First Project -> Tool / Cutting Path Suggestions

[JudeS]

This is my first project after working thru some of the great examples on the website.

I attached a mockup cross-section (not to scale) of what I'm trying to accomplish. My initial thought was to use an 1/8" Bull Nose. I added ever larger rectangles increasing the depth 1/64 with each pass.

I did factor a 10% overlap but their were still misses. I believe I may not be going down the right track. Any and all suggestion are greatly appreciated.

Jude

[myxpykalix]

I'm not sure i understand what you are trying to do? Can you give more details? Are you trying to make a pocket cut like this?:confused:

[JudeS]

Hi Jack,

Sorry for the confusion.

The original piece of lumber is 13/16" x 3.5" x 24". This is the profile that I'd like to mimic. From what I can tell it's closest to a chamfer or a raised panel.

[twelchPTM]

The shopbot while quite possible the coolest tool in your shop, may not always be the right tool for the job. It would be a heck of alot faster to cut that on a table saw.

[donek]

What Thomas said.

We cut this sort of thing all the time, but in our case, the 3.5in dimension would be between 50in and 72in. I have used cam software to program such a thing, but it was more effective to write my own code for doing it. I've run into several other snowboard guys who have chosen to create their own code.

That being said, I think this falls under an extrusion in aspire or possibly a 2 rail sweep. I don't know that v-carve is capable of doing it.

[JudeS]

Thanks for the feedback Tom and Sean.

I think I will pursue both options. I have a table saw so I'll give that a go.

Sean any thoughts on where to get started with programming your own code?

Many thanks to you both!

Jude

[donek]

Thanks for the feedback Tom and Sean.

I think I will pursue both options. I have a table saw so I'll give that a go.

Sean any thoughts on where to get started with programming your own code?

Many thanks to you both!

Jude

You should have access to this under the help menu:
http://www.shopbottools.com/ShopBotDocs/Software/SBG00253%20Command%20Ref%20V3%202009%2011%2015.pdf
The really cool thing about shopbot is that the code is derived from the menus you are already using. If you look at the top of your screen you'll see drop down menus with a letter in []. That letter is the first in a command that can be put into a program. The second letter can be found in the drop down menu. When you execute this command you will see it appear in the "previous" box towards the bottom of the shopbot console. You can even record commands and then edit or save them later from the record drop down. I suggest starting by recording some commands and then editing them.

Having recently begun working with a machine that runs on G-Code, I am even more convinced of the elegance of the shopbot language. It is far more intuitive and much easier to remember than a bunch of numbers representing a certain command. If you think learning CNC is difficult with a shopbot, trying to do so with G-code and MAch3 will compound that belief by an a factor of 10 at least.

There are certain logic commands that you can work with within a program as well a lot of them are just visual basic commands. If you have never done any coding, then take a look at some of the online object oriented languages to become familiar with what other logic type commands you might use. Check out:
http://scratch.mit.edu/
Then start looking at the programs that you are running and trying to decipher and understand them. Within about 30 minutes of study you should able to decipher almost any program generated by your CAM software as they almost always rely on only 3 different commands. Using others will enable you to start doing more unique things with your bot.