Help! Cutting .030" styrene plastic - dotted profile

[zombolina]

Hi there,

I've got a bunch of parts to cut out of thin styrene. I want to leave all of the parts on the sheet with tabs. Using tabs in Aspire isn't working because the material is so think, but I managed to do a test by node editing 2 breaks in the line of each part- so it would be like a dotted line.



Good news: I've got the cutter and the feeds and speeds dialed in, and the test came out great!

Bad news: Now that I try it on the 'real file' the tool path won't work because the shape is open and it ignores open vectors. I'm not sure why the test one that I drew stayed as a closed shape.

Any ideas on how to achieve this?

Many thanks-

[highpockets]

Don't have Aspire, but I tried this in VC Pro and it works.
Close the vectors on you drawing using Join Open Vectors.
Make your tabs the same thickness as the material .03" and modify the length of the tabs to what ever suits you.

[zombolina]

Thanks High Pockets,

I tried that first but the material is so thin the tabs don't cut. It looks right in the preview, but when I actually cut, the bit goes all the way through.
I'm using a 1/16"diameter bit, depth of cut is .032 and tabs are .030, the same thickness as the material.

[4DThinker]

Tab thickness is measured from the bottom of your depth of cut. Change your tab thickness to .032"