I wanted to make a holder for some of my end mills and ball nose mills. So I made a layout in CAD, saved my DXF and brought it into Aspire.
I made two tool paths; one using a .125 End Mill as a drill bit with a hole tool path, (as I cannot override Aspire and use a .125 end mill to make a .125 pocket), and the remaining pockets using the same end mill and a pocketing tool path. This way I do not have to change tools.
I always get a chuckle when I see how the tool paths are created. This one was so interesting, I thought I would try to capture it using my free video capture program. It's a Flash SWF file, so most people should be able to play it. If not, you can save to your desktop and open with your browser.
In "preview" mode, the attachment makes quite a big blank spot with the link at the bottom, so if the file messes up the thread, feel free to delete it.
I usually don't care about the sequence algorithm, except when I am running a full 48" x 96" sheet of holes for a vacuum table skin... then it does make a difference in run-time, but I don't have to do that often, so it's no big deal.
SD
Hole and Pocket Sequence
- SuperDave
- Vectric Craftsman
- Posts: 236
- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 7:25 am
- Model of CNC Machine: Techno Isel 4896 Plus - Servo
Hole and Pocket Sequence
"Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it."