Projecting a toolpath

[So not a Guru]

I know there must be a way to do this, but I haven't been able to find the right toolpath for it.

I want to have a 3/16 ballmill cut a single pass along the the fillet surfaces, using the arc (that I've also projected onto the surfaces). Not a 5x toolpath, just a 3x, as the walls of the cylinder are vertical.

What toolpath should I be using to get this to work?

[RonC.]

Pencil ?

[So not a Guru]

1 minute ago, RonC. said:

Pencil ?

I can't seem to get anything but a computational error from it.

[So not a Guru]

5 minutes ago, So not a Guru said:

I can't seem to get anything but a computational error from it.

Geez Louise, I had the wrong diameter. Pencil works great with the right input.

GIGO

[huskermcdoogle]

Does your boss have draft.  If not, use the tangent point on the wall, and do a contour 3d using the tip as the compensation point, then use a - radius stock to leave vertically to get it to the right height.

As you found as well, pencil should work.  Otherwise, you could use the project toolpath in the MW suite and accomplish the same thing.

[So not a Guru]

3 minutes ago, huskermcdoogle said:

Does your boss have draft.  If not, use the tangent point on the wall, and do a contour 3d using the tip as the compensation point, then use a - radius stock to leave vertically to get it to the right height.

No draft. The 3D pencil worked perfectly. I just had a brainfart when I originally entered the diameter value of the arc.

[JParis]

Contour the small dia in a flat 2D contour, then project that contour down onto the floor surfaces

 

Pencil can and does work...the thing to try to remember about pencil is that you ideally want that path getting into those rads as the first tool...not to try to blend to another finish...

[Colin Gilchrist]

Mill Toolpaths > Surface Finish Project

This will also do projection. You can now select "curves", and pick the 2D Wireframe Geometry, without needing to create a seperate Contour operation.

The "start point" of the arc will be your "start point" of the path. So "rotate" the arc, if you need to use a different entry point.

Use the "Direction" button, to add "Surface Entry/Exit" moves to the path, so you aren't just "feeding straight down" the wall.

Of course, Pencil is also an awesome path, which would do a good job of cutting this feature.

[JParis]

16 minutes ago, Colin Gilchrist said:

Mill Toolpaths > Surface Finish Project

This will also do projection. You can now select "curves", and pick the 2D Wireframe Geometry, without needing to create a seperate Contour operation.

Yes you can but experience has shown me I get a better overall result using the contour option

 

JM2C YMMV

[Guest]

21 minutes ago, JParis said:

Yes you can but experience has shown me I get a better overall result using the contour option

 

JM2C YMMV

Hmm, yes I think overall nci gets the same or better results, project has always been my go to, in all my programs i only use contour, pocket, area mill, surface finish flowline and surface finish project. Also, i always use one surface! Just to keep things simple and regeneration times fast, although there are so many other good options, i could always get awesome 3 axis milling results with just those, and the programs are very easy to understand.

 

The best thing about legacy operations is they don't change every version, so you dont need to constantly relearn them!

 

Edit: I forgot dynamic mill, don't leave home without it.

[Aaron Eberhard]

If you have access to multiaxis toolpaths, use Unified (set to Morph) or Morph, choose the two solid chains on the edges of your fillet and set the Cut Parameters > Number of Cuts to 1.   Then just lock it to 3 axis.  That'll keep you from having to create wireframe at all.