Messages

261

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 09:06:10 AM »

Ok I tried it and initially I still had multiple chains for the end shape. I changed my connection tolerance to .001 and then I had one chain for the whole shape. So far so good. This is another one to try to remember. I always forget.
 But still when I pocket it I get an offset instead of a pocket. See attached screen grabs.

Man this is tedious.

Sage

262

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 08:56:36 AM »

Thanks. See my note above. I guess we're both on line at the same time.

Sage

263

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 08:50:03 AM »

BTW
I don't see where you pulled that convert menu from I'm using Acad 2002.

I'll wait for the file. In the one you sent there are may chains making the corner shape. It needs to be all one chain to be ale to pick it as an outline and to pocket it.

Sage

264

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 08:36:25 AM »

Overloaded:
 I think what you did requires some more explaination. I took the file you sent and I see now that your conversion fom arcs to curves (or whatever) has made separate chains, each with about 29 separate entities, for the very small curves in the corners of the end shapes. So how did you select the whole shape as an outline to create a pocket?
 Also: forgetting the corner ones, I picked one of the rectangles to pocket. When I try to do the pocket I get the same results, i.e the software inserts an offset (as seen in the list) instead of a pocket. I tried the zoom trick - no help. Did you send an old  file with the extra lines in it?

Sage

265

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 08:03:10 AM »

Overloaded:
 When you said you changed arcs to curves what do you mean? I was using fillet function in AutoCad to get the rounded corners. Is there some other way of doing this?

Sage

266

LazyCam (Beta) / Re: Pocketing not working

« on: December 12, 2008, 07:55:01 AM »

Thanks Guys:
An interesting bunch of responses don't you think? Ranging from: the pocketing works if you zoom in or move the start point around, to: the drawing is defective. Got to wonder how zooming and moving makes the program ignore the defects. Obviously the program has defects of it's own. (nothing new there).
 I'll admit my mistake on the extra entities. I recall now I was inserting the rectangles into an existing inner frame in the center of the outline and then I trimmed inbetween the rectangles (leaving the bits of frame still behind the rectangles.) instead of deleting the frame. I'll have to be careful of that (apparently).
  I'm getting to be like budman68 - LazyCam is too quirky and I'm having trouble dealing with all the stange quirks and fighting it all the time to get it to produce results. But I'll persist because I have nothing else and it does lay the basic groundwork for the G-code to be done by hand.

Thanks for your help on this one. As usual this forum has come through.

Maybe someone should write a quirk manual .

BTW I've found a work around for not being able to re-order ENTITIES in a chain. (you can't re-order entities in a chain, only chains as a whole). If you have a chain, say a rectangle, that has entities in the opposite order you want to machine them. I've found you can fool it by asking for a lead-in line. In that process there is checkbox asking for CW or CCW lead-in. If you pick the direction you want for the lead-in it also re-orders the entities in the correct direction. Then, if you didn't really want the lead-in you can delete the chain generated for the lead-in from the list and the entities are left in the correct order. Sometimes it takes a couple of tries to delete the lead-in chain and be careful because the chains move around when you delete the lead-in. Check all of the chains after and be sure they are all still valid. (I suppose now soeone will point out another trick they discovered to do the same thing  )

Thanks again. Now back to the project.
Sage

267

LazyCam (Beta) / Pocketing not working

« on: December 11, 2008, 02:41:44 PM »

Sure would be nice if pocketing worked as well as shown on the video. - Click boom done.
I've attached a file that I can't get anything to pocket on.
I'm using LazyCam 2.61.
I loaded the dxf (autocad V12 and others tried) with various tolerances of .001 and .01 then cleaned and optimized. I select a 1/16 cutter, circular pocket.
I can select any of the rectangles in the dxf and press pocket and all I get is an offset inside the rectangle.
In fact the project list shows an offset was added instead of a pocket.
I looked at the dxf and for all reasonable zoom levels I see no disconnects or overlapping lines.
Got to be easier than this.
How do I have to hold my mouth and which foot do I stand on to get this program feature to work. 
Very disappointing.

Sage

268

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: V2.81

« on: December 08, 2008, 07:39:07 PM »

Yes. I pointed that out as well.

And I'll repeat it here because your description is still confusing  (to me)

On the pocket data entry screen CW is listed as "climb milling". It is actually conventional milling.

(If you pick clockwise it does generate a clockwise movement - it didn't use to that's waht was fixed in 2.81)

Sage

269

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: V2.81

« on: December 05, 2008, 09:51:00 PM »

TDAY:

Are you sure your not running the old version still? The circular pocket cutting direction problem (which I pointed out) HAS been fixed. Have a look on the circular pocket wizard pages. One of them has the version in the top right corner. Mine says V2.81

Cannot comment on the other issues you mention but you should check those also.

Sage

270

Newfangled Solutions Mach3 Wizards / Re: Circular pocket - milling direction descriptions

« on: December 04, 2008, 02:57:08 PM »

In V2.79 the circle wizard also has the same problem as the pocket (mentioned above). I just noticed that.

Also

I deleted the code where I discovered this one so I can't prove it wasn't my fault but:
I tried using the circular pocket wizard to counterbore a 1/2" hole to 0.58" x .035 deep using a 1/4" cutter. I believe the lead-in line created by the wizard crashes the cutter into the side of the hole. It looked suspicious in the tool path display so I converted the code back to dxf and I'm pretty sure when I overlay a 1/4" circle on the lead-in line tool path it overlapped the hole diameter by more than the finished .058 diameter. I may have been mis-led but maybe you could check that out.

Thanks

Sage