Ecabinet MDF doors

[dougo]

Does anyone use Ecabinets to make MDF doors? Just wondering how good it works and how does it compare to a program like Free Doors.

thanks,

[erniek]

I have made shaker and slab MDF doors. All cut with a 1/4" straight bit. The results were good. I liked the nesting better than the nesting that happens with Free Doors. I haven't been able to do the raised panel look that you can do with Free doors though.

[gene]

I did some with aspire . Basically there is only 3 toolpaths per door for a raised pannel mdf door . I used a 1.25" core box offset 3.25 " from the outer edge of the door then a .25 radius roundover with a 1/2" flat in the bottom, offset in 2.875" from the outer edge of the door . Both have a .3" cutting depth and of course the path to cut the door out . I'll post photos later

[gene]

here is a kitchen replacement doors i did

[dougo]

Nice looking doors Gene. Looks like ecabinets is not the best at doing raised panel doors.

[gene]

I dont know, I dont have e cabinets or the time to learn it. The free door program will do just as good as these doors with more features, like arches ect. All i did to get the toolpaths for these doors was to draw a rectangle the door size, do an inside offset 3.25" inward for the cove cutter and do another inward offset 2.875" inward from the door outline for the flat bottom roundover bit . Cut the door outline on the outside while the other two tool paths were cut on the tool paths. I used .3" as a depth of cut on the cove and the flat bottom roundover bits. If you need simple doors with no frills then its very easy to do them this way. Hope this helps ya,

[jkaras2000]

Hi: Does the free door program you mention come with Aspire? I just ordered the Aspire software, and was curious to find out it may include this program. Thanks Joe.

[bob_s]

this is the home page for Free Doors

http://home.centurytel.net/bwclark/

[kerry_fullington]

I think that Free Doors would definitely be the way to go for mdf doors on the Shop Bot.
The only good thing about mdf doors in eCabinets is the fact that you can go to the Shape Manager and Create a tool like this one
http://www.kerryfullington.com/forum/tool.jpg

and the Profile Modeler will model this door
http://www.kerryfullington.com/forum/door.jpg

without the need to select special tooling to match existing profiles or short runs. It was never intended for production of mdf doors on a large scale.

Kerry

[john_l]

Gene thats great work. How did you get that excellent finish on those doors? What materials and what spray process and equipment do you use? Thanks!

[gene]

Thanks John,
The finish is ML Cambell lacquer and the spray equipment is a 15$ gravity gun from harbor freight. All you do is machine the doors , sand them with 100 g prime , sand again prime again and sand with 150 g . clean with a soft rag or tak cloth ( DO NOT USE high pressure air) low pressure is ok . then apply the finish coat

[bob_s]

Kerry
That cutter will not machine that door !
If you spin that cutter you will get rounded corners with the radius of the tool's edges being the tightest radius for that elevation in the corners. The rendering shows mitered corners. The only way to achieve that on a CNC cutting a single part is to do 2 rail sweeps with Aspire, or a similar program, and then do a 3D cut of those areas with a 1/8 or smaller ballnose bit. You also need to do an area clear with a larger bit on a very well adjusted machine.
I do complex moldings like this way for some shops, and there just isn't a simpler way. They do take a lot of time and a lot of precision, but you can achieve results that are almost impossible to do any other way. I don't think I would recommend it for a production method for doors.
What Free Doors will do is a very nice job, very quickly, but it will have radius turns on the inner corners that match the radius of your tool

[Gary Campbell]

Bob...
Using TWD's profile modeler you can define that tool and its path or area and then the TWD CN will select bits off the rack and cut the profile. Again, maybe not the fastest prodution of a given MDF door, but it will get the job done. It is light years ahead of single bit strategies in use with most cam programs.

So..... even tho we dont "spin" that tool, that profile determines which tools are used.

[bob_s]

Gary
I didn't know that. Is the tool is only an indication of what you want the "sticks of molding" to have for a profile? Similar to the profile I use for the 2 rail sweep? To create the actual cut will it use a 1/8 or 1/16 ball nose and run it in 3D fashion for that area, or have they found another method. I would love to find a faster way to make these shapes, but I have to have them exactly match the sticks that come off their molding cutters, just curved in 2d or 3d space.
thanks
Bob

[Gary Campbell]

Bob...
Kerry would be a better choice to answer your question as I have only a little info by osmosis. This is a feature of the TWD software, NOT the SB Link.

[kerry_fullington]

Hey Gary,

I guess this is a moot point, I always assumed that the link had the Profile Modeler but I saw a thread on the Thermwood forum that states it does not.

Bob,

Just for information, the Profile Modeler looks at the profile you have created then looks at the tools you have available at your machine. It starts with the largest diameter tool that you have to get the job done and works its way down to finish corners with an 1/8" (or smaller if available) to create square corners. If you draw your profile accurately and make sure the proper tools are available to perform all the cuts necessary then your modeled profiles should match your molding patterns exactly.
We are going to be experimenting with profiling some circular window trim in the next couple of weeks. I will let you know how it goes.

[kerry_fullington]

Bob,

I was just re-reading one of your posts above and you stated that using Free Doors your panel corners would have the cutter radius. Can you not define another path for a small tool and square the corners? I am currently learning PanelMetrix software for cutting MDF doors and that is how they do it. I have just glanced at Free Doors so I don't know much about it but would like to learn. I would like to try Free Doors using either the G-Code output or the .dxf output to see how it works. Can you do front and back cuts using Free doors?

[bob_s]

Kerry
I have only used Free Doors for some simple doors.
The complex ones that I have done are all in Aspire. I have become very comfortable doing it this way, and because my spindle is not an ATC I find separate tool paths to be easier to use.
Now that Aspire 3 will do a mitered corner look very easily with a 2 rail sweep I find it to be very controllable and fast with an accurate preview.
I am sure there are others here who have some serious experience with the capabilities of FreeDoor

[kevin]

Bob

I would be curios to see a picture of the door

See how it compares to free doors

Here is couple of photos

[gene]

I would like to see a door cut with aspire 3 for the miter corner look.
What time are you looking at cutting this type door and what bit is being used? Thank you all