Free G-code viewer
Look at a G-code program before you run it. Drop the file in and you get the toolpath in 3D, with rapid moves and cutting moves in different colours, plus the travel limits in every axis.
What this viewer shows you
Drop a program in and you get the toolpath drawn in 3D. Rapid moves are drawn in a faded copper and cutting moves in near-black, which is the quickest way to spot the mistake everyone worries about, a rapid that goes straight through the part or the fixture.
You also get the travel in each axis, so you can check the program fits inside your machine and inside your workholding before you cut anything.
What it reads
- Straight moves, both rapid and feed, meaning
G0andG1. - Arcs, meaning
G2andG3, using I, J and K centre offsets, including helical moves where the tool spirals down while it goes round. - Arc planes, meaning
G17,G18andG19, so arcs cut in XZ or YZ come out right rather than flattened. - Inch and millimetre programs, meaning
G20andG21, converted to millimetres for display. - Absolute and incremental positioning, meaning
G90andG91. - Feed rates, spindle speeds and tool numbers, which are reported so you can sanity check them at a glance.
What it does not do
This is a viewer, not a simulator, and the difference matters. It draws where the tool centre goes. It does not know your tool diameter, it does not remove material, and it will not tell you that you are about to crash into a vise it cannot see. Canned cycles such as G81 drilling are not expanded into their individual moves, and cutter compensation is not applied.
Treat it as a fast way to see the shape of a program and catch obvious problems. It does not replace running the program above the part with the spindle off, and it does not replace a proper machine simulation.
File formats
G-code goes by a lot of extensions depending on who wrote the post processor. This viewer accepts .nc, .gcode, .tap, .ngc, .cnc, .mpf, .eia and plain .txt. Comments in either parentheses or after a semicolon are ignored, as are line numbers and block delete slashes.
Questions
Is my program uploaded anywhere?
Which controls does it support?
Why are some moves missing?
Does it check for crashes?
What do the colours mean?
Other free tools
We build tools like this into the shops we work with, wired to their own machines, their own material data and their own systems. If that sounds useful, tell us what you run.
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