Merge Toolpaths - Help

[mdixon]

Ladies/Gents

Back on the forum after a misunderstanding...

I am using the Merge Toolpath command to run a Roughing toolpath immediatly followed by a finish toolpath (using the same tool) on each profile in my part. This saves all the movements between profiles and speeds up the process.

I thought (mistakenly) that the order of the toolpaths was respected for each closed path in the selected group of profiles.

Talking to Mark Moran, this is not what the tool was designed for, but may be looked at as an enhancement.

My question is therefore twofold
1. How many people would find this enhancement useful?

2. What are people out there doing for this scenario?

Help would be appreciated

Marcus

[Adrian]

Well I do that all the time on hundred parts on several sheets a day and I've never had it not respect the order so if the previous "issues" have been resolved I'd like to see the file that is causing it.

All I can think of is that you must have overlapping profiles so the software can't work out which vectors should be machined first.

For your particular example I think most people use the separate last pass option on the profile cut to do a final finishing pass. Personally I do it the way you do as you can't program different ramps and feeds using the last pass option.

[mdixon]

Sprite 450x450 medium.zip

(388.96 KiB) Downloaded 95 times

Adrian

Yes exactly. I can program all the ramps and leads seperately. Plus it saves all the "wasted moves" that a seperate finish toolpath would.

I enclose a new file created in Vectric 9.0

I cannot find any duplicate curves etc - must be doing something stupid

[Adrian]

I've stepped through the simulation a few times now. I can't see where it's running the finishing toolpath before the roughing toolpath. Could you point out which vectors it's doing it on?

I'm really surprised that Vectric have said it's not designed to work respecting the toolpath order. To me the By Part option is pointless without that and in all the time I've used it I've never had it do anything but respect the order or I would have raised it as an issue long before now.

[mdixon]

Adrian

On the 1st and 3rd profile - there are others

You will have to slow the simulation at the slowest speed - you will see that the first cut is all the way through (finishing) and then the cutter does the roughing in open space

on the 4th profile it is correct - 3 levels through and then a finish

[Adrian]

It seems to be caused by the leads. I don't use those and if you turn them off the order is respected.

If you use the Run to Retract option you can single step the toolpaths and see exactly what is going on.

[mdixon]

GREAT

Thanks Adrian.
So should the code work with the leads and it is an error?
Or
Are we using the code out of its designed parameters?

Thanks for the tip on Run to retract

Marcus

[Adrian]

To me it's a bug as if the By Part option is checked the order of the toolpaths should be respected. If they aren't respected all the time then, to me, it makes the By Part option unusable.