[KSky]

I figured I would try and graduate to my first 3D part. I have a 300 or so of these arrowhead type shapes to make. I don't have a CNC lathe, so doing them in the mill is only option. Easy enough to do 10 or so at a time in a set of soft jaws.

I didn't really know what strategy to choose so I just picked Z-level rough/finish. Is that the best for this part, seems like it to me. I also tried to pick a reasonable compromise between a nice finish and it taking hours to machine.

And I also tried to use a taper mill, but I couldn't get that do to what I wanted. Since I have a bunch of these to make, if a taper mill was the fastest way I wouldn't mind at all getting one.

And finally, I haven't tried it yet, but since I have nesting, can I save this feature and start a nesting job, and just paste it it and layout all my parts in a row? Is that the right approach?

[jrmach]

Taper mill with a Profile tool path.That's if the size and material don't make it chatter.
Draw the geometry in 2D.You may need to do a step down.Do the math and draw that in 2D also.
Upload a file and tell us the specs. on the tool and can help.

I would not use a 3D path on that.That many pieces you gotta get it done quick.But yeah Z level would be OK ,,however I would rather put a part in a manual rotary,like a Super Spacer and tilt it at an angle.Then just use the CNC Mill in manual mode and get it done than screw around with 3D.Once you were set-up it would be real quick.

If it was not that many parts you could also chuck the part up and use your mill like a lathe.

If the parts chatter too much,it's going to take a while having to use 3D paths.

What is the material and size ?

If doing multiple parts do a tool path pattern

[KSky]

Taper mill with a Profile tool path.That's if the size and material don't make it chatter.
Draw the geometry in 2D.You may need to do a step down.Do the math and draw that in 2D also.
Upload a file and tell us the specs. on the tool and can help.

I would not use a 3D path on that.That many pieces you gotta get it done quick.But yeah Z level would be OK

If it was not that many parts you could also chuck the part up and use your mill like a lathe.

If the parts chatter too much,it's going to take a while having to use 3D paths.

What is the material and size ?

If doing multiple parts do a tool path pattern

They look like arrowheads with a flat on the top, .250 around and an inch tall. Made from 6061 aluminum bar. I thought about chucking them in the mill, but that means dealing with each one, and even with a 3D cut, the simulator tells me it will cut them in a just over a minute each. The taper doesn't have to be perfect, but it cannot be a series of steps, it needs the curve.

[jrmach]

I just edited the post above,,Super Spacer would be real fast.Not automated but quick nevertheless.There would be slight scalloping though(not a perfect taper)

Me,I would get that taper EM and it should cut on the aluminum just fine.I can help you draw if you want(tomorrow morning)but basically just draw arcs for your calculated path.When you get to the parameters page have it do it in 2 or 3 step downs.The step down would not be steps in the material,it would just go down in a series of steps so you are not cutting too much at a time.You may find 2 step downs and 1 finish will be fine.Use circular lead out with tool overlap.

[KSky]

I would really appreciate the help. I was thinking that this would be the right taper end mill, McMaster-Carr. It's Tapered High-Speed Steel End Mill, 15 Degree Taper, 1/8" Tip Diameter, 1" Length of Cut.

[jrmach]

I just stopped by on break.I have a long day ahead of me.
This will give you an idea.If you are wondering what the arrow on the arc is,it is a contour.
This is done in V26.I will stop in after work.
Maybe some of the other guys can help if you need it.

[mmoe]

Also, as jrmach suggested earlier, the toolpath array is the way to line up the parts for multiple copies. You can tell it the spacing and then set up the vice to hold them at that spacing. To add a toolpath array, right click on the feature you want to array, then choose "Add Toolpath Pattern". This brings up the window where you can choose to do a linear array, grid array, or radial array, depending on how you plan to set up your job.

[KSky]

I would really appreciate the help. I was thinking that this would be the right taper end mill, McMaster-Carr. It's Tapered High-Speed Steel End Mill, 15 Degree Taper, 1/8" Tip Diameter, 1" Length of Cut.

That looks like would work pretty well, and would be much faster than me circling the part 40 times.

Couple questions. I notice the tool turns red for a couple movements, I know that means it it fails a check, but how do I tell what the issue is? Is the item in red in collision? So if the entire part and the tool turn red?

And I've noticed a odd behavior on a couple of my parts, if I run the simulation in "Material Mode" it takes forever (60 seconds) to generate and is really jumpy. If I run the same thing in "ToolPath Mode" it's smooth and there are no issues. Is it that way for you as well?

[mmoe]

You can find the problem in the "Report" tab. In some cases, the collision shown may not be a real world issue, and in other cases it requires that you go back and rough some stock out or choose a different tool, etc. I find it best to go back in the simulation and see what the collision looks like and then determine if it's going to be a problem for me.

The "Material Mode" makes a lot more calculations than the "Toolpath Mode", since the toolpath mode only has to move the simulation around and the material mode has to also figure out where stock is removed. I've never really used the toolpath mode, but I suppose that it would be more useful if I was on a computer that's a bit light on processing power. The Module Works simulator is pretty heavy duty and my guess is that you are running into the limits of what your computer can do. I have the full "Pro" machine simulation with the entire machine modeled in it and it runs smoothly even if I crank up the speed to about half way to the max from the center, but I also spent quite a bit on my desktop. I'm pretty impressed with the simulation in terms of just how much calculations it does in better than real time.

