DeskProto user forum

Hi I have been working for some years with my two big routers now and is ready to start using the rotary axis.

I have been using Carveco but would like to move to DeskProto because of better support for the rotary. Particularly the possibility to cut in a spiral and having a square stock.

One of my routers has a rotation axis that can take 2400mm length and 420mm diameter. With these big dimensions I would like to ruff with a 50mm carbide bit insert tool, cutting 6mm in each layer and leave a skin of 5mm for the finishing tool (a 8mm tapered ballnose with 2mm tip radius, length 60mm)

I have seen all the videos available but have some questions. Let’s start with the most important:

# When I set the AREA to limit the ruffing, DespProto still generates toolpaths outside this area. First, I guessed that the center of the tool was moving to the limit, then I started wonder if tool is moving so that the whole tool radius is outside? Is this correct?

# I guessed that the LEYER HEIGTH was controlling the max cut depth of each ruffing cut and that the SKIN THICKNESS was controlling the last cut to leave material for the next tool.
But to me it seams that increasing the SKIN also affects the other cuts and generates a lot of “cutting air” outside the square stock. (See attached picture) Please explain how I can avoid cutting air.

More questions will follow :)

Thanks
Please excuse my English as I am a Norwegian

Hi Fermate,

You have a very large machine !
In answer to your questions:

#AREA - you are correct: by default the tool will move to positions one tool radius outside the area. That extra space is called the Border, you can switch that of on tab Border op the Geometry operation parameters.

# the LAYER HEIGHT indeed is the depth of each next pass in a roughing operation
# and the SKIN THICKNESS is the excess material that is left around the part, in order to be removed in the Finishing operation. That skin will be present in all layers, as it is present over the complete part surface.
When the skin is thick it means that the cutter indeed sometimes moves outside the block. DeskProto does not offer an option to eliminate these paths outside the block, sorry.

Lex.

Thank you for the quick answer!

#1 When you say "That skin will be present in all layers" you mean that it will just affect the layers that reach down to hit the skin?

Not that all layers will have the skin added?

See fig.


#2 I tought that if the skin (plus one layer) ends up outside the stock, that area can be skipped?

DeskProto uses a different method to process the Skin: for the toolpath calculation it uses a thicker (virtual) cutter.
The image shows the resulting toolpaths, and indeed some toolpath sections may be above the top of the material.

The image shows three roughing layers, for layers 2 and 2 the area that already has been machined will be skipped.