Zero Plane

[dhesel]

i have upgraded to Aspire v9 and i cant find the zero plane to add it to my modeling was it taken away and dont need it any more

[Rcnewcomb]

Model/Create Component/Add Zero Plane

[dhesel]

Thank you found it

[mezalick]

You can also use the icon..

Michael

[Fred Grover]

Ok, so I also found the Zero Plane option now in Aspire 9. But my question is do you truly need to use this feature and if so can someone explain in laymens terms when and why and what id does for you when designing of point us newbies to a good video tutorial to explain it ? Thanks and hope this is not to dumb of a question. Have a great day.

[joeporter]

http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V9 ... marks=zero plane and this http://forum.vectric.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=6474
The former link is from the current Vectric Support website and the latter is from the forum from 2009. I found either of these from the drop down menu at the top of the forum and the search box. There are also about a million You-Tube videos and tutorials, but the Product Support drop down will give you the most up-to-date information. Hope this is of some help...joe

[Mike-S]

The Zero plane gives a reference for other components to know where the material surface is located.
Say you have a dish that rises out of the material until it reaches the surface of your board. Without the Zero plane the dish component has trouble knowing where to call the top and so can result in a rough edge at the surface. The Zero plane defines exactly where to "stop."

[garylmast]

Also, if you do double sided cuts, you need a zero plane (limit plane) so you can mill past center (into the backside). Read the tutorial first before you try that. http://support.vectric.com/tutorials/V9 ... ideo_id=51. Gary

[Fred Grover]

Thanks everyone for the help and the links to what I think I need to understand this now on the Zero Plane. Going to have to try this now and see how it turns out. I appreciate this User Forum and the Members who help others learn. Great resource and place to be. I know I will be asking more questions soon. Have a great day/night everyone.

Cheers - Fred.

[rink]

Sorry for resurrecting an old post. These comments are helpful, but I'm still unclear on the purpose of the zero plane. Is it just to make the drawing and simulation more clear? Or does it affect the physical milling also? It sounds like the purpose is to identify the surface of the workpiece. But once I specify workpiece thickness in setup, and zero the z-axis at the machine, doesn't the CNC then know where the surface is...and also the bottom, and all other parts of the workpiece?

When I add a zero plane to my design, then the finishing toolpath wants to mill the entire surface of my workpiece, not just the areas with design features. If I'm milling a small concave oval in the middle of a large flat workpiece, there's no reason for the finishing toolpath to make passes over the rest of the entire workpiece just to mill nothing in those areas, is there? It really only needs to "finish" the small oval, not the entire workpiece.

What am I missing?
thx, rink.

[dealguy11]

1. It is used in milling.
2. Zero plane is related to 3d components, not to the material. Since 3d components can be carved anywhere inside the material (top, bottom or middle), knowing the thickness of the material is not a help in knowing where the zero plane of the model is. For example, if the model is 1/4" thick, and the material is 3/4" thick, you can choose to place the model in the material block on the table or just below the top of the work (or anywhere in between). A zero plane travels up and down in the block with the model.
3. You get around the issue of cutting the whole model by using a selected vector for the machining boundary.

[rink]

3. You get around the issue of cutting the whole model by using a selected vector for the machining boundary.

Thanks for the clear explanation, I understand better now. I see now that I did not use selected vectors for the machining boundary, although I thought I had.

Thanks again for the lightning fast and understandable response.

thx, rink.

[rink]

3. You get around the issue of cutting the whole model by using a selected vector for the machining boundary.

By the way...The toolpath did not recognize a vector when I selected the 3D component. I had to use the trace bitmap function to create a vector surrounding the component, then I could select that and calculate a toolpath. When I select just the component itself and calculate the toolpath, I get an error message that says no vectors have been selected. Is that the normal process...to trace a bitmap around the 3D component (such as a dish or a flourish, etc.)?

thx, rink.

[gkas]

You can use Create vector boundary around selected components. It's in the modeling tab.

[SteveNelson46]

You can select "Create Vector Boundary Around Selected Components" from the Modeling menu or use the Boundary Create button on the Modeling tab.