2 sided machining of models

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martin54
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2 sided machining of models

Post by martin54 »

I still haven't got to grips fully with the new 2 sided machining function on V9 :oops: Have to be honest & say that rather than converting some of the jobs I had previously done in V8.5 to a new job in V9 I just left them as 2 separate jobs & kept machining them the way I had got use to.

Anyway the time has come to make more of an effort to sort out my problems :lol: :lol:

One issue I seem to have is if I am making something like a bowl & I put a negative shape (dish) on one side & a positive shape (dome) on the other side, I have a piece of 20mm stock, I add a zero plane & then create a dish with a depth of 10mm, model looks good so over to the other side where I create a dome shape that is exactly 20mm in depth, all seems to look good again.
When I go to toolpath the setup for the bottom side tells me that the model thickness exceeds the material thickness, model thickness is given as 30mm so has obviously added the 2 together & no matter what I have tried so far I can't seem to prevent that so it stands to reason I haven't done the right thing yet lol

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highpockets
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by highpockets »

Martin,

I have a lot of double sided projects I created before v9 that I have left as is. It seems harder to convert an old project then it is to just start over (at least for me). :D :D :D :D

Here's what I did to create a bowl.

Set the project size to 10"x10"x1" (sorry all imperial :P )

I start with the bottom, why? because it just makes more since to me.....

In the Modeling tab I added a Zero Plan
I added a 90° dome and sized it.
I set the component to Add and height to 1"

I then created a Vector Boundary around the dome.

I then clicked on the dome and copied it to the front side.

On the front side I resized the component down by 90%
I created a Vector Boundary
Change the component to Subtract

On the Toolpath tab click on Material Setup
Set the Thickness to 1.001" (Model Position doesn't like a model thickness the same as the material thickness)

Created the toolpaths as usual using the Vector Boundary on the back side to cutout bowl.

Hope this helps....
John
Maker of Chips

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martin54
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by martin54 »

Thanks John, I will try your way & see what happens, I have been creating the front (dish part) first, don't see why it should make any difference but will try. The other thing is that these are not just straight forward bowels, the front (dished part) are not the same shape as the bottom so I can't copy & move to ther side. Would post the file but can't for copyright reasons :lol: :lol:

Oh no worries about imperial units, I work with either metric or imperial. Old enough that it was still imperial when I went to school here :lol: :lol:

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martin54
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by martin54 »

quick update, now I need to do a bit more research on the zero plane, have one on the top (dished side) because you are always told to add a zero plane when cutting negative shapes. Just tried adding one to the bottom as well & now it doesn't seem to be adding the 2 models together. Didn't actually think you could add 2 zero planes to a job so bit of homework required :lol: :lol:
Would still appreciate other peoples veiws & experiences with this though, still lots to learn (as always) :lol: :lol: :lol:

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highpockets
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by highpockets »

Martin,

Put the Zero Plan on the positive (domed side). I'm not sure it matters, but I put the Zero Plan as the lowest Component in the list.
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John
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garylmast
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by garylmast »

If you import a 3-D model, it will setup automatic, as shown in the picture. Notice the Tabs, Limit plane (zero plane) and Model are on different layers. The limit planes will be have a zero or minus number. They will be between the two halves (bottom of each side). The minus number will be the distance you want the mill to protrude deeper to get the undercut side of the opposite side. If I don't need to the mill to protrude, put a small minus number in the limit plane so you don't need a vector to do the cutout.

If you are mirroring the component to the opposite side, provided the object is not in center, draw a rectangle, select it and right click to get to the menu that has "copy to other side", then use the center position in the Align Objects menu.
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joeporter
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by joeporter »

I have been having fits with this myself. After watching the two sided tutorials over and over, it has sunk into me that limit or zero plane need to be on their own level in the modeling tab component tree and when you go to machine them use the selected level option and make sure the model is centered in the material top and bottom. Hope is of some help,......joe
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garylmast
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by garylmast »

If you select the level, it will machine the entire material surface. Instead select the model.
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martin54
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by martin54 »

OK just to update this post, as I was still having problems I phoned Vectric this morning & spoke with Charlie.
Something I didn't know was that you can have as many zero planes as you want :lol: :lol: I had already discovered that if I added a zero plane at the bottom of my material block then the model on the top of my material wasn't treated as a positive shape, problem with that as far as I was aware was that I needed the zero plane to be on the top of the material because I was carving a dish shape into the top :lol: :lol:

So having learnt today that I can have as many zero planes as I want all my problems seem to have disappeared, by having a zero plane on both sides of the material block the models on either side now act like I would expect then to so thank you Charlie & Vectric :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by vieiram »

Hey guys - I’m a shop teacher in Alaska trying to orient myself to 2 sided machining in version 9. Can someone give me a little hint on how to adjust the levels of a 2nd zero plane? Trying to do a bowl and having trouble adjusting the zero plane for the bottoms side of the bowl to be different than the top of the bowl. I’ve watched the 2 sided videos and hunted the forums and can’t find the answer to what I’m looking for. Thanks for any help!

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scottp55
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by scottp55 »

Beki did a GOOD tutorial for her bowl;
https://release.vectric.com/clipart_bowl/
Helped me a lot 3 days ago!
scott
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vieiram
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by vieiram »

I watched that yesterday ... didn’t seem to cover the zero plane issue I think I have.

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highpockets
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by highpockets »

If you set the height of the second plane to a positive number then the plane will be higher than the first zero plan leaving a positive gap between the two planes. If you enter a negative number for the second plane then it will be lower than the first plane and the two planes will overlap by the negative number.

Hope this helps.
John
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vieiram
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Re: 2 sided machining of models

Post by vieiram »

Thanks for the reply. When I am doing the top of the bowl I want to set the zero plane to the bottom of the dished our part. When I switch sides I want to carve all the way to the top lip of the bowl ... which in that case would be the bottom side of the workpiece. How do I adjust the zero plane level to be there? Or am I thinking about this all wrong. I’ve done all my 2 sided stuff in 8 and 8.5 as separate files. So maybe my brain is still thinking in separate file process.

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