16-ft sign in 2 x 8' sections

[rob_sekeris]

The customer needs a 16 ft horizontal v-carved sign with a border. My bed is only 8 feet, so I need to make it in 2 sections.
I have Aspire and made a nice design on a 16 x 4 ft work piece. There are some parts that straddle both sides of the 8' seam, so the separation of the two pieces needs to be in pretty good register.
Now I need to cut my design in half so I can make it. ( 1-1/2" HDU)
I KNOW this probably has a simple answer, but I have yet to find it.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

[bleeth]

Just cut a big curved countertop out of a very high end corian that had the same issue. I put down a strip 2 1/8" wide along my x to use as a register fence and ran it a little south of my Y "0". Then I trimmed it with a 1/4" bit to 2". trimmed the end to get a dead "0", and then I used it as a register. For the cuts that went over the border I offset them in the appropriate direction and cut along vector. It came out pretty darn close.

All this was necessary cause I still haven't put in that nice air operated positioning system that that guy who lives in the Keys has.

[rob_sekeris]

Once I have it machined, the tweaking for the registration wouldn't be hard. All I would have to do is to cut it a smidge over-size.
My dilemma is how to cut the vectors before I create the tool paths of the two sections.

[chiloquinruss]

Robert - unless I'm missing something, I think all you need to do is to make a copy of your entire piece. Then draw a vertical line down the center where you want your piece to seperate. Next use the 'trim' tool (the little scissors) and remove the excess end. Realign for tool pathing the cutting the first half. Repeat the process for the opposite end. Anyhow that's how I would approach the project. FYI, I have NOT tried to do this, so this is just my opinion on how I would try to get er' done. Russ

[bleeth]

Rob: Once you have split the part into your two files you need to offset the vectors to be cut outward 1/2 the width of your bit and then cut by machining along vector.

[rob_sekeris]

Robert - unless I'm missing something, I think all you need to do is to make a copy of your entire piece. Then draw a vertical line down the center where you want your piece to seperate. Next use the 'trim' tool (the little scissors) and remove the excess end. Realign for tool pathing the cutting the first half. Repeat the process for the opposite end. Anyhow that's how I would approach the project. FYI, I have NOT tried to do this, so this is just my opinion on how I would try to get er' done. Russ

Indeed a doable workaround. Thank you Russ. But that is cumbersome. Aspire offers that feature for horizontal slicing along the x-y plane, I was hoping to find something to do this along the x-z plane. One slice, piece on the left and piece on the right.

Best I squirt some lube into the pivot of my scissor tool, huh?

[rob_sekeris]

Rob: Once you have split the part into your two files you need to offset the vectors to be cut outward 1/2 the width of your bit and then cut by machining along vector.

I hadn't thought of that, but yes, thank you!

(They don't call me a junior member for nuttin' )

[chiloquinruss]

"something to do this along the x-z plane" _ now see I said unless I was missing something! I don't do any real 3d stuff. Mostly just 2d but all in Aspire. I did not think about the issues with 3d. Anyhow, I really don't think 'virtual' oil will work on the those little scissors! Russ

[jay_d_wyant]

Rob,
If I understand correctly, your sign is v-carved. Just splitting the sign down the middle will not allow the the carving to go all the way to the edge. You would need to do as Russ said and have two separate files for each half, but for the text or graphics to be cut a little beyond center. Having trouble explaining it, but you would need the v-carving to extend beyond the true cut edge down the center(like 48x97), so that once carved you could cut the part down the center(48x96) and leave a clean edge that would mate up.

Sorry if this just seems confusing, because it sounds confusing to me as I type it.

If you are just trying to cut the sign in half, draw a rectangle around the side you want to remove and use the "subtract vectors tool". Just do as Russ said and have a copy in another file. One for left, and one for right.

Hope it helps.

Jay

[rob_sekeris]

(snipped for brevity)

Sorry if this just seems confusing, because it sounds confusing to me as I type it.

If you are just trying to cut the sign in half, draw a rectangle around the side you want to remove and use the "subtract vectors tool". Just do as Russ said and have a copy in another file. One for left, and one for right.

Hope it helps.

Jay

It is a bit like trying to describe a spiral staircase without using your hands.

But the "subtract vectors tool" would do the trick! Thanks...and I did understand what you meant by oversizing at least the radius of the v-carving bit...