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Author Topic: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?  (Read 5977 times)

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Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« on: February 16, 2010, 02:05:16 PM »
I have been going smaller and smaller with my cutters to get good inside radius offsets. I know there was/is a problem with small cutters and creating offsets. Is there a fix for this? I read the post about using the scale in Mach as a work around but honestly I don't like adding things that I need to remember to do. I've gotten LC to offset with an .040 cutter in the past but now I can't seem to get it to work. Might be a problem with my drawing in this instance. I would really like to use .032 and .035 cutters if possible. any other ideas or solutions?

Can the scale be programmed into the code? This would not be my preferred method but might get me by.

I've also been researching other CAM options. This option is a last resort for me as this is not something I have a very large budget for at present but would like to upgrade in the coming months.

Thanks

Offline RICH

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Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2010, 03:04:00 PM »
Hmm....
I don't remember any problems and have done some offsets with 1/32" / .032" cutters in fact even smaller with almost a point.
post your dxf file and maybe someone  have a look. No fixes to LazyCam as it is what it is. I remember the scaling somewhat and say you draw it 10x and then set the scale in Mach to .1, never had to use it though and i have done some small stuff.
RICH
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2010, 08:49:44 PM »
I've messed with this again and I got it to work....I think. Attached a DXF I am having trouble with. Inside offsetting the slots using a .030 cutter. LC seems to do it but it puts the offset line on top of the original. Had it zoomed in really close but can't actually see the offset like usual. I will try it none the less and see how the part turns out unless someone can see something wrong here.

Offline RICH

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Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2010, 08:59:55 PM »
Just post code for the original and after the offset and look at the locations and you should see the difference in the gcode. I had the same problem zooming in.
RICH
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2010, 09:02:07 PM »
I just did two other drawings and I could see the offset line quite clearly. I'll have to check the code as you suggested and see if the offset was applied correctly. Seems weird that other drawings appear correctly.
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2010, 09:09:56 PM »
Please check my math. Tap files attached with and without offsets.

Thanks
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2010, 09:15:39 PM »
Be careful to NOT mix units.
If drawing units are metric, tool needs to be dimensioned accordingly.    .040" =1.0mm tool dia.
Works fine here with a 1, 2, 3, or 4 unit diameter tool.   .030" = .762mm
Russ




« Last Edit: February 17, 2010, 12:17:44 AM by Overloaded »
« Last Edit: February 17, 2010, 12:19:16 AM by Overloaded »
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2010, 10:08:04 PM »
Be careful to NOT mix units.
If drawing units are metric, tool needs to be dimensioned accordingly.    .040" =1.0mm tool dia.
Works fine here with a 1, 2, 3, or 4 unit diameter tool.   .030" = .762mm
Russ




« Last Edit: February 17, 2010, 12:17:44 AM by Overloaded »

This might be my problem, but I thought LC looked at drawings as units of measurement, metric or imperial didn't matter? If you import a drawing that was done in metric do you use a tool from the menu in metric as well? eg If drawing was done in metric and you use a cutter with a dia. of 1mm you need to have tool dia. set at 1 and not .039"? If this is indeed true then this would explain why I don't see the offset line. It would be applying an offset of .039mm. Hope I conveyed that in a way you can understand it.
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #8 on: February 18, 2010, 07:04:53 AM »
Yes lowslow, what you are saying is exactly what I was meaning.
Units are units.
Your slot is 6 units wide.
   If it were 6 inches, you might use a 1" dia cutter,
if it were 6 mm, you might use a 1mm cutter.....same relationship in units.
You explained it better than me. Imagine cutting a 6" wide slot with a 1/32" endmill.
Or a 6mm wide slot with a .030mm tool.
That's what you were getting.
Russ
Re: Any Progress With Offsetting With Small Cutters?
« Reply #9 on: February 18, 2010, 08:49:01 AM »
Thanks Russ! That makes sense. Now the only bummer is that I have to double list every tool. One for metric and one for imperial units. To bad there isn't a tree in the tool table.