Fixture help.

[jzarski1]

Well I need to run a second operation on the back side of letters and numbers. Nothing hard just an .125 round over on the edges. Right now I am doing it with a table router. If any of you remember I took the top part of my finger off with that thing. So I want to make it simple for an employee to do safe. Might take a little longer but it will keep my work comp. insurance down:) I currently have the bot doing the front side and I would like to make a fixture for my little cnc to run the second op. Here is my problem. I know I can mirror the number in PW and do a pocket cut. But I will have to modify the pocket so the number will fit. I guess you could call it a inlay???? I have no clue how to do this. I have messed with it for a few days with no success. Anyone have any ideas please let me know. My goal is to make a little vacuum table using my shopvac to hold the parts. My working surface on my small cnc is 16"x16" with a table size of 24"x24". Need some help getting this setup. Thank you in advance.

John

[donek]

You'd have to explain more. is the letter not fitting? why? If it's sharp corners, look in the fillet tools.

[Bob Eustace]

John are all the letters the same font and same size? If they are what we have done is used pins on MDF and still use the table router. Also a great way to vertical sandwich glue ups.

[bleeth]

You need to make the pocket a bit bigger then the letter. Try .005 offset. Wherever you have square outside corners on the letters you need to make a relief cut in the pocket or change the square corners in the letters to a fillet that is the radius of your cutting tool.

Since your pocket is basically just a holding jig you can do a thru cut in material that is sufficiently thinner than the letter so the roundover bit has the room it needs or cut a shallow pocket in thicker material with the area clear toolpathing.

If you still don't quite get the corner relief concept think of a plain letter "I" ecept the corners make it look like a dogbone.