tool change cnc question

[camcompco]

Hello all,

I have a part that I want to mill on my CNC mill, I use Turbocad to
generate the .STL file, Deskproto to create the g-code and Mach3 to
drive my mill.


My question is this, lets say I have a part that needs to have a lot
of material removed, followed by intricate detail removal. How can I
use a 3/8" endmill for the rough work and follow that by a 1/32nd ball
endmill for the detail. I know I can run the program with the large
end mill then re run it with the small one, the problem is that small
endmill has to go through the process of "pretending to mill" the
already removed metal. I think I have to have a new .STL file of the
rough machined part, redo the g-code from that part with the small
endmill, I just don't know how....any ideas???


John

[Tony the Ferret]

Hi John,
what you are describing as a problem, is every day occurance for WorkNC users round the world. Stop using this selection of mis-matched softwares and move to WorkNC. CAD & CAM for machinists all in one package and super fast for calculations. Time saved in machining the fresh air makes the investment in WorKNC very good value.

[moniker]

John, 4 months later...hope it's not too late.

I use DeskProto and Mach3 daily.

In your first roughing operation, use a skin thickness set in the operation parameters>roughing>skin thickness of like .5mm or whatever you need.

For your finishing operation input skin thickness back to .0 and you can also select skip extra ambient in the operation parameters>advanced>ambient skipping.

Glad to help with any other tips!

Sananda