My workflow is creating the schematic -> pcb -> Plot to HPGL -> send to Roland DXY1200 direct draw on the PCB for etching afterwards.
I have the challenge of where to put my PCB on the plotter surface. Also the HPGL output is making the pen move much too fast which mean I manually go in and edit the plot file.
Is it possible to set pen speed and origin for this particular output?
HPGL has the VS command for setting pen speed
That is why I hoped there were a way to do it from inside KiCad as it sets
a speed with the VS command that is too quick for my pen. When plotting (on
a plotter) pen speed is very important.
My KiCad uses a single VS20 entry on the first line and that is all. There does not seem to be a setting.
What is a sensible value of VS for your Roland?
For direct plotting to the PCB I use VS1 but when doing test plot on paper
with the other pens VS20 works okaish.
It is just there is a setting for line width and overlay - I would find it
logical there would be one for speed, because all plotter pens vs.
materiels have an optimal speed setting.
Looking at the source, VS is hardcoded to 20 in the myproject.kicad_pcb file and just ignored.
You can edit first line in the plt file from 20 down to 1 or whatever you want.
Maybe adding a input field that defaults to 20 would be a good idea. If the variable already exists this should be easily doable. (Famous last words)
@JesperKP maybe have a look over at the bugtracker if this has already been requested and add your voice to it. If not create a new bug marked as wishlist and hope a developer is interested in this.
I have a very limited exprience with G code (RS-274) used in milling etc.
In that world there are a lot of small variatons in code to set up the actual machine properly.
In Machinekit (LinucCNC fork) it is done with prepending a text file with machine dependent settings to the beginning of the G-code.
This is a very flexible way to add custom settings to you output.
What I think I will do is jump to the sources myself and dig into it. I have a little bit of programming experience.
Also I am missing a “PCB” plot only - meaning just plotting the PCB part of a drawing without the sheet details. I do know there is the option of plotting without the sheet details - but the PCB is still offset as if the complete sheet was printed. My thought to basically limit plotting and coordinates to the smallest square in which the edge cuts will fit. It will make it easier to position the PCB on the plotter bed.
Ooh, that’s interesting. I wonder if omitting the setting for it was an oversight rather than intentional.
The comment in the source code makes me think that somebody actually removed functionality, when deciding the HPGL was an export format rather than an actual plotter driver. @JesperKP is the first person with a real pen plotter that I have come across for several years
