darran
06-17-2018, 12:26 AM
I'm just getting ready to run my first test with the Indexer at our local maker space. I'll start my doing it in free space (no stock at all) before moving on to run with a piece of foam and then to a soft wood.
I'm struggling though to understand what I am seeing in the Shopbot Control Software's Preview mode. Bear with me ...
As the simplest of tests, I've modelled a 1"x1"x4" block. I have set up my CAM software to mill this in 4 facing operations from a 2"x2"x4" piece of stock with the origin as shown in the image below.
31701
For this contrived example, I'm using a 1" end mill. Each side is faced with 3 lines linked by half circles. Since I'll probably not even cut this out of wood, I'm not worried about taking this all off in a single pass. The CAM looks reasonable.
The .shp file that I get is attached below. It too seems to make sense. I see the J5 commands doing the 90 degree rotations of the 5th (B) axis. I see the M3 commands on each face running from X=0" to X=4" at 1/2" above Z=0. And I see the linking CG half-circles.
However, when I load this part file in the SBC application and preview in 3D, I don't see the same CAM tool paths. This really concerns me as I habitually check Preview before cutting just to make sure what I think is going to happen is mirrored on the screen.
31703
Can anyone advise as to what, if anything, I am doing wrong?
Cheers,
Darran.
I'm struggling though to understand what I am seeing in the Shopbot Control Software's Preview mode. Bear with me ...
As the simplest of tests, I've modelled a 1"x1"x4" block. I have set up my CAM software to mill this in 4 facing operations from a 2"x2"x4" piece of stock with the origin as shown in the image below.
31701
For this contrived example, I'm using a 1" end mill. Each side is faced with 3 lines linked by half circles. Since I'll probably not even cut this out of wood, I'm not worried about taking this all off in a single pass. The CAM looks reasonable.
The .shp file that I get is attached below. It too seems to make sense. I see the J5 commands doing the 90 degree rotations of the 5th (B) axis. I see the M3 commands on each face running from X=0" to X=4" at 1/2" above Z=0. And I see the linking CG half-circles.
However, when I load this part file in the SBC application and preview in 3D, I don't see the same CAM tool paths. This really concerns me as I habitually check Preview before cutting just to make sure what I think is going to happen is mirrored on the screen.
31703
Can anyone advise as to what, if anything, I am doing wrong?
Cheers,
Darran.