Monthly Archives: December 2013

Replacement knob for microwave

I somehow lost the knob for selecting the power of my microwave. It took several iterations but I finally made a new one. It is not winning any prices for beauty, but it works.

It is made out of two parts: The thing that acually plugs into the microwave and a round knob. That way I can replace them idependently when one breaks.

Microwave knob (back side)

Microwave knob (back side)

Microwave knob (front side)

Microwave knob (front side)

G-code from svg files

Again I spent some time searching for free tools to improve my cnc toolchain. I stumbled upon two simple but helpful flash programs for handling g-code files:

  1. Makercam (http://www.makercam.com/)
    This tool loads svg files and generates g-code toolpaths from it. I can create programs for drilling, pockets, outlines and follow path operations. There are only two things to keep in mind when using it:

    • The svg file may only contain a single path. However this is not a big problem, because you can create such svg files easily using inkscape. Just combine all paths and then save it.
    • Makercam assumes a resolution of 72 dpi when importing a svg file. Inkscape produces files, that have 90 dpi. To fix this open the preferences of Makercam and replace 72 by 90 dpi before loading any svg.
  2. G-code viewer (http://www.buildlog.net/gview/index.html)
    This tool offers a quick way to inspect your g-code files before sending them to a cnc mill. Just drag the g-code file onto the browser window. All rendering is done locally without transferring your file to a server.