That is good to know John. We deal with that all the time. We usually use surfaces, change the color and place them in the same location. Then check to see where surface colors don't blend together. Works well if you don't have SW.

Good stuff, thaks for the info. We could use that around our shop.

They need to fix what isn't working properly. When your working in the shop you don't have time to find alternate solutions or work arounds. That means your losing money. Especially if you damage your machine or workpiece. You expect it to work the way it is supossed to. No software is perfect but I agree with Drag Racer 100%!

You can also take an evening course at your local tech college or contact a local MC dealer and take one of their classes.

Never seen that. We do large stuff here and only see the delays when creating the toolpath. Not when picking surfaces.

I usually double my time and it ends up being pretty close to actual.

We typically quote based on surface area of part and complexity of the shape.

HTH

Taking parts and processes overseas is not that simple. You have set up time. Q.C. problems, travel expenses. Delays to customers, shipping problems, customs, port workers, etc. Anyhting can happen. At a differnt job we lost containers over the side of the ship in a bad storm. Your customers feel bad for you but at the end of the day they still want the goods. Plus you have to stay on them to make sure they are using the proper materials.

Just got done doing it a few times without problem. I didn't import geometry or toolpath group. Just the ops I wanted.

John, it seemed to be very efficient even though it was only cutting in one direction.

I went back and tried the regular roughing (not HST) and it seemed to only cut in one direction even though I chose zigzag. After each pass it would retract and go back to the begining of the next cut. That is in the backplot. But I seem to remember doing roughing programs in the past where I got the cutter to core rough in a zig zag.

Thanks

My head hurts after reading this thread! Doesn't sound fun.

We do 0 production. Everything is custom so we don't ever get a chance to worry about shaving time off the cycle. However, it can be a pain because everything is different. We are always starting from scratch.

I can't find the setting in the core roughing HST to change from one way to zig zag. I'm cutting a large piece of high temp foam and I'm wasting time only cutting in one direction.

I went back to the regular roughing toolpath and I have the option to choose between one way and zig zag.

We just used the swarf 5-axis. It worked well. The multisurface 5-axis produced some goofy code. We'll have to play around with multisurface more when we have time.

Thanks for everyones help!

Everybody has mail, thanks! I'll let you know how it comes out tomorrow when I get a chance to play around with it some more.

Typically I will create - surface - fill holes with surface, then I will add them to the drive surface. Once you have a surface on the holes you can machine away. HTH

I appreciate it. I sent you the file to you. I haven't used the new 5-axis toolpaths yet.

We've got a 5-axis router.

I'm trying to make a finish pass that cuts along the back wall while keeping the end mill normal to the floor surface. I've got a 5-axis curve toolpath that does this, but it leans into the back wall at certain points.

I tried a swarf and it doesn't lean into the back wall but the cutter doesn't stay perpendicular to the bottom surface.

Any help would be appreciated.

What about using Medite or MDF?

Here also, It is a strange phenomenon.

I've seen some threads where a few people are running it. But I'm with Colin. I'd wait on Vista.

Here is a link to the benchmark for computers and processing time. I know it is a long thread, but well worth the read, from start to finish, before you buy a new computer.

benchmark

Prosin,

I was going to tell you that if you want to insert an image or screen print in the thread you have to get the image on a server. A lot of people here use photo bucket . Or you can place them on your server.

Under the full reply form you can insert an image by clicking on the image button. Then paste or type the path from the photo's web address into the http display that pops up. That should get you going. For instance the link to the screen shot I placed in this thread is as follows http://www.5axistooling.com/images/mold1.jpg

HTH

Thanks Prosin,

I'm still getting an error "unable to determine a valid machining zone - no toolpath created."

I'm sure it's something simple I'm missing. I'll keep playing around with it.

Bill

Prosin,

I'm not sure I understand what the remachining toolpath is. I did a raster at 0.4 and then created another raster at zero that references the previous under the rest material tab. I got an error that it couldn't create the toolpath.

Robert and Matt,

I need to go back and read some more threads about the .stl files. Not sure I have a grip on it yet.

Eric,

The pocket toolpath doesn't do what I need, thanks though.

Matt,

I see what your saying I will have to play around with it. I wonder if I can copy the surfaces onto another level, offset in z +0.4 and use those surfaces as my starting stock. Or save as another file.

Seems like I should be able to create a program that follows the shape of my part (so there isn't a lot of wasted time). And I could say these are my drive surfaces start at +0.4 above surface and end at zero with a 0.05 stepdown. Seems simple enough. Am I missing something?

Seems like it would be a HST core roughing program.

Thanks John,

I've got my stock to leave as 0.4 and the stepdown set to 0.05 and it just does one pass at 0.4. Then if I change it stock to leave at zero and 0.05 stepdown I only get one pass at zero.

no stepdown

I need a way for it to know the material is actually higher than the dive surface at zero.

Hey guys, I’m working on a large mold. The fiberglass is about 0.4” high and I need to machine it down to zero. My step down is about 0.05”. Right now I have to make about 8 surface high speed raster toolpaths steping each one down . I know that I can post them all together and let the machine run.

But I was wondering if there is a roughing program that will start 0.4 above the surface and step down 0.05 until it reaches zero. I’ve been playing with the high speed roughing programs but haven’t had any success.

I think of it like a casting that needs to be machined. We aren’t starting from a block of material. It already has the basic shape but the material can’t be cut in one pass.

I appreciate you help.