3D engraving and contouring

[durgam605]

Ive been on FC for 4 years now, and I still revert back to Mastercam for one simple thing. a 3D contour. ( Its very simple in MC ) I needed to engrave a logo on a 3d surface and I had to write it in mastercam and cut/paste the code into the rest of my FC program.

Recently at a 2012 update, the instructor showed us very briefly' how its done, and i cant seem to figure it out. I want to create a curve at the base of a radius along a 3d surface and mill along it without using a surface mill feature. I think he used a surfmil along a curve with boundry. But i cant close a single line boundry.

Any suggestions??? thanks
Kris

[dcalp]

create your engraving at or above z 0, selct the surface you want to engrave on and create a 2D spiral tool path with a wall pass check box. that should get you going- let me know.

[dcalp]

i forgot- use your text as the boundry!!

[dcalp]

Create your text as you want it to appear on the surface. It doesn’t matter where in Z – the letters get projected onto the surface. Because of this, the letters are a little distorted if you look at them from the side.



Once you have the text, create a surface mill feature from the surfaces you want to engrave. Use a 2D spiral-finish strategy. When you get to the Boundary section, select “Use curve as boundary” and then click Curve Options. Select the Wall Only choice and select your text curve with the Boundaries button. The tool should mill along the surface, following the shape of the letters. To make the tool cut into the surface, give it a negative leave allowance.

This should be a little clearer- had some time!!

Let me know if you have any trouble with this.