[Bobbyhotrods]

Hi. I have a Flashcut 8300 Mill that I've been operating with Sheetcam for two months. My next effort will have me cutting "sloped slots" parallel with the X axis but pitched relative to the Y axis. I will modify the router mount such that the router shaft will be approximately 15* from the verical Z axis, the same 15* pitch of the required slots. What I need is a CAD product that will provide for repositioning the gantry a few thousandths along the Y axis prior to the descent of the Z movement and the subsequent pass made along the X axis.
The (straight) cutter is .093 diameter that climb-cuts a .123 wide slot in each roundtrip pass, descending .040 at a time, in aluminum. Sheetcam and my puny brain worked well with vertical slots, but I need another CAM product it appears to handle my slanted slots.
Assuming I have illustrated my effort, might anyone have any suggestions for a simple solution? Happy to clarify...Thanks in advance, BJ

Seems I'm confused (again). The solution can be found by creating a new set-up file in Flashcut, such that a change in Z will modify Y like a gear-ratio. I'll have to talk with a real machinist next for the trig involved; it's 1 over the sine (or is it the cosine?..hah!) Anyone experianced with this who might have advice? Thanks, BJ

[ger21]

What are you using to create .dxf's for SheetCAM? You could draw lines for each pass, with each pass on a different layer, and set different depths for each layer (pass) in SheetCAM. As for the math for the angle, just draw it in your CAD program, and figure out the stedown based on the stepover your using.

The above is assuming you have a CAD program. IF not, try this free one. http://www.a9tech.com/products/a9cad/

[patrick71100]

If You Want To Do That And A Lot More Check Out Rhino 3.0 And Mad Cam Plug In If You Learn To Draw It Mad Cam Can Path Well Both Have Working
Demos That Put Out G-code