Exact Size Blanks

[matt_r]

Greetings;
Being a newbie with Millwizard, I have a question. Having seen one other pinewood derby post, I would like to do the same thing. I have designed my car in SolidWorks, imported the STL into MillWizard, and ran thru the tooling paths. MW spits back to me that I should have a block of material that is bigger than the pine block that comes in the official scout kit. My design started with a solid model the size of the pine block starter blank, so I know it can be cut from that shape. How do I get Millwizard to accept the blank size I want. OR, do I just accept what it gives me, and offset my origin on the table to compensate?

Any ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.

BTW, I do realize that I could just cut it from an oversize block and just shave it off, but thats not the question. I guess I can see the possibility of a customer giving me some blanks one day, that are very close to the size of the finished part, and having to do the same thing I'm trying to do here.

Thanks,

Matt

[Brady Watson]

Matt,
Check the scaling of the STL that you pulled into MillWizard and scale it down if need be. You can do this on the Resize Model screen. Then it should fit within the dimensions of the stcok.

-Brady

[artisan]

Also, check the dimensions on your car carefully. I'm betting that your model exceeds the block at some point you've overlooked....a simple line is all it takes. If you select the whole model, you should be able to easily read your dimensions and compare that to the block size....D

[andrewm]

Matt,

When doing my boys car, I used 3D Studio to model the care then used FreeMill to route it out of a larger block. Worked great. He came in second. (The winning car by the way was a square block that the kid used markers on and just stuck the wheels on with coins taped to the top. Go figure.)

I also developed a parts file for houseing our race timer.

http://www.adventurefurniture.com/services.html

[matt_r]

Thanks for the input guys. I did try another run on a scrap blank this weekend. I offset the x and Y origins by the amount that MW suggested I oversize my block by. It worked better than my first attempt, but it was still wanting more of a block than what I had for a blank. Hmmm, back to the drawing board - or PC as they say these days.
Brady - the one problem I see with resizing the the STL is that my car model went to the max block width at the axle areas, and I wanted to keep this dimension in tact. If I resize the model to fit my block, I think I lose that dimension. Yes/No???

Darell - I'm pretty sure my model is within the block size. Like I said, my solid model started out at the block size, and all I did was take material away in the modeling process. I'm just thinking that MW always assumes that it will be carving your outermost edges, and that the outermost edges of the block are not meant to be left in tact.

Andrew - Yes, it was your earlier post that inspired me. Actually, our derby came and went Saturday night, with out me entering a car. My son - (who is still too young for scouts), entered anyway using a car that grandpa pulled off the shelf from 'way back when'. So, that was fun. But hey, watch out for us next year - I already have some mean designs in mind. :-) I did have one question for you though. On your car, carving it out of a larger block. How did you cut your axle slots, or did you just drill holes for the axle nails to go in?

Thanks for all of your input. This forum is so cool!

Thanks,

Matt

[Brady Watson]

Matt,
No...MillWizard will scale up all 3 Axes exactly in proportion to each other. In other words, it will maintain whatever the aspect ratio is of the other 2 axes when you scale up one of them.

MillWizard Help: "On the size page you can resize the model. The edit boxes are all linked to each other as the model can only be resized proportionally. Typing in 100 in the % edit box will always return the model to its original size. Once the model is the size you want, press 'Next >'"

You can see the numbers change of the other axes when you type in the textbox to resize by axis or percentage. I usually start by scaling down the Z to match my material block. Also, a set of digital calipers are almost a must for machining 3D dead on because a tape measure can be way off.

-Brady

[matt_r]

Thanks Brady. I'll have to fool around with the size page in MW, and see what I can do to resize the model.

Thanks,

Matt