Pocket cutout of 3D project.

[Devlin]

When I create 3D projects and then do the pocket cut to cut it out from the wood I have a problem. If I simply set a boundary and cut on the outside with an endmill it starts at the top of the wood and does quite a few Air cuts and wastes time. If I do the project onto 3D it does a lot of up and down weird cuts. The real problem is when I use project to 3D it will not leave the tabs I set. Even if I use 3D tabs. Now I could use a start height to minimize the air cuts. Any suggestions. The loss,of tabs in 3D is bothersome.

[Adrian]

Why are you using a pocket cut to remove it? You should be using a profile cut.

[TReischl]

I am pretty sure he meant a profile cut since he referenced using tabs. We all know there is no such option in "pocket".

Having one's cake and eating it too is always a problem. Of course the tabs disappear when telling it to project onto the 3d model. Makes total sense to me. But then, that is me.

I gave up a long time ago trying to make the machine be as efficient as I thought it should be. My conclusion was that I wasted more time trying to shave seconds or even minutes off something than it was worth. I decided I was not Ford Motor Company and every second was worth $60 or such.

[Adrian]

In that case I don't see the issue. The profile cut has a start depth on it and without the project option it won't destroy tabs. Something else is going on here but as usual with this sort of thing without a file it's guesswork.

[TReischl]

Interestingly Adrian I created a test project and it went ahead and remove the tabs. But I'm running 4.5 so maybe that is changed.

[Adrian]

Terminology again I expect. When someone mentions a profile cut and 3D tabs I assume they mean the tabs created by the toolpath itself. If it's tabs created as part of the 3D model then they will be cut out as the profile toolpath knows nothing about them.