I finally got the time to cut these letters and have a problem. The first letter is a P and the straight segment seems to cut OK, but the curved part of the P doesn't go deep enough. In fact it doesn't show at all. I've created a plane on the angled surface where the letters are and this is the C-plane and T-plane The WCS is set to Top, but I'm not using WSC. Ramping is 3deg, default settings. Filter is set at .0001 tolerance, One-way with Arcs checked in all planes. It looks perfect in Verify. I might try it without ramping or filter or both. Any ideas??

I've only got 20000 rpm. The ramp is set at the default 3deg angle and looks good in backplot. I found some charts and it looks like .0005 to .001 chip load is a starting point. I didn't mention this tool will be in a 3/4 x 2-in extension, so it may not be the most rigid setup. With this, I'm looking at 18000rpm and 20 to 30ipm. This would drop the chip load to .0003-.0004. Too fast? Too slow? I'm paranoid when working with these little-bitty cutters since they are so easy to snap off. Thanks for your help.

OK, I can't use a ball like I first thought. The letters need to be somewhat square-bottomed to match existing parts and need to be .05 to .06 'line' width and .016 deep. This is a one time job with 104 letters, 9/32 tall, total to cut. What do you suggest for a cutter and starting feed/speed to do this on a router? I'm looking at: 4-flute carbide miniature endmill, .050 diameter, .004 corner radius, .150 LOC, 1/8 shank and 1.5 OAL. OR 3-flute HSS taper mill, .060 tip diameter, 1.0 LOC, 3/8 shank, 2.25 OAL with 2deg taper per side. The carbide will probably give crisper letters, but I'm thinking the HSS might be more forgiving and less chance of breaking. Thanks for your help.

Thanks for your help. I went back to the Drafting (stick) Font because that gives you the Drafting Options to rotate and mirror the text. I also modified the W and went to a smaller ball like you suggested and it looks good on the screen! We'll see how it actually turns out. These are engraved letters .015 to .020 deep in a mold cavity, so when molded they will be raised letters on the plastic part. The mold halves are cast aluminum and the machine is a 5-ax router. Probably not the ideal combination, but I think it can be done.

I have block letters on a surface to engrave. I would like to make one pass, so I need to drive the centerline with a contour path. Is there an easy way to create the centerline or do I need to 'xform offset-contour' for each letter and then trim/extend, cleanup?? I tried the stick font, but it doesn't look as good. For one thing, the legs on the W are crowded too close together. Or maybe I should stay with the block letters that I have and use a different toolpath. How does everyone else do engraving? Thanks for your help!

We have an ES988 model, but it looks like the sensor sections are exactly the same in our manual. I adjusted Sensor 1 and 2 and feel like I've got those set right. There is about a 90deg range you can turn these sensors before the voltage drops low. These are now set right in the middle. I don't know how to adjust Sensor 3 though. It may not matter because I don't think it is used in our logic anyway. The spindle seems to vibrate more than it should, with a new shaft kit. Have you ever had vibration trigger a sensor? Also have you ever seen a rear bearing housing wear out on your HSD spindles? Thanks for your help!

Thanks Tommy, I've got a manual and have tried adjusting the sensors. I can't tell if the adjustment is so sensitive that we don't have it right yet or if our adjustment is OK and something else is the problem. I would think after adjustment the spindle either runs or not, no in between like we are seeing. I would also guess a bad sensor would cause it to not run at all. I don't know?? I think I'll look closer for a broken wire or bad connection since our problem is intermittent.

Does anybody have any tips on how to adjust the three sensors (S1, S2, S3) on an HSD ISO30 spindle? We put in a new shaft kit and air cylinder which ran for a couple days. Now have random "spindle not running, feedhold" errors which shuts the spindle off and stops the machine. It may happen with or without a load, moving or still. Would a bad sensor cause it to not run at all or be intermittent like this? Thanks for your help

Ooops, sorry. Learned something new again today.

So he engraved an extra zero in the part. Go into 9 or X, pick a surface finish toolpath and try putting in a cut tolerance of 0.00002. It won't allow anything smaller than 0.00005.

