Need help desperatly!!!

[ryan99yz]

Hello all,

Finally got everything up and running again... after also replacing my vfd.... grr.. So now I am driving myself crazy breaking end mills. I am cutting annealed, squared w2 steel from new jersey steel baron. I have allowed access to a similar design and would be willing to give a knife away (if wanted) for help with this cam. It seems no matter what I try it just plunges the endmill into the piece breaking it. I'm up to 10in the last two days. I got the holes and outlines completed but the bevel is killing me. I used tormachs height gauge and verified height measurements twice. Heres the link. please help A360.

[popspipes]

what is your g30 set at? go to the settings page and check g30, if its set too low when the program is started it will plunge to get to the set value.This may not be the problem but something to check........

[ryan99yz]

My g30 is set up at the top. The endmills aren't crashing in the lead in, they are crashing during creating the bevel if the knife.

[Steve Seebold]

What operating system are you using? Mach III or Path Pilot?

[draper-ballou]

Can you share the code? or at least the part of code just before and after the issue?

[joshetect]

are you using fusion 360? post up the file. Sounds like there is a height set wrong.

[joshetect]

How are you setting tool heights in the machine?

Are are your tools measured correctly, and nice and tight?

[GLCarlson]

How are you setting tool heights in the machine?

Are are your tools measured correctly, and nice and tight?

+10. ARE you setting tool heights, for every tool? If the offsets aren't right (and in PP they default to ZERO apparently) the results are exciting but not fun. Someone (Keane? KSStrauss?) had a little routine in a thread here that sets all offsets to 11.11 as a safety feature.

When I switched to PP, this was THE bump I hit- I hadn't been using a tool table, and PP insists on it. Yes, it's a best practice; yes, one should use a table. But it's easy to ignore in M3 (or not), and I was lazy. PP disallows this particular piece of sloth.

[ryan99yz]

I'm using fusion 360, I had a link in my original post that I thought was sharing. If that isn't correct please inform me of how to do it.

I set heights by using the height gauge with the granite plate then input those values into the offset page and in fusion 360. Im breaking endmills during the bevel, with all 2d stuff I've only broken 1/16 endmills. The 3d stuff broke a little of everything

[ryan99yz]

I use the tool table and I'm setting each tool individually. I have had previous problems with, not tightening the collet enough allowing the endmill to slide up into the holder, not tightening the vice enough allowing the piece to move, tightening the vice too much bending the piece (derlin) etc. I've finally had some success with annealed W2, just can't seem to figure out how to cut the bevels.

My next idea is to cut out the blank of the blade so the endmill can enter from the side, does that make sense?

[joshetect]

I see it now. It doesnt show S&F but you can see the paths.

Def cut the profile out first and use tabs

Make sure your top height is set to model top, not feature top (after your facing operation) Only use the selected contour as top when you have removed the material in a previous OP

Dont plunge, ramp into it. You have it set to plunge, then it takes a 90* turn, then it goes right into cutting speeds, that snaps endmills

What are your feeds and speeds? What endmills are you using (material, flutes, coating) Are you using coolant?

Make sure you have a solid flat surface under this, you'll likely need to make a fixture.

[joshetect]

I havent watched this yet, but I'm sure this will have some good tips

[ryan99yz]

I'm using a mix of msc and lakeshore carbide. Speeds and feeds are directly off of lakeshores site. How can I share the file can you can see the s&f?

I have been trying this while in a vice without any bottom support other than parallels. I'm going to try to cut it out then make a fixture. How can I get it to ramp in. I tried everything I can think of

[draper-ballou]

You can share a fusion file one of two ways (maybe more).

1) Right click on the fusion project and select share a link.

2) Export the fusion project as a fusion archive file and upload here

[ryan99yz]

A360

[joshetect]

Speeds and Feeds given by most manufactures are not geared towards a tormach. I usually only use their chip per tooth number.

I dont do much work in steel, so maybe someone here can give you a starting point.

You can change how you ramp in via the LINKING tab (very right) in each OP and go down to ramp, first dropdown box will change it.

Once you get things set, you can copy and past each op into new setups (and make a template with them if you want) This way you arent having to remember everything.

[ryan99yz]

A little update. Thanks so much for the replies up to this point, and thank you for the video. I saw it before I ever got my 440 but obviously didn't understand what I was watching. (John and the Grimsmo brothers were the two driving forces that pushed me into cnc.) The video shows, under the geometry tab, there is an input field labeled additional offset that I was not utilizing. As well as contact point boundary. I think I have the left side of the blade figured out. Ill hopefully find out tonight if it will work.

Now another problem. When I duplicate the operations, I put them into another setup for the right side. I then adjust the geometry to reflect the right side but the entry point goes from the spine to the edge, opposite of the left side. I have tried up milling, down milling, one way, other way all with no effect on the path. Any advice?

[ryan99yz]

UPDATE:

I found a solution to my problem. Unfortunately I tried to contact auto cad for tech support. Found out when you buy a Tormach, you get a one year "trial". Trials do not include support, but if you purchase it... the trial ends. Highly disappointing. I also noticed a few things. The additional offset is key, lol. Also the up and down milling were effecting the x axis and I was hoping to effect the Y axis. One way and other were doing the same thing and it threw me off. If it can be messed up, Ill mess it up. There was also some very good tips in the comments of the video posted.

On to the solution. I was rotating the blade 180 degrees on the X axis, rotated it on the Y axis and it works the way I expected. So overall I was unable to choose ramp because the parallel operation doesn't offer that. But I was able to adjust my vertical lead in radius' and everything looks good in simulation. I will update once everything comes together if interested?

[ryan99yz]

UPDATE:

I found a solution to my problem. Unfortunately I tried to contact auto cad for tech support. Found out when you buy a Tormach, you get a one year "trial". Trials do not include support, but if you purchase it... the trial ends. Highly disappointing. I also noticed a few things. The additional offset is key, lol. Also the up and down milling were effecting the x axis and I was hoping to effect the Y axis. One way and other were doing the same thing and it threw me off. If it can be messed up, Ill mess it up. There was also some very good tips in the comments of the video posted.

On to the solution. I was rotating the blade 180 degrees on the X axis, rotated it on the Y axis and it works the way I expected. So overall I was unable to choose ramp because the parallel operation doesn't offer that. But I was able to adjust my vertical lead in radius' and everything looks good in simulation. I will update once everything comes together if interested?

Success, first blade completed

[tom o]

Success, first blade completed

Do you follow Lars Christensen he has started giving cad and cam tutorials daily on a live feed ( around 1/2 hr ) so you can log in its usually Fusion 360 during the week with cam on fridays it is well worth subscribing to!