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  1. Open your part in SolidWorks and save as a .dxf with the outline of what you want cut out

  2. Open ProtoMAX LAYOUT

  3. Go to File > Open Import from other CAD and open the .dxf you just saved

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  1. Make sure the part looks correct. Notice how the part will be in

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  1. green lines.

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  1. Now you have to make the toolpath. Click L on your keyboard to activate the line command because you’re going to be using this a lot.

  2. Click somewhere off of your part and then click the point on your part where you want the cut to start. Notice how the toolpath line is green.

  3. Continue drawing lines to connect every cut in your part like the one below. (If you have a super complex part with a ton of cutouts you can use the AutoPath option but then you might have to tweak a few lines to make it good. With simple parts like this its best to just do it manually so you know the start and end are where you want them)

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  1. Click the AutoPath command to generate a toolpath. Your cuts will turn pink, lead in/out will be orange, and traverses will be green.

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  1. You can move or swap the direction of lead ins/outs by right clicking on the Lead i/o tool.

  2. Click Set Zero and select the point on the grid where you want your part origin to be. It will show up as a white + sign.

  3. Click on the Post button on the right and then select which of the two end points of the toolpath that you want as to be the start.

  4. Make sure that all of your cuts are highlighted in red and that the green path still looks correct.

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  1. Notice how the red highlighting is centered on the white part outline so the cut will be line-on-line. TBD on how to change this lol

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  1. Click save

Cut on the Machine

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