Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

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waltneu
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:29 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mach 3

Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

Post by waltneu »

I created tool paths for clock parts and everything went well untill the minute hand. The profile tool path insists on being on the inside of the line when it needs to be on the outside. On the same minute hand the pocket tool paths do the interior cutouts nicely.
Any ideas?
Thanks
Walt

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IslaWW
Vectric Wizard
Posts: 1402
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2007 11:42 pm
Model of CNC Machine: CNC Controller Upgrades
Location: Bergland, MI, USA

Re: Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

Post by IslaWW »

Walt...
Make sure that your vector(s) is closed. Use the vector validator to be sure.
Gary Campbell
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ATC & Servo Controller Controller Upgrades
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waltneu
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:29 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mach 3

Re: Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

Post by waltneu »

Hi
Finally got back to the minute hand this morning. The vector validator does nothing. The join vectors says 5 closed (inside cutouts) and 1 open (outside profile) and join button is
not active. I tried redrawing the profile and join vectors says I have 4 open and again the join button is dead. The vector validator does nothing.
Will I ever make this work?
Thanks
Walt

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Adrian
Vectric Archimage
Posts: 14544
Joined: Thu Nov 23, 2006 2:19 pm
Model of CNC Machine: ShopBot PRS Alpha 96x48
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

Post by Adrian »

If the vectors are open then the vector validator won't show anything as an open vector isn't necessarily an error. If the open vector has overlapping sections giving the visual appearance of a closed vector then the tool will pick up on that.

To join vectors you can use the Join tool as you've tried but you must have the tolerance set to a level that enable the vectors to be closed. If the tool is saying there is an open vector in the selection but the Join button is greyed out then that indicates that the tolerance is too small to bridge the gap. Increase it until the button is active. Once it's joined the vectors be sure to check that they still look the way you expect as large tolerance values can caused joins where you might not want them.

I tend to use one of three individual Join (Straight line, Curve, End Points) rather than the main join tool as I prefer to do the joins one at a time so I can see what is going on.

waltneu
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 8:29 pm
Model of CNC Machine: mach 3

Re: Profile toolpath on the wrong side of the line

Post by waltneu »

Thanks Adrian
I set the join tolerance to.01and it worked perfect. Next time I'll tinker with other numbers and try the individual joins
Walt

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