cutting 4 flat surfaces

Topics related to wrapped rotary machining in Aspire or VCarve Pro
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rej
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cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by rej »

my question..... say i wanted to flute 4 flat surfaces, and i don't want to turn the piece of stock manually. can i put it in the rotary and have the rotary turn the piece after the toolpaths are run for each side?
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Rcnewcomb
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Re: cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by Rcnewcomb »

You would either need to rotate the piece between toolpaths, or to manually edit the G code to include the rotate commands.
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rej
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Re: cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by rej »

i have no desire to manually rotate the piece. so i will need to learn to edit the gcode. i'll bet there are many people like myself who are intimidated by that. but i think i have a guy who can teach me. thanks for the answer.
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SteveNelson46
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Re: cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by SteveNelson46 »

Something like this? With a project of 4" diameter and 12" long I created 2 boxes. One 3.5" and the other 2". Then I used the vector un-wrapper on each and used a 2-rail sweep with the profiles created by the un-wrapper at each end. Might need to play around with (or add) profiles to achieve different results.
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TReischl
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Re: cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by TReischl »

One thing to think about when using a rotary as an indexer. . . .

When the tool moves off the C/L it can move the stepper when it plunges. Good indexers and rotaries that can be used in that manner have a "clamp" function that locks the rotary spindle in place.

Just a note, the same problem exists with a servo motor.
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Re: cutting 4 flat surfaces

Post by 4DThinker »

I if your control software has a place to enter G-code commands, then 3 simple typed in commands will do the rotation for you:
G0A90
G0A180
G0A270
I use LinuxCNC and have done this many times, but usually just to cut mortises on table legs after having done the rest of the leg as a typical rotary job.

Your fluting commands shouldn't put much moment forces on a rotary stepper given their normal ramping action.

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