Compatibility
Arcline on Mach3 plasma tables
If your table runs Mach3, Arcline fits your setup two ways: DXF into the SheetCam flow you already trust, or direct G-code with the post details set per machine. Browser based, so the table needs only WiFi and a login.
Two paths
DXF today, direct G-code when validated
The DXF path: works from day one
Every approved nest exports as DXF. Open it in SheetCam, post as you do today and run the job from Mach3 unchanged. Arcline handles parts, stock, orders and nesting; your proven CAM chain handles the code. Nothing about the machine changes.
The direct path: G-code from the nest
Skip the CAM step: Arcline emits word-address G-code straight from the approved nest. G21 G90 header, M03 and M05 around each profile, a G4 pierce dwell from your cut chart, feed clamped to the machine ceiling, machine and controller named in the header. Validated together on your table before you rely on it.
Per machine
The post follows the machine, not a global setting
Each table in Arcline is a machine profile: controller, working area, whether THC is fitted, the feed ceiling and the optional THC enable and disable codes. Cut screens bind to a machine, so the exported code always matches the table it will run on, even in a shop with several tables of different sizes.
THC codes are blank by default and never emitted until you set them. That is deliberate: THC wiring varies between builds, and the honest default is off until the codes are proven on your machine.
Questions
Mach3 compatibility
- Which Mach3 setups does Arcline work with?
- Any Mach3 plasma table that takes DXF through its CAM (SheetCam is the common one) works today with no change to the machine. For direct G-code, Arcline emits standard word-address output (G21 G90, G0, G1, M03, M05, M30) with the post details set per machine profile.
- What exactly is in the direct G-code?
- Metric absolute programming, rapids and feed moves, M03 and M05 around each profile, a G4 pierce dwell from your cut chart's pierce time, feed clamped to the machine's ceiling, inner profiles before outer, controlled lead-in and lead-out, and the machine and controller named in the header comment.
- What about torch height control?
- The machine profile records whether THC is fitted and carries optional enable and disable codes emitted around each cut. They are blank by default: the honest default is off until the codes are validated on your table, because THC setups vary between builds.
- Do you support controllers other than Mach3?
- Mach3 is what we state support for today, because it is what we validate against. The DXF path works with any controller whose CAM reads DXF. Machine profiles leave room for other controllers as they are validated.
- How is the direct path validated?
- Together, on your table: a first session runs test cuts from Arcline's G-code against your Mach3 setup before you rely on it for production. Until then, the DXF path is the recommended route and works from day one.
Run your Mach3 table from the browser.
Start on the DXF path today; validate the direct path together when you are ready.