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CAD program origin points?

I have a simple little freeware CAD program for doing chassis etc. that I like called A9CAD.

The one thing I'm not clear on with regard to the software though is the "point of origin" in the piece you're working on.

Let's say for the sake of simplicity that I'm drawing a simple 6" x 6" aluminum rectangle with a couple of holes in it.

The starting point of the drawing (the origin point?) is the bottom left hand corner with all the measurements taken from there.

The problem is....with this software that I use (and I've see this in other programs also).....is that, if you want the origin point at X=0 and Y=0 then you have to draw starting in the middle of the screen.

This is a pain because the zoom and view options are few and I have to scroll the drawing all the time.

What I would like to do is start the drawing at the very left hand corner of my drawing screen (which would show negative values for the X and Y starting point).

My question is.....

As long as my drawing dimensions are what I want, does it matter to the DXF information that is being exported or the fabrication house that this "origin point" is NOT at zero? Would the DXF file be ok to read regardless?

THANKS

Reply to
Michael
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I can't imagine it would be a problem. Your part will probably not be set up with its origin point at the (0,0) of whatever equipment it's running on, so somewhere along the line an offset to the corner of your part will need to be determined anyway.

Ned Simmons

Reply to
Ned Simmons

Hi Michael,

I usually try to put the origin point somewhere on the part, because it makes it easier for the CNC programmer to program the part. However, with most cad programs it is very easy to either move the part to the

0,0,0 origin, or to move the coordinate origin point to the part (you can do it both ways in AutoCAD). So, the CNC programmer may have an easy way to put the part wherever he/she wants.

I would think most shops could handle it either way without too much trouble, but you should try to make it as easy on them as possible, and locate the origin somwhere on the part, usually at an important datum or reference point.

H> I have a simple little freeware CAD program for doing chassis etc. that I

Reply to
John2005 

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Reply to
JR North

Sounds like you are wasting your time using a freeware program with limited capabilities- why not acquire an old version of Autocad for next to nothing?

Reply to
ATP*

Thanks JR....I'll look into that although the setup feature seem to be limited.

I'm getting the hang of this program better now....maybe a bit hasty in my post......like any other software the "more you use it"...etc

Actually, I didn't choose it because it was freeware, I had bought some other programs and for an infrequent user like me the A9cad is really decent.

Especially considering I can get a DXF file out of it.

Reply to
Michael

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