Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] WE NEED HELP PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CNC BEGINNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi Acidcustom:
It's pretty unclear what you're trying to get to, but I'll take a stab
at it.
If you just want to bomb around the outline of a shape that you've created,
you need to have a continuous curve in the CAM program that your cutter can
follow, and then specify which side of the curve you want to be on with the
cutter.
Many CAM programs will do this with a toolpath function called "contour" or
something like that.
The more sophisticated ones will allow you to draw the outline of the part
and specify which side of the line you want to be on; the simpler ones
require you to draw a second line that runs along the position that the
center of the cutter needs to be to get the part you want.
You can set up the CAM function to mill the whole depth in one go, or break
it up into several cuts, each progressively deeper.
Your efforts in Rhino will get you a set of trimmed surfaces in most CAM
programs...this is not quite what you want in order to do what I think
you're describing and wishing for.
You need edge curves, and they need to be all on one plane, and all
connected (not just visually, but mathematically too.)
This will give the cutter a good line to follow.
If you try to just cut everything you see on the Rhino output, you'll get
the machine trying to create a surface milled part.
That's what you seem to be describing as your problem.
You'll also probably break a lot of cutters, because you can't just dive a
cutter into a solid block of steel and start hacking away like you could in
wax or plastic.
There's a lot of strategy involved in 3D contouring of steel parts.
Hope this helps
Cheers

Marcus

----- Original Message -----
From: <acidcustom@...>
To: <CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 2:23 AM
Subject: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] WE NEED HELP PLEASE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CNC
BEGINNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!


> we have just brought a cnc mill and we have been making some models
> of pistol grip frames in rhino 3d and we have imported them into
> visual mill free as .raw files and then we go through all the setting
> up like tool-toolpaths etc............and when we go to cut it out
> all it does is machines all the excess metal away and what we would
> like to do is just cut out are frame in one hit leaving all the
> excess metal untouched we really need some help with this as u were
> all in this postion once so please give us a helping hand..........
>
> thanks