Thanks, I put them back and saved a new toolbar state so I can always go back and load that if I need to. No one else uses this computer, so it must have been something I did. I see what you mean about changing the window size. If the sides are pulled in, toolbars stack up vertical, but don't go back to where they were. I must have resized sometime before shutting down yesterday. Thanks for your help!

This morning X opened up with all toolbars stacked vertical, one per row which leaves about 1/2 screen for the working area. Has anybody else seen this? I can drag them all back to the top, that's not the problem, but how do I keep it from happening again?

I just cut two similar patterns and with help from this forum learned 2:1 ratio with .0005 total tolerance gives a better finish than 3:1 and .001 total. This was using Surface Finish Contour. One-way filtering seems to help finish, although I can't see much difference in the toolpath when actually cutting. I've tried arcs in all planes, no planes and now sticking with arcs in just the XY plane. Seems to help prevent "stutter-steps" with our router, but I've also made a lot of changes at once, so I don't know which one setting helped the most. Also discovered the spiral limit setting in Finish Contour. This prevents a mark where the stepdowns occur. It is explained pretty well in the help menu and in at least one thread here. My two cents. HTH

Just finished cutting and Yes it worked great!!! Used .0005 tolerance and 2:1 filter. I also discovered the Spiral Limit option and used it this time. I've always used Highfeed and with the looser tolerance, there would always be some direction changes the cutter was moving way too fast. This time the whole program was smoother. There are still some minor marks in the pattern, but we can live with that. If I had more machine time I could use a smaller stepover. Would and even tighter tolerance, like .0001, and maybe a 1:1 filter ratio help the surface finish even more? Where's the limit? Thanks for your help

heavy: Thanks, I'll tighten up the tolerance and change filter to 2:1. If it looks good in Verify, I'll go with it and see what the part looks like when we cut tomorrow. Ocean: The toolpath looks clean, nothing strange there. ??? The roll tool is set to Automatic and a sharp corner tolerance of 100% of cut tol.

We've had our Quintax router for over 4yrs now and it's done everything we've needed. Mostly parts trimming, drilling, patterns and some light aluminum work. Can't complain about the support, mostly phone and email. Quintax is also right next door to you in Ohio.

Using Surface Finish Contour in X for the finish cut on a foam pattern. There are small "gouges" left on the part that also shows in Verify. Will changing the Filter/Tolerance settings fix this? Thanks for your help.

Mito: What size HP do you have and how many hours does it have on it? We are looking for something more reliable and longer-lasting than what we have now. Greg: I've got some info and a quote on the Becker duplex pumps. It looks like a good system. Thanks for your input.

A while back I posted here about vacuum pumps and have looked at 10-12 since then including those recommended here. We have narrowed it down to a 15hp Dekker oil-sealed liquid ring pump for our 5ax router table. It will be used to hold down individual molded parts onto shaped fixtures, not a spoilboard setup. Does anyone have experience with this pump or any other liquid ring pump used in a router application? Thanks for your advice.

We have a rotary vane type now. George: What kind of vacuum do you get with the screw type? Is it capable of pulling 29-in Hg? Thanks for your help.

Thanks I use PFE all the time, except when doing a file compare with the Cimco editor.

Thanks for the replies so far. Our current unit is rated 118 ACFM at 29 in Hg and has a 5hp motor on a 60gal tank. We regularly hold 28 in Hg on our parts. We run only 1 shift that varies from 8 to 16hrs/day and 5 to 6 days/week depending on how much work we have. How long do your pumps last under similar conditions with normal maintenance, oil & filter changes, etc?

Any recommendations on a good vacuum pump that will last? We hold down molded parts on vacuum fixtures for trimming with our router. Parts vary in shape and size from 1 to 10 sq-ft of vacuum area. Is rotary vane, piston or screw type the best for this application? What are your experiences, good or bad, with vacuum pumps? Thanks for your help and Merry Christmas!

Penn Tool has one: Tool Setter Deco Tool Supply also has an electronic tool setter: Part #98-330-4

Thanks for your help guys. I'll check out Optodyne. I only knew of Renishaw and API before.