I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
Add two lines in your DXF along the sides you want to cut the steps in. Those become “open paths” and can be machined using contour and defining amounts of stock to be left so you can take as many passes as you like.
Brian Lamb blamb11@cox.net (blamb11@cox.net) www.lambtoolworks.com
I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
I am trying to make a new T slot insert for my lathe. Simple 2" x 3" x 1/2" stock. A 1/4" x 1/4" notch in the top of each 3" x 1/2" edge. I can’t seem to find an operation that will allow me to cut this. At first, I thought a face pocket would work, but my tool path ended up having the tool path following the drawing, and thus over cutting by the radius of the tool. Contour will not work unless I make a drawing with the offsets built into the drawing.
Is this simple job beyond the ability of Sheetcam, or is it beyond my ability?
I can easliy hand code the job, but as I’m cutting on a Taig, and with limited power, I need to do the 1/4" deep cut in apx 30 passes using, I hoped, was a 3/8" mill. One pass per layer vs a true pocket. I can come up with a scheme of using something like a 1/8" mill, but the depth of cut becomes an issue, and I will also have to modify the drawing to allow for square edges.
Andy, that is an option, but with my clamps holding the piece to the table on the long ends of the stock, I would have to be cutting a lot of air to just make the passes.
Brian, I tried the lines and doing a contour, sheetcam runs the tool path centered on the line with a warning that no offset was done because it was an open path. So, I offset the line in Rhino 1/2 the tool width and I can do two operations, contour without offset that gives me a good tool path.
One issue remains though. Is there a way to cut in both directions? The current code gives me an x from Xo to x2.5, a rapid to z1.25 (clamp clearance) Rapid x0 rapid to z0 plunge to new Z depth, and then a feed at speed back to x2.5. I would like for the cut to be x0 to x2.5 at speed, plunge to new z depth, x2.5 to x0 plunge, etc until cut to depth the a rapid to clearance z 1.25 and move to the other side and then cut that step.
There is an option to “offest open paths” when you are defining the contour cut, third tab across when the operation is open I think…. that will allow offsetting to work. I can’t remember, but I think there might be an option for cutting both ways, might not work when offsetting though….
Brian Lamb blamb11@cox.net (blamb11@cox.net) www.lambtoolworks.com
Andy, that is an option, but with my clamps holding the piece to the table on the long ends of the stock, I would have to be cutting a lot of air to just make the passes.
Brian, I tried the lines and doing a contour, sheetcam runs the tool path centered on the line with a warning that no offset was done because it was an open path. So, I offset the line in Rhino 1/2 the tool width and I can do two operations, contour without offset that gives me a good tool path.
One issue remains though. Is there a way to cut in both directions? The current code gives me an x from Xo to x2.5, a rapid to z1.25 (clamp clearance) Rapid x0 rapid to z0 plunge to new Z depth, and then a feed at speed back to x2.5. I would like for the cut to be x0 to x2.5 at speed, plunge to new z depth, x2.5 to x0 plunge, etc until cut to depth the a rapid to clearance z 1.25 and move to the other side and then cut that step.
I finally got it. I’ve been using sheetcam since about day 2, and never saw the need to do any mods to the cut path. This time I did
What worked was set optimization to Auto, Cutting Rules to Shortest path, Cut direction slider to the H, Reverse Open paths clicked and every thing else at defaults.
I’ve yet to make the cut, but doing an edit of the gcode, it looks right
I did one more thing, the two lines were extended in both directions by half the cutter length so all plunges would be in air. I’ve yet to check the clearance over the clamps.
I also want to try the offset open paths using the original drawing with the lines not offset.
Glad it worked. I was pretty sure it could go bidirectional as I always want to be climb cutting, so I have that checked and remember it going both directions if I didn’t have it checked.
Brian Lamb blamb11@cox.net (blamb11@cox.net) www.lambtoolworks.com
Brian,
I finally got it. I’ve been using sheetcam since about day 2, and never saw the need to do any mods to the cut path. This time I did
What worked was set optimization to Auto, Cutting Rules to Shortest path, Cut direction slider to the H, Reverse Open paths clicked and every thing else at defaults.
I’ve yet to make the cut, but doing an edit of the gcode, it looks right
I did one more thing, the two lines were extended in both directions by half the cutter length so all plunges would be in air. I’ve yet to check the clearance over the clamps.
I also want to try the offset open paths using the original drawing with the lines not offset.
Brian, it only half worked… Using a line on the intersection of the steps and main body as my work line, and making each line on a different layer. only the line closes to Y0 offset correctly, Both lines offset towards Y0 regardless of setting the operation to inside offset or outside offset.
This looks like a potential bug in Sheetcam or there is another option I haven’t found yet to allow the right direction of offset. Humm. wonder what it does with a line along the Y axis?
Just checked that out. The offset on Y is always to the negative side. Same as X
Don,
Just to jump in here, change your start point to the opposite end of the
line and it will offset to the other side. Les says that on an open path,
it will always offset to the same side of the line and the work around is
as stated. Change the start point.
Art
Country Bubba
At 07:44 PM 4/17/2015, you wrote:
Brian, it only half worked… Using a line on the intersection of the
steps and main body as my work line, and making each line on a different
layer. only the line closes to Y0 offset correctly, Both lines offset
towards Y0 regardless of setting the operation to inside offset or outside
offset.
This looks like a potential bug in Sheetcam or there is another option I
haven’t found yet to allow the right direction of offset. Humm. wonder
what it does with a line along the Y axis?
Just checked that out. The offset on Y is always to the negative
side. Same as X
Don,Just to jump in here, change your start point to the opposite end of the line and it will offset to the other side. Les says that on an open path, it will always offset to the same side of the line and the work around is as stated. Change the start point.ArtCountry BubbaAt 07:44 PM 4/17/2015, you wrote:>Brian, it only half worked… Using a line on the intersection of the >steps and main body as my work line, and making each line on a different >layer. only the line closes to Y0 offset correctly, Both lines offset >towards Y0 regardless of setting the operation to inside offset or outside >offset.>>This looks like a potential bug in Sheetcam or there is another option I >haven’t found yet to allow the right direction of offset. Humm. wonder >what it does with a line along the Y axis?> Just checked that out. The offset on Y is always to the negative > side. Same as X>>>Don
Brian Thank you for your help. I kept having the nagging feeling that I was missing something I should have known. It was hard to believe that Les left a basic bug behind. I was really sure it was something I was missing. It was.
Any time, glad to be of help. I had some issues early on with the open paths. Les gave me some explanation and I worked with them a bit more, now I use them a lot. I can simulate some of these high speed machining paths by drawing parallel lines in my CAD system and then running them as open paths, even on a complicated shape.
Brian Lamb blamb11@cox.net (blamb11@cox.net) www.lambtoolworks.com
Brian Thank you for your help. I kept having the nagging feeling that I was missing something I should have known. It was hard to believe that Les left a basic bug behind. I was really sure it was something I was missing. It was.
Don