helical vs. plunge in waterline Z steps

[gsnorcal]

Hi,

I am using a roughing waterline to get down to the level shown in the attachment. It makes several passes to get down that far, between .050 and .100 depth steps are acceptable. However, a .050 or .100 plunge makes the machine shudder and freaks me out. I'd like it to perform like the Newfangled "circular pocket" or "cut circle" wizards, where it has a ramp angle or pitch options and it spirals its way down.

This isn't a problem on the outer surface, as the tool approaches from the outside in. But in the center, in the "pocket", it's abrupt.

Is there a way in SprutCAM to do a helix, spiral, or ramp inside the pocket? I see the "approach" option in lead-in, but that doesn't seem to work here, because it's part of the same operation as the outer bit???

I also have this problem in proper "pocketing" operations. The lead in "spiral" doesn't seem to apply between Z steps in the same operation.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Dave

[gsnorcal]

This is not really an answer to my problem, but I did just find that I can individually speeds and feeds for work, plunge, finish, etc. That's an acceptable workaround.

And of course I can hand-edit the G-code, but then you have to keep re-editing it whenever you change something in Sprut. That's just asking for mistakes.

Cheers,
Dave

[saabaero]

There are two ways you can do it. The first (best) method is to go to to the Parameters - Lead In/Lead-Out tab and select plunge type and select Zigzag or Spiral. You can adjust angle etc. Depending on the setting for Zig-Zag you can do multiple zig-zags if you need to go deep or don't have much sideways room or you can just do a single ramp to your cutting depth.

The 2nd is to drill a hole first and then plunge into the hole.

[gsnorcal]

Originally Posted by saabaero The 2nd is to drill a hole first and then plunge into the hole.

Yup, this plus slow plunge feed was my workaround. It has the secondary benefit of allowing chips to flush out down through the hole.

Originally Posted by saabaero There are two ways you can do it. The first (best) method is to go to to the Parameters - Lead In/Lead-Out tab and select plunge type and select Zigzag or Spiral. You can adjust angle etc. Depending on the setting for Zig-Zag you can do multiple zig-zags if you need to go deep or don't have much sideways room or you can just do a single ramp to your cutting depth.

Thanks for confirming that. I had tried this before (seemed obvious), but I see now that my parameters were way off, so it didn't look like it was working. With good input, it works just how I'd expect now. Garbage in, garbage out ;-)

Thanks again,
Dave