Machsupport Forum
Mach Discussion => General Mach Discussion => Topic started by: Rockster on October 17, 2015, 09:27:12 PM
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I'm going to try inlay on my cheap 3020 mill, starting with a 1" circle, pocket no problem, profile is either to big or to small, I can get them the exact same size, but need a little clearance to fit properly, I know I can make adjustment by changing profile a little smaller, but when I import designs it wont be that easy. I know I will have to mirror the image before I run the profile but I think they will end up the same exact size which I could hammer in and make fit but the inlay will be to fragile to do that without breaking. I use bob cad/cam. any help would be really awesome!
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It takes some trial and error to initially find the right settings but for inlay work I create one Gcode for the 'pocket' cut on the inside of the line and the Gcode for the 'inlay' flipped and cut on the outside of the line with the line width (being the kerf width) determined in the .dxf artwork. Difficult to explain but try it and I am sure it will make sense. This approach works equally well for laser as well as rotary cutting.
Tweakie.
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Thanks Tweakie,
OK so if I make an adjustment to the cutter dia comp. example using a .125 tool the cutter comp is adjusted to .0625, I could set the comp to say .0605 and the actual cut will be .02 smaller? if thats correct that makes sense, now how to reset comp? it sets the comp automatic when I enter a tool, do I just set the tool size a little larger, not sure if I can just change the comp I will have to see today where that is set, I thought that was done when I posted to gcode? I can see the comp at the begining og the code, can I change it there?
cant wait to change the dots on the fret board to something Cool
also to fit a part into another, is there a basic dimension for the fit. say 2 thou less gets the fit perfect?
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opps I mean .002
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Asking on a BobCAD forum might get you more help.
also to fit a part into another, is there a basic dimension for the fit. say 2 thou less gets the fit perfect?
There are many factors that will affect the fit, such as cut direction, feedrate, tool deflection, and flex in the machine. It's really something that takes a lot of trial and error to find out the exact parameters that work best for what you're doing.
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bobcad seems to want to get paid for any advice, I did not get any response
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There's a very active bobcad community at cnc zone. Try asking there.
I have no idea why people continue to buy BobCAD, when all they get is bad press year after year.
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didn't know any better!!!! don't like how they keep changing versions an expecting you to buy every new version! hard to open the wallet for a new program, any suggestions on something better? I could see if I was in business doing this stuff, but it's just a hobby.
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didn't know any better!!!! don't like how they keep changing versions an expecting you to buy every new version!
Even worse, you apparently don't get any bug fixes unless you pay for a support contract. And new BobCAD releases are known to be very buggy.
As for alternatives, look at Vectric's products.
Or, sign up for a free copy of Fusion 360.
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If you have BobCAD V25 with either of the last two builds it's really solid and capable with very few bugs, none that affect 2D, 2.5D, V-Carve, 3D with 3 & 4 axes, boy was I lucky ;-)
V28 might be very good if they fix a few annoying bugs and don't introduce any significant new ones,
- Nick
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Just looked at vector cut 2D, seems to have everything I need for a fraction of what I paid for bobcad, I'll keep bobcad v25 may be useful in the future if I get deeper into it, but I will open wallet and get cut2D, at 149.00 it's worth a shot! looks much easier to use, took me a year to get v25 so I could do anything in less than an hour! I'm self taught, it's not good enough for me to just have someone show me how to do something, I have to know how and why to get there!
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I'm self taught too, it took me about 12 months of my spare time to get up to speed from a base of no CAD/CAM experience at all.
BobCAD V25 is really capable and with all the free video tutorials on Al DePaolo's After Dark channel on YouTube and the community support on CNC Zone there's not really an excuse other than "I can't be bothered"
You should really take the time to talk to the guys on CNC Zone - I help there when I can - as what you're wanting to do is well within the scope of V25 if you can be bothered to ask,
Regards,
Nick
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I will for sure continue my education with bobcad, I already have it, and I do like it for making small parts, I got pretty good at doing that, but have been struggling with inlay, and it's not that I don't want to ask for help, that's what I'm doing here, it's more that cut2D has an inlay menu which I like, it's more the time it will take to get it right, I don't want to spend another year learning, not that I learn slow, but I don't get a chance to do this as often as I would like and I find myself going backwards to refresh my mind and next thing you know I just spent 3 hours to do something I should be able to do in 5 or 10minutes.
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Internal or external profiling to exact size for a given material and cutter will need at least one test cut to check how it comes out on your machine whatever your software is, but if something else gives you a menu you prefer that does the one thing you want to do that makes sense too.
Presumably you've learned all about the use of the Profiling feature in BCC ?
- Nick
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Yes everything I know to date is through bbc, Thanks to all for your input, I will continue on my journey to improve my skills!