Inlay Fit problems

[waynec]

I just tried my first inlay with Artcam 9. It seems pretty easy, but when I do the machining, I get parts that don't fit.

To make a simple test, I used just a square and a circle of 12". When I cut the files, both male pieces measure 12" exactly. But the female pockets are about a sixteenth too small.

Should I be using an offset to make these fit? I was expecting the inlay feature to correctly size both pieces.

Thanks for your help.

[nschlee]

We use a .010" offset to get a "pass thru fit". It helps if your machine is tight in both axis' and use sharp bits.

[Brady Watson]

Also, be sure to use the exact same diameter bit to do both parts of the inlay. A .01" allowance (go negative allowance if need be) is a good setting to start for fit. You might want to open that up to .015" to make sure that you have enough room for glue. If you don't add allowance, then you will literally have to hammer the parts in.

-B

[bill.young]

Hey Wayne,

This is slightly off-topic but Paul Zank has a neat technique for doing inlays using Vectric software (including Part Works), that gives both a great fit all the time and lets you have square inside corners on your inlays. He's written an article about it in the ShopBot wiki at:

http://shopbotwiki.com/index.php?title=VCarveProInlay

Bill