Quantity Production - Workpiece/fixture

[tikka308]

I am a Tormach PCNC 1100 owner using Alibre CAD and SprutCAM.

To date, much of my machining has been one-offs or low volume. I'm now working on a part where I care more about volume production, optimizing CAM, etc.

I have designed a new fixture plate that will hold 32 parts [picture attached] as an assembly in Alibre.

Two questions:

1) What's the 'best' way to import the CAD to Sprut? It seems like it would be best to import the fixture plate [as the fixture] then import each part as a workpiece. But that would take significant time to align each work piece (and that work has already been done in the Alibre assemby file]. The other option, importing the Alibre assembly file which has the fixture, clamps, and workpieces, would mean Sprut thinks the whole file is the workpiece (versus a significant part being fixturing).

2) What's the best way to run CAM? I assume a mix of waterline and tweaking things like 2D countours... but I wanted to make sure there wasn't something in Sprut that would handle this type of work well (e.g. offsets).

[TXFred]

Originally Posted by tikka308 I have designed a new fixture plate that will hold 32 parts [picture attached] as an assembly in Alibre. Two questions: 1) What's the 'best' way to import the CAD to Sprut? It seems like it would be best to import the fixture plate [as the fixture] then import each part as a workpiece. But that would take significant time to align each work piece (and that work has already been done in the Alibre assembly file]. The other option, importing the Alibre assembly file which has the fixture, clamps, and workpieces, would mean Sprut thinks the whole file is the workpiece (versus a significant part being fixturing). 2) What's the best way to run CAM? I assume a mix of waterline and tweaking things like 2D contours... but I wanted to make sure there wasn't something in Sprut that would handle this type of work well (e.g. offsets).

1. If your fixture was designed using any geometric dependencies from your workpiece, then they share an origin. So you can export both to individual .igs files, and then import them to Sprut, and they will be correctly aligned. You may need to shift the workpiece so that your first part is in the bottom left corner position, but since you know the spacing between parts in your fixture, that will be pretty simple to do.

That will still only give you one workpiece on the fixture, so you then have to get clever for step 2.

2. Sprut's toolpaths have an option to create linear or circular arrays of each toolpath, found under Transformation in the toolpath settings. Since you know the spacing between parts in your fixture, you can just program a single part and array each toolpath. That's a lot quicker than trying to chain and select faces on each part on the fixture.

[tikka308]

TXFred:
1) Of course! Thanks for pointing this out.

2) Very interesting. I see where you are referring to. I will have to experiment with this. Again, thanks.

[MetalShavings]

Completely off the subject:

My Tikka 308 is an absolute Tack-Driver with my reloads. Is yours?

It must be if your avatar is "Tikka308."

Just curious.

MetalShavings

[tikka308]

10 years later, it still outshoots me

Originally Posted by MetalShavings Completely off the subject: My Tikka 308 is an absolute Tack-Driver with my reloads. Is yours? It must be if your avatar is "Tikka308." Just curious. MetalShavings

[MetalShavings]

I know this is not the forum to be taking Tikka rifles so I'll just mention this and then drop the subject.

We hear so many exaggerations on the internet that when we read someone's claims of awesome accuracy it's no longer as believable as it may have once been.

Since most other shooters don't believe how accurate these Tikkas can be I just tell them that I can shoot the foreskin off a sexually aroused mosquito at 200 yards with my Tikka.

If I were shooting incendiary rounds, I could cauterize his wounds and still leave that mosquito with a fully functional erection.

Of course that IS an exaggeration but, you get the point.

I only own one Tikka and it's the most accurate rifle I've ever owned.

MetalShavings

[beanbag]

How can you get sprut to only slightly clear fixture geometry vertically, for example in the making of tabs? No matter what height of fixture I use, it always completely pulls up when it gets to the fixture.