I took delivery of my Desktop recently, and this past weekend was my first chance to put it to use. I'm still on the learning curve with Partworks, but I was very happy with the results of my first cuts. I do have a couple question about the software's functionality.
I mentioned in another post that I build custom table tennis paddles. My initial use of my SB is very simple: cut out the profile of the paddle from custom ply blank. In addition to the paddle, I also cut 2 oval hang tags from the excess material on either side of the paddle handle. I will have dozens of different paddle shapes, but the tags will always be the same and will be cut in the same place on the blank. I'm trying to figure out the best way to incorporate the static tags into each different paddle file, and I'd welcome some suggestions.
What I was hunting for within Partworks was a way to embed or include a nested .crv file (the tags) within the main paddle file. I did not see a way to do this. The benefit would be that all of the toolpaths could be calculated at one time and that lead-ins would be optimized and any potential overlaps would be avoided. It would also allow me to make changes to a single .crv tag file that would then be propagated to each paddle file during a recalculate operation. If this is possible, this would be ideal.
Barring that, my next thought would be to always start a new design with a copy of the .crv tag file. This would allow all toolpaths to be calculated at one time, but I'd end up having to change every file if the tag content changed.
The other option would be to edit the paddle .sbp and make it a master file that nests a tag .sbp. This allows me to make changes to the tag file that would be propagated to each paddle file, but I'd have two independently generated toolpath files that might have some overlaps.
Perhaps there are other options? How would you handle this scenario?
Thanks,
Ross