Re: more on CADCAM raw material

Johnno wrote:

"...Imagining the placement in relationship to a rectangle forces me
to program rapid moves or other extra lines that are unnecessary and
with an Emco machine there is a limit of 221 lines so I need to
conserve the commands and be effiecient..."

I'm afraid I don't understand where all the extra lines are coming
from, John. I understand that placement of your part is important in
order to make good use of an expensive material, but having to "draw"
your material in your CAM software seems to be an extra step. If you
draw an outine of your material in your CAD drawing and make sure
everything fits within it, wouldn't that be enough?

In the software that I use, I am able limit toolpath generation to a
predefined area. Usually I just offset the outline of my part by a
small amount. Are you able to do that? Would that help cut down on
the extra moves?

I am relatively new at using CNC equipment, so perhaps I am missing
something completely obvious...

-Tom Murray