. Iam just not sure where kerf width and cut speeds should be programmed given that both Fusion & PlasmaC have the parameters

You should set Fusion so the it uses F#<_hal[plasmac.cut-feed-rate]> as the feed rate, then you are guaranteed that any velocity related THC disabled are applied correctly.

Does Fusion set the cut by offsetting the kerf width in its calculations or does it use G41.1/G42.1.
The best is to not use G41.1 or G41.2 as then you cannot manipulate the digital pins:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.8/html/plasma/plasma...#cutter-compensation

The materialverter is able to convert Fusion tool files to PlasmaC material files with some manual input required:
linuxcnc.org/docs/2.8/html/plasma/plasma...html#_materialverter

turbodude wrote:

Thanks Rod but I don't want to run sheetcam. I already run Fusion 360 for design & CAM on other machines and don't have a need for nesting as I am just doing one offs as a hobbiest. Fusion can do everything I need. Iam just not sure where kerf width and cut speeds should be programmed given that both Fusion & PlasmaC have the parameters

Yours was my initial thinking (coming from milling), but my workflow is currently to sketch in Fusion, export the sketch to DXF, and import to sheetcam. I've not done a job big enough to require the paid version of sheetcam yet, but I'm sure I'll ultimately pay for it. £110 for an indefinite license appeals more than Autodesk's new required buggering about (and limitations like no rapids or tool changes), or giving Autodesk £263 for the next 12 months. I will work out an alternative to sketching in Fusion I'm sure (though the sheet metal design space is appealing).

Plasma is small on required cleverness in the initial NC, and bigger on cleverness in the post processor and finding material settings. That people here have made synchronising the tools in sheetcam with the materials panel in plasmac easy makes that workflow quite elegant.

Rhino isnt a option?
I know autodesk brought t-splines, killed it and made fusion
I use rhino for point cloud but they have cam plugin, you can do 2d technical drawing but acad is very fast so we use it.

web.archive.org/web/20130117140123/http://www.tsplines.com/

Thanks heaps for all of the responses guys. It has given me a bit to look further into.

Just to throw a spanner into the works…. Although exporting a DXF to Sheetcam seems to be one of the most common suggestions, an email from Autodesk this week has created a problem for hobbyists using Fusion 360 Personal and exporting DXF's of folded sheet metal flat patterns. They are now (as of Oct 1 2020)) disallowing exporting to DXF from a flat pattern but still allowing a DXF to be saved from a sketch. While this is OK for basic plasma cutting where the sketch is the same as what you want to cut, it doesn't work for folded sheet metal.
As an example, I have designed a plasma table water pan. It starts with a sketch which is simply a rectangle. You then add flanges, create a flat pattern and export the flat pattern to DXF. With the new restriction you will only be able to save a DXF from the sketch which is just the basic original sketch of a rectangle without the corners cut out or the corner reliefs. The only solution in this case is to pay the subscription of $360/yr (which is already 40% discounted). This is only a hobby for me.

If I use Fusion 360 Personal built in CAM I will be able to create Gcode. I have now downloaded the PlasmaC Fusion 360 post processor which comes with some instructions so I will work through those and do some testing.

There is no problem creating a DXF file by creating a skecth on the flat pattern and exporting from it it.

Here is a quick video walkthrough. Using both F360 and sheetcam. ( I have a paid license to F360)

www.loom.com/share/d6c6d51752b7428da239aca340ed7659

Sorry about not having the toolset installed before recording this. But as you can see, its real quick.

This was on Windows, not Linux. Usually I copy the dxf to my plasma cutter and run sheetcam on it.

If this is only a hobby for you maybe you are eligible for educational license.
knowledge.autodesk.com/customer-service/...program/who-can-join
Better use Inventor instead if you are eligible, dont have time expiration, all features are open for all autodesk softwares.