Custom Program File Names in Autodesk Fusion 360
Post processing is the CNC term used when you turn a design into a GCode file that the machine can actually run. Autodesk Fusion’s default naming convention is not all that exciting, and I wanted to make it a little more consistent.
Here are my goals for the resulting GCode filename:
- Make the filename contain the project name
- Make the filename contain the Setup name
- Make the filename contain the Workspace Coordinate System (WCS) aka: the offset
- Make the filename have a “version” that is easy to increment.
An example: Spatula – Wok – Hibiscus Inlay Pocket WCS_2 v1.tap
Initially I was leaving out the project name, as I post process all related files to a separate folder on my CNC machine. However, I have similarly named setups, and one time I grabbed the wrong file because I wasn’t looking at the right folder!
I also always use offsets / WCS for my machine (watch this video for how to use WCS offsets) and I want to make sure the file’s WCS corresponds with where I put the workpiece on my spoilboard (aka: the physical origin location matches the file’s origin location).
First, on my Setup’s post processing page I did this (mine has a Machine associated, so the WCS may look different for you).
The “Program Name/Number” defaults to 1001, which is okay, but I’ll use this as my “version” and manually change it to “1”.
The “Program Comment” says WCS_10 — this is automatically generated. I clicked on the 3 dots to the right of the edit box and selected “Edit Expression”. For the expression I put what is shown in the screen shot: ‘WCS_’ + Util.toString(job_workOffset)
I wanted these values to stick for every new setup I created, so I clicked the 3 dots and set “Save as User Default“.
Next, on the Post Process dialog you will see the “Name/number” come up as that “Program Name/Number” from the setup (ie: “1”).
I can also customize the “File name” by clicking on the three dots to the right of it and selecting Edit Expression. I then made it have the format I talked about earlier: documentName + ‘-‘ + nc_program_setup_name + ‘ ‘ + nc_program_comment + ‘ v’ + nc_program_name
Awesome! That gave me something pretty close to what I wanted. I clicked the three dots again and selected “Save as user default“.
Now my post process filenames have a consistent format.
