New To this Forum and have questions

Topics related to wrapped rotary machining in Aspire or VCarve Pro
Post Reply
nealmeyersjr
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:07 am
Model of CNC Machine: Camaster 408 with Recoil
Location: Guyton Ga.

New To this Forum and have questions

Post by nealmeyersjr »

Hello all my name is Neal Meyers and I live in Georgia north of Atlanta. I just purchased a machine from Camaster with a Recoil (Rotary) option. I am hoping to use the Recoil to cut rifle stocks from scanned originals. I want to use the machine to cut the stock with all of the mounting hole and slots for the firing mechanisms thumb holes ect. I have seen drawings on line but do not know if people are cutting the stocks on the table and flipping them to cut the opposite side and then use another method to cut the slots. I am hoping that someone has used a Recoil to cut the complete stock and are willing to share some advise.

Thank you all in advance :mrgreen: .
Neal Meyers
Guyton Ga

[color=#0000BF]"Move forward as if Nobody is Hindering You" Abe Lincoln[/color]

signmarketingman
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 586
Joined: Sat Jan 08, 2011 12:29 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Professional done home built.
Location: SW Michigan

Re: New To this Forum and have questions

Post by signmarketingman »

I only observed them cut stocks in a cnc lathe.. But it is accurate. I would guess that a rotary would work in the very same way..

User avatar
dealguy11
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 2464
Joined: Tue Sep 22, 2009 9:52 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Anderson Selexx 510
Location: Henryville, PA

Re: New To this Forum and have questions

Post by dealguy11 »

It's certainly possible to do 2- or more-sided machining using an indexer. Haven't done gun stocks, but have done other things. Some thoughts:

1. If you use Aspire, you will need to generate each side as a separate file with separate toolpaths. You can combine these into one file using a text editor - you will have to insert the g-code to flip the part. Otherwise, just run one side, manually enter an "A180" (or whatever your machine uses for turning the axis) and then run the other side. If you use Cut3d (which I don't have), I think that if you can generate a full 3d scanned version of the stock, then Cut 3d can do multi-sided milling on it from the one file.

2. If you use Aspire, you may have some machining marks and/or roughness around the edges of the stock where there the curve goes towards vertical. You can sand these out, or you may consider generating a part that allows you to machine the edge with the stock turned 90 degrees. This is a bit tricky (at least it was for me). On the part I did, I exported the 2 sides of the part as STL files and then joined them up in another program to create a 3-D file of the whole part. Then I rotated that 90-degrees and re-imported into Aspire, being careful to keep the center of the rotated part the same. Created a toolpath just for the poorly milled edge (avoiding the new verticals in the rotated part). This was a bit of a pain and it might have been easier just to sand out the marks.

3. It's probably best to just use the scan for the basic shape of the stock. Mounting holes and slots can be more accurately cut if you make them directly in Aspire (Cut3d will not allow you to generate separate toolpaths for holes and slots). They will be tricky if they are not at a 90-degree angle to the top of the Aspire model for the side - i.e., if you have to do an undercut, Aspire will not support it. I suppose you could slightly rotate the stock and cut the slot, but placement would be a bear.

Just my thoughts.
Steve Godding
Not all who wander (or wonder) are lost

nealmeyersjr
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 4:07 am
Model of CNC Machine: Camaster 408 with Recoil
Location: Guyton Ga.

Re: New To this Forum and have questions

Post by nealmeyersjr »

Steve

Thank you for your thoughts and input.

I am using Aspire 3d and was looking into the scanning solution and there seems to be many options out there. I have a Camaster 12" x 96" recoil (indexer) option on my machine and was thinking that I would be able to mount the blank there and do the cutting. The slots and openings, I think, could be accurately cut while the stock was still in the recoil. Again though getting the stock designed/scanned and tool paths created is the difficult part. :?: I am looking to use Auto Cad to create some small toy type stocks for testing. Will post pics if I can get something to work.

Again any and all advice appreciated. :mrgreen:
Neal Meyers
Guyton Ga

[color=#0000BF]"Move forward as if Nobody is Hindering You" Abe Lincoln[/color]

Post Reply