Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

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2C3D4U
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Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by 2C3D4U »

Hi, I'm tasked with creating 8" tall truncated cones with a large difference in large and small radii. The cone is 4" wide at the "top" and only 2" in diameter at the bottom. We were thinking of first cutting four sided tapered stock that would then have its corners rounded, leaving much less to do in way of completing the conical milling. In this case, the stock would be quickly prepared with jigs and a sliding saw.

Does/can Aspire be efficiently used in the described scenario to save oodles of time? If not, that's a gadget waiting in the wings.

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by Rcnewcomb »

The fluting toolpath is one method. This would work for Vcarve as well as Aspire.
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FlutingTaperedCone.jpg
FlutingTaperedCone.crv
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by Rcnewcomb »

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by SteveNelson46 »

Should you choose the ready made model method, here is a truncated cone of your specs that I created in Rhino and imported into Aspire.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BHaw-4 ... sp=sharing
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Truncated Cone.png
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by 2C3D4U »

Thank you Steve. I opened your file, and notice the estimated run time for one piece is 3.75 hours. Is that the best that can be hoped for with an indexer? Even with a larger roughing bit and softer wood, I'd imagine no less than 1/2 the program's estimated time. This is why the idea of starting with four sided, tapered stock seems appealing.

I imagine a CNC controlled lathe spins this within 10 minutes. Does your post/machine allow for continuous rotation? Comments regarding full rotation run the gamut.

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by 2C3D4U »

Rcnewcomb wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:09 am
The fluting toolpath is one method. This would work for Vcarve as well as Aspire.
Thank you. Can you explain where you are dictating the tapering while fluting, along with the flute spacing? Where do I find that? It seems that using flat planed, tapered sides is not an option, which is a shame. Nevertheless, this is a BIG help. Do you have a setup that allows for continuous rotation?
Where in the setup are you defining start and finish radii of the cone?
Last edited by 2C3D4U on Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by 2C3D4U »

I think my question was improperly worded. I was thinking of using square stock that is tapered, initially implementing the optimizing raster method of machining, followed by a radial rotary finishing operation.

Where in the setup are you defining start and finish radii of the cone?

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by Rcnewcomb »

Can you explain where you are dictating the tapering while fluting, along with the flute spacing? Where do I find that?
In the fluting toolpath the flute goes from 0 to 1 inch -- reducing the radius of the blank by 1", i.e reducing the diameter by 2".

Since I was using a 1" ballnose bit I set the distance between flutes to be 0.1" (10% of the bit diameter).
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by SteveNelson46 »

2C3D4U wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 12:00 pm
Thank you Steve. I opened your file, and notice the estimated run time for one piece is 3.75 hours. Is that the best that can be hoped for with an indexer? Even with a larger roughing bit and softer wood, I'd imagine no less than 1/2 the program's estimated time. This is why the idea of starting with four sided, tapered stock seems appealing.

I imagine a CNC controlled lathe spins this within 10 minutes. Does your post/machine allow for continuous rotation? Comments regarding full rotation run the gamut.
My machine, as with any other machine, will only do what it's told to do. As far as I know, Vectric doesn't have a way of doing a rounding spiral toolpath or a rounding spiral tapered toolpath. It can be written in gcode with just a few lines of code but it may need additional controller specific commands. I have never done it and it might be harder than I am aware of.

Machining times are dependent on feeds and speeds of the spindle. If you are concerned about the lengthy carve time then it might be best to use Randall's method with a fluting toolpath. It uses a 2D cutting strategy where my method uses a 3D cutting strategy. 3D rotary times usually take a long time because the material only turns in small increments with each pass of the spindle indicated by the step-over of the bit. Care should be taken as both methods will plunge to the full depth at the small diameter end. You could use other tools to remove most of the material at the small end with either of the toolpaths or even run a 3D roughing toolpath first with either method.
Steve

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by IslaWW »

If you wish to take some time to learn a bit of hand coding you can cut your taper in a few minutes.

Continuous rotary turning as seen in the first minute of the video below would provide a short cut time and good finish.

Toolpaths generated in VCPro:

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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by SteveNelson46 »

Is it me or is there something wrong with the video link?
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by Rcnewcomb »

The video link works for me. I'm running Chrome on Mac.
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by 2C3D4U »

Thank you. Could you please post a short code file showing what you suggest? I can view the code in Notepad++ and hopefully figure it out. For example, a tapered cone 2" long, going from 3" to 2.5" spun continuously? It would help me a LOT. This is exactly what I want to use my rotary for.
IslaWW wrote:
Thu Jun 03, 2021 7:01 pm
If you wish to take some time to learn a bit of hand coding you can cut your taper in a few minutes.

Continuous rotary turning as seen in the first minute of the video below would provide a short cut time and good finish.

Toolpaths generated in VCPro:


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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by IslaWW »

Giving someone the answers to the test usually doesnt help them learn. The reality is that one the bit is positioned, your cone cuts with one line of code that can be entered manually into most controls. Look over the following. There are no feeds, speeds or setup calls and assumes Z ref is center of blank


G53 Z0
G0 X0 Y0 A-360
G1 Z1.5 A0
G1 X2 Z1.25 A20000
G53 Z0
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Re: Is there a way to mimic the rounding toolpath rotary gadget with tapers?

Post by SteveNelson46 »

Rcnewcomb wrote:
Fri Jun 04, 2021 3:59 am
The video link works for me. I'm running Chrome on Mac.
I was using an ad blocker that blocked the site. All is well now.
Steve

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