Mancala board roughing toolpath

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rfischerjr
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:34 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom Elite AR16

Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by rfischerjr »

All,

I am trying to find the correct avenue for creating some mancala boards. My prototype involved 2" diameter pockets along the side and approximate 5x2" ovals at the respective ends. I wanted more of a slope to the sides for ease of retrieving stones and found the 45* or 60* dome/dish clipart to be ideal. Herein lies the issue I am facing...

I selected a 1/4" EM for the roughing toolpath, but as it approached the full depth of cut (0.5") the machine sounded like it was under too much load. My settings were 12000RPM at 60IPM with red oak as the material. Ideally I would like to take multiple passes to avoid this issue, but am having trouble identifying how to do so with the roughing toolpath. My searched online have not yielded any results so far. I was wondering if anyone had insight on whether this is a feature, or whether I need to find another solution. I considered using the pocket toolpath to hog out most of the waste first, however, I would like to determine a more efficient path forward that does not involved running multiple toolpaths.

I am using Aspire 11.016 and attached a visual of the project. I am sure the solution is staring me right in the face. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I am new to the CNC realm and have been diligently trying to learn as much as I can.
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Adrian
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Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by Adrian »

For the roughing toolpath you can control the number of passes by changing the pass depth of the tool you're using either in the database and reselecting it or using the Edit... button within the toolpath itself.

Note that you can't do that with the finishing toolpath as that will always cut in one pass.

rfischerjr
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Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:34 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom Elite AR16

Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by rfischerjr »

Ok, so then I would just need to create separate toolpaths? For instance, one roughing at .25" and another at .5". I tried running that scenario in the preview toolpath, but did not see a visible difference between depth of cut in the two roughing toolpaths on the model.

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martin54
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Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by martin54 »

For machining components there are 2 different toolpaths a roughing toolpath which most people use an endmill for & a finishing toolpath which would generally be machined with a ball nose or TBN bit.
The roughing toolpath will make multiple passes & the DOC can be set either within the tool database or using the edit button on the toolpath form. When setting the roughing toolpath you leave an allowance for the finishing bit to remove.
The finish pass is one pass at full depth & can't be altered :lol: :lol:

So you end up with 2 toolpaths, one roughing toolpath & one finishing toolpath :lol:

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Adrian
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Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by Adrian »

rfischerjr wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:48 pm
Ok, so then I would just need to create separate toolpaths? For instance, one roughing at .25" and another at .5". I tried running that scenario in the preview toolpath, but did not see a visible difference between depth of cut in the two roughing toolpaths on the model.
No just the one roughing toolpath but change the pass depth for the tool. If you're cutting 0.5" and the pass depth is 0.25" then you will get two passes. If it's 0.1" then you will get 5. You can see this by going to the 3D view and ticking the roughing toolpath, the blue lines will show the number of passes.

rfischerjr
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:34 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom Elite AR16

Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by rfischerjr »

Adrian wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:12 pm
rfischerjr wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 2:48 pm
Ok, so then I would just need to create separate toolpaths? For instance, one roughing at .25" and another at .5". I tried running that scenario in the preview toolpath, but did not see a visible difference between depth of cut in the two roughing toolpaths on the model.
No just the one roughing toolpath but change the pass depth for the tool. If you're cutting 0.5" and the pass depth is 0.25" then you will get two passes. If it's 0.1" then you will get 5. You can see this by going to the 3D view and ticking the roughing toolpath, the blue lines will show the number of passes.
Oh ok, that makes much more sense now. I will give that a shot! Thanks so much for the assistance.

rfischerjr
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2022 7:34 pm
Model of CNC Machine: Axiom Elite AR16

Re: Mancala board roughing toolpath

Post by rfischerjr »

Thanks again to everyone on the advice with the roughing toolpath. Setting the DOC to a lesser amount made a big difference. Now I am trying to figure out another issue. When the 1/4" EM is moving along the toolpath I get an awful chatter/vibration in the X axis only in the X- direction. It appears to only happen along the longer portions of the cut. It is only taking off 0.25 at a time and there is no issue going in the X+ direction or any other axis.

I have tried various speeds and slowed the feed rate, but to no avail. I changed the orientation of the red oak so it cuts along the grain rather than across, but no change. I attached a screenshot of my settings which I thought we relatively conservative. My machine is an Axiom Elite AR16 with very low hours on it. I hesitate to continue using this toolpath out of concern for the tool. My next step was to verify whether the spindle angle was within spec to the bed. Any other thoughts?
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