Cutting 3D contours on 3D blank

[equalitylongboards]

Hello,

My name is Jimmy and I recently started working with a shopbot cnc router (few months). I build longboard skateboards and have used the machine to cut some molds for my presses. I have had no problems opening a file in PartWorks 3D and going through all of the steps to cut a mold out on a flat piece of material. Lately I've been working on the cad files for a more complex board where I want to cut wheel wells into the pressed blank the same time I cut the profile of the board out.





You can kind of see in the side view and better in the bottom view the four areas I need to cut wheel wells by the mounting holes.

Is there an easy way to cut out the material for the wheel wells following the 3D contour of the blank that will come out of my press in either PartWorks applications?

[myxpykalix]

I can't tell you with this particular pgm but can in general.

You created the arch for the curve of the top for the front and back correct?

Take those two vectors (the front curve arch and back curve arch)

you need to measure the width of the arch's, then measure the cavities width.
take the cavity width and cut your vectors off the ends of the arch's width and that should give you the proper curve for making the the 3d cutting of the cavity, if that makes sense.....

HOWEVER.....if the top metal base of your wheel rollers that attaches to the board are flat (which i bet they are...) then you don't need to do all that.

What i think you need to do is take the shape of the wheel base and carve that into the bottom of the board. Let us know what that is, i'd be curious.

[blackhawk]

Hello Jimmy - Have you tried checking the box "project toolpath onto 3d model"? This should work if you want the cutout to be a constant depth as it follows the contour.

[Brady Watson]

James,
At the very least you need Aspire to do the machining you want. PartWorks does not possess the tools to do it.

-B

[shoeshine]

Yes and no Brady,

Not nearly as easily as in aspire, but there is a workaround assuming you have a decent grasp in 3d modeling.

Ive done something similar where I created the 3d model then isolated the areas I needed to cut into seperate convex objects, pulled them into cut3D, pathed them with tiny (.001) machining margins, saved the toolpaths as .v3d files then pulled them into Vcarve to place them on my project. (in my case the blanks were held in a jig with a known xy zero point)

In Vcarve you can then also add your flat areas and cut out path.

again not as simple as in aspire... but I dont own it.

[Brady Watson]

There is always a work around and exceptions to everything if you push hard enough and have the time to be creative. Not everyone has that luxury.

My perspective is, get the right tools for the job and minimize the stresses of programming. PW3D to PartWorks is clunky and hard to fully visualize if you are new to CNC, and lacks the power and control you really want. I prefer to cut to the chase and tell others what would ultimately serve them best, because nothing is more frustrating than being limited by your software capability & nobody likes getting jerked around. One-click & your 2D TP is projected onto your 3D model, reliably every time...This is well worth the price of admission.

-B