Ed,
The machine time was about 30 minutes of actual cutting, figure another 5 for setup and fixturing.
For the CNC nuts out there, and you know who you are, here are the details...
Blank size: 6" x 6"
Finished part size: 4" diameter
Bit type: Onsrud 0.125" tapered ballmill (3 degree taper, 1.5" CEL)
Spindle Speed: 12K RPM
Feedrate: X+Y=180 inches per minute Z=45 inches per minute
Stepover: 0.010"
Bit Cooling: Compressed air + alcohol mist
Finish Result: minor machining marks, light sanding to cleanup
We have MasterCam X2, which is EXTREMELY expensive and complex. We use that for toolpathing 3D objects when there are special considerations such as features which can be machined using more efficient toolpaths to reduce cutting time or for using 4 and 5 axis CNC machines. For 3D cuts where normal 3 axis raster toolpaths are acceptable however, we use Cut3D from Vectric ( http://www.vectric.com/WebSite/Vectric/cut3d/c3d_process.htm)
. It's super fast, always cuts perfectly and is only $299. To give you an idea, MasterCam is 50-100 times (that's not a typo) that amount depending on the options you need. You can check Vectric's site, I think they have a list of the machines they can generate code for but they cover just about everything and of course they can export generic G Code too. I tried their free trial version which lets you cut a few test files to prove that it works on your machine. After the first cut I immediately bought it and it's paid for itself several times over on the first job we cut with it.
As I create more jobs with MoI, I'll post the results here. |
