Problem with 3d paths for cutting

[vinot]

Hi all,

finally I'm working with my homemade milling, molds obtained are quite good and mchine runs so well (not as fine as I want, but it's ok).

Now I want to cut the carbon fiber shapes directly over the mold, so the cut should be the best (instead donig it by hand), but I can't find the way to obtain the 3d path to cut it.

How do you do it? My molds are 3d shapes, so fiber carbon obtained are also 3d shapes.

I use DeskCNC and Meshcam to obtain iso, but none of them generate a valid path (app crash!)

Thanks a lot

Toni

[robgrz]

If you add the carbon fiber to the mold model in your CAD file then you may be able to use a pencil toolpath in MeshCAM to generate a cutout path. If you want to send the file or a photo to support at grzsoftware.com then I will look into it.

You'd probably want a real recent version of MeshCAM from the news section of the site though. There have been some big changes lately that should cause newer version to perform better for you.

-Robert

[vinot]

Yes, you're right: I'm working with demos because it is my first time I'm working with this kind of programs. Before spending lots of € I'm trying to find the best programs that fits my requirements, but usually it means that I'm using "bad" versions.

Regarding Meshcam, I saw that for my molds it is very fast and with an acceptable price, but with the pencil tool results become bad (too many innecessary movements, repeats and so on).

As you said, I must work the fibers shapes over their own mold, so I have the CAD file. I'm preparing some photos to post this weekend so you will see exactly what I'm working on.

thanks a lot,

Toni

[robgrz]

The beta releases on the news section of the site will work with your demo code so try them and see where the program is going.

Pencil toolpaths can be a little jumpy depending on the CAD file resolution and on the shape of the parts- even on very high end programs. I'll wait for your files or photos before trying to guess anything more.

-Robert

[vinot]

Hi Robert and all,

sorry for the delay. Well, here I post a real example of what I'm trying.

In mold.igs you can see the surface wich will define the mold, so laminate fiber obtained will be the same you see.

In seat.igs you can see the final shape: some parts have to be removed (cutted), then I have to obtain this 3d path.

There are some other minor cuttings, but this one serves as a good simple example.

I tried different ways to obtain 3d paths with meshcam, but with no good results.

Any suggestion?

Thanks,

Toni

[vinot]

Sorry, find now attached zip file!

Toni

[OzDragonflyer]

I don't use meshcam, but to do this I would make a curve outline of the shape in cad, and use that for a 3D contour path in the cam package.