Just curious if there are any plans to build tooling into MillMage to convert STL files into an obj a tool path could be created from?
It’s be a killer feature to shortcut the workflow going through CAD and reverse engineering it.
Not a Lightburn staff member, but I would bet not. You are asking if they would build a CAM translation system into MillMage.
To convert an STL file to G-code for CNC machining, you’ll typically use a CAM (Computer-Aided Manufacturing) program, not a slicer (which is used for 3D printing). CAM software like MeshCAM, Vectric Aspire/VCarve, or Fusion 360 can import the STL, generate toolpaths, and then post-process those paths into G-code compatible with your specific CNC machine.
I do appreciate you trying to be help. I’m assuming what you quoted was an LLM response as it doesn’t quite make sense.
MillMage is CAM software. Those others are CAD software with CAM features, CAD/CAM. MillMage is also technical CAD software since it has basic design tools.
Anyway, I do understand the challenges with doing it, just wondering as I had a need.
STL files only define the outer surface or shell, they’re not actually solids. Most CAM software expects and works with solid objects.
That said, converting a shell into a solid isn’t rocket science. Plenty of converters are out there. The problem with that is STLs don’t define actual geometry, or curves the way a STEP file does. So in STL files arcs are for example line segments between points. Converting that to an object means converting it to a mesh first, which is ugly. Then usually you’d reverse engineer / trace it in CAD to create lines and curves, etc… so you have a clean solid object, then generate tool paths from that object.
Since MillMage has the ability to draw lines and curves one could in theory use MillMage to do the tracing if one could import it as a reference object into MM.
That’s not going to be great for complex 3d objects, since MillMage doesn’t have a 3d view. But for things like flat parts with holes in it might be handy.
It’s the issue of, why use MillMage if I’m going to reverse engineer the thing in FreeCAD or F360, might as well just generate the tool path (gcode) there and send to my CNC.
The reason is MM has a much lighter and simpler workflow, whereas those softwares are a PITA to configure for CAM…
There has been discussion for using mesh or STL in the far future, but for now that is a long way off for MillMage. There is much work to be done with Medial Axis and V-carving first.
It is definitely on the wish list to support 3D cam for sure.
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Do not know what “LLM response” means, but we obviously see MillMage from two different perspectives.
I am sure you are not alone here. I see your request as a desirable feature. Please remember MillMage is a brend new product, and is even still in the Release Candidate stage. Can you imagine Lightburn when it was first released compared to what it is today?
I would call the Preview pretty close.
I agree. I was a trainer for Bridgeport Machines EZ-CAM software, and the designer part was super easy like Lightburn. Unfortunately, my copy is locked at the WinXP level. I was actually using it when I initially got my 3018 Pro machine.
Bottom line is post your feature ideas in the https://lightburn.fider.io/ page, state your case, and get it voted on. Maybe they can do something like they did with Nest Selected tool in Lightburn.
It would be great to be able to machine objects from .stl files (which is what Easel, a fairly entry-level software program, does, for example)… So 3D carving and V-carving would be a plus…
We hope…
Best regards
This is planned, but will not be available at launch.
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