How to mill from the side

[TPD]

Hi there,

I would like to mill from a square 10 mm thick block an irregular shape. Best would be to mill the piece from the sides. Is there any possibility to set a tool path that mills from the outside if the material with a given max. cutting depth (sideways) into the material?

Thanks!

[highpockets]

Some pictures or a much better description would help a lot.... Have you looked at the Profile Toolpath?

[TReischl]

Why not just do a profile cut around it? You can control the depth of cut and even use vertical ramping to feed the bit into the work.

[4DThinker]

The lead-in option is useful to help you plunge outside the edge them move up to it to profile around. A lead-out will move the bit away from the edge before lifting up. Set your plunge depth to the depth you want and use one pass to get there. I've done this with dovetail and ball cutters and slot-cutting bits. Just know that VCarve can't show you any undercuts to verify your work before you run the job.

[tomgardiner]

You can also do a series of toolpaths, profile out, while varying the machining offset. I would include a lead in at a shallow angle. You can save programming time by making multiple copies of the toolpath then edit each to decrease the machining offset. Just make sure that you check that the offset must be negative or positive I check by using the solid toolpath check box to view a 2d image of the toolpath.