This repository contains all of the code needed to run a plotter and have it print G-code, text or images. In particular:
- the
plotter/subdirectory contains the Arduino sketch - the
gcode_parser.pyscript is able to read G-code, normalize it (so that the printed composition fits on a 2D rectangle of a specified size) and convert it to a shorter binary file - the
sender.pyscript takes the binary file generated bygcode_parser.pyand sends it to a plotter connected to the computer via a serial port - the
print.pyscript wraps all of the things you may need into a single command - text-to-gcode is used to convert some ASCII text to G-code
- image-to-gcode is used to convert an image to G-code, also with automatic edge detection
You can run any script normally with Python 3. E.g. for print.py:
python3 print.py ARGUMENTS...
This is the help screen with all valid arguments for print.py (obtainable with python3 print.py --help):
usage: print.py [-h] [-o FILE] [-b FILE] [-l FILE] [--end-home] [-s XxY] [-d FACTOR] [--simulate] [--port PORT] [--baud RATE] {binary,gcode,text} ...
Print something with the connected plotter
optional arguments:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
subcommands:
Format subcommands
{binary,gcode,text}
binary Send binary files directly to the plotter
gcode Print gcode with the plotter
text Print text with the plotter
Output options:
-o FILE, --output FILE
File in which to save the generated gcode (will be ignored if using binary subcommand)
-b FILE, --binary-output FILE
File in which to save the binary data ready to be fed to the plotter
-l FILE, --log FILE File in which to save logs, comments and warnings
Gcode generation options:
--end-home Add a trailing instruction to move to (0,0) instead of just taking the pen up
-s XxY, --size XxY The size of the print area in millimeters (e.g. 192.7x210.3)
-d FACTOR, --dilation FACTOR
Dilation factor to apply (useful to convert mm to steps)
Plotter connectivity options:
--simulate Simulate sending data to the plotter without really opening a connection. Useful with logging enabled to debug the commands sent.
--port PORT, --serial-port PORT
The serial port the plotter is connected to (required unless there is --simulate)
--baud RATE, --baud-rate RATE
The baud rate to use for the connection with the plotter. It has to be equal to the plotter baud rate. (required unless there is --simulate)