[KSky]

You can find the problem in the "Report" tab. In some cases, the collision shown may not be a real world issue, and in other cases it requires that you go back and rough some stock out or choose a different tool, etc. I find it best to go back in the simulation and see what the collision looks like and then determine if it's going to be a problem for me.

The "Material Mode" makes a lot more calculations than the "Toolpath Mode", since the toolpath mode only has to move the simulation around and the material mode has to also figure out where stock is removed. I've never really used the toolpath mode, but I suppose that it would be more useful if I was on a computer that's a bit light on processing power. The Module Works simulator is pretty heavy duty and my guess is that you are running into the limits of what your computer can do. I have the full "Pro" machine simulation with the entire machine modeled in it and it runs smoothly even if I crank up the speed to about half way to the max from the center, but I also spent quite a bit on my desktop. I'm pretty impressed with the simulation in terms of just how much calculations it does in better than real time.

I have a pretty beefy computer (6 Core AMD processor and 8Gb of memory), but my graphics card isn't the best. Does BobCad use the GPU in the graphics card to do calculations? As a baseline, how well does your computer simulate the part taper job you posted?

[KSky]

You can find the problem in the "Report" tab. In some cases, the collision shown may not be a real world issue, and in other cases it requires that you go back and rough some stock out or choose a different tool, etc. I find it best to go back in the simulation and see what the collision looks like and then determine if it's going to be a problem for me.

The "Material Mode" makes a lot more calculations than the "Toolpath Mode", since the toolpath mode only has to move the simulation around and the material mode has to also figure out where stock is removed. I've never really used the toolpath mode, but I suppose that it would be more useful if I was on a computer that's a bit light on processing power. The Module Works simulator is pretty heavy duty and my guess is that you are running into the limits of what your computer can do. I have the full "Pro" machine simulation with the entire machine modeled in it and it runs smoothly even if I crank up the speed to about half way to the max from the center, but I also spent quite a bit on my desktop. I'm pretty impressed with the simulation in terms of just how much calculations it does in better than real time.

I have a pretty beefy computer (6 Core AMD processor and 8Gb of memory), but my graphics card isn't the best. Does BobCad use the GPU in the graphics card to do calculations? As a baseline, how well does your computer simulate the part taper job you posted?

[BurrMan]

I notice the tool turns red for a couple movements, I know that means it it fails a check, but how do I tell what the issue is? Is the item in red in collision? So if the entire part and the tool turn red??

Most likely your are crashing the defined machine... Can/are you showing the entire machine and housing?... (You would want to set the offsets properly in the machine setup1 of the cam tree for the stock laid on the defined table....

You can also turn off various "machine component collisions" if you are not using those. This is found in your current machine definition under the CC's.....

[KSky]

Most likely your are crashing the defined machine... Can/are you showing the entire machine and housing?... (You would want to set the offsets properly in the machine setup1 of the cam tree for the stock laid on the defined table....

You can also turn off various "machine component collisions" if you are not using those. This is found in your current machine definition under the CC's.....

I'm getting a "collision between work piece and tool"

[jrmach]

Couple questions. I notice the tool turns red for a couple movements, I know that means it it fails a check, but how do I tell what the issue is? Is the item in red in collision? So if the entire part and the tool turn red?

It doesn't turn red here.Maybe what Burr said ??? Try putting a different lead in for the tool.
I was mainly just trying to give you an idea of what to do.Lots of little details to figure out.By no means load the file and hit Green button ready.
I notice you uploaded a model in the OP.The tool you mentioned from McMaster would be OK
There is one thing worth noting,I would want the very tip of the tool to go down past the material by a ways.No reason to try matching the parting line with end of tool.
You will just have to either adjust the 2D geometry or the tool size till you get it just right.Hope that makes since.

[jrmach]

I'm getting a "collision between work piece and tool"

What are you doing ? Z-Level ???
I have never seen everything on the screen red at one time,,Your machine definitions set right ? Can you upload a file ?

[KSky]

What are you doing ? Z-Level ???
I have never seen everything on the screen red at one time,,Your machine definitions set right ? Can you upload a file ?

While I want to get the parts done, a lot of this is to understand how BobCad works and the right way to do things. While I wait for my taper mill to show up, I thought I would go back to my Z-Level and work on that a little more, figure out if there were ways to optimize it, and understand what's going on.

Job and machine file in the zip.

[jrmach]

I believe you need to set your machine up for simulation.
With my set-up everything simulates fine.
This may be useful CAD/CAM Videos | CNC Software Videos Training | BobCAD-CAM | BobCAD-CAM
Maybe someone who knows the Tormach can help with the definitions.

[mmoe]

Ksky,
I had problems with that first file in simulation. There is definitely something going on there, and I think it's machine definition related as well, though I still had problems even in my own machine definition. I can't say exactly what's going on there, but I would suggest starting over with the machine definition and setting all your simulation settings to "default" (you can do this in the simulation window where you see the wrench button).

Here's a quick video showing a much, much more complex machine simulation running smoothly in the "Material Mode", but I could hardly get the simulation to do anything with that small cone! I can run it this fast with the quality set all the way up as well, so it really seems something is just not right in your file.

Link to video:
https://files.secureserver.net/0skBXK4yxrcHYJ

[djm77]

If it's small enough, why not put the part in the spindle and a turning tool in a vice on the table. Then you can turn your part and feed a turning tool along the taper just like a lathe.


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[jrmach]

If it's small enough, why not put the part in the spindle and a turning tool in a vice on the table. Then you can turn your part and feed a turning tool along the taper just like a lathe.


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Because he has 300 parts