New pocketing in 10.5

[redwood]

I was excited to be able to add another tool in pocketing. However, the results were not what I had hoped for. Perhaps I'm doing something wrong.

In 10.22, I use a 1/4" endmill to do the majority clearing. I then had to use a 1/16" endmill to cleanup, due to some small text. A 1/8" endmill would suffice for the majority of cleanup, but since it couldn't cleanup around the small text, I couldn't use it. Total time pocketing 3 hr. 58 min.

In 10.5, I added the 1/8" endmill thinking that it would supplant the 1/16" in the majority of areas, but it didn't. It still required the 1/16" endmill in all areas. I'm assuming it is because of any sharp corners. Total time pocketing with the 3 tools instead of 2, 4 hours 16 min.

Net result, it added 18 min. plus the time for a tool swap.

[AdamJ]

Hey redwood,

It is hard to say for sure, but by the looks of the piece then there aren't many really large areas where we can maximally exploit the bigger tool and make up for the additional tool change.

I'm sure the feature will come in handy at some point on the right job. But thanks for giving it a go anyway.

Cheers,
Adam

[redwood]

I can live with the results of a 1/8" endmill cleanup in all areas but the smaller text at the top, Mace Meadows. Maybe I just add a box around that text and pocket that with the 1/6" endmill and see if that saves a significant amount of time.

I guess with the new option, it would be nice to have some sort of tolerance option.

[redwood]

Ok, I've revisited my sign and tool paths. There must be a setting I'm missing. Is it my mistaken understanding that each bit, as it decreases in size, should only cut the areas that previous larger tools could not fit into. Well that certainly is not the case. In the sign above using 1/4" End mill, then a 1/8" endmill, and finally a 1/16" endmill. If I just preview the 1/16" end mill, it goes around every vector on the sign, regardless of whether it should need to or not. This is very inefficient. Here are my tool path previews for each tool. The 1/4" and the 1/8" tools do as I would suspect. However, the 1/16" end mill does not.

Only the 1/4" endmill has the profile pass checked.

[redwood]

OK, I investigated a little more. I created a fake tool that was smaller then the 1/16" end mill and added it to the list. In this case, the 1/16" endmill does what I would have expected it to do. The fake smaller bit then profiles every vector.

[AdamJ]

Yes what you are seeing is that there is always an allowance left on for the final tool. This is in part to maintain our existing two tool clearance behaviour. We've always done this and there are some reasons for this, for example ensuring that edges are consistently finished with the same tool, and that this tool always has material to remove. That said, I can see why it might be desirable to not have the allowance. We think a lot about the balance between configurability and ease of use and in this case we've shied away from offering too many options, but it wasn't a straightforward decision and we might revisit it in the future.

As you've demonstrated it can actually be worked around if you want to.

Cheers,
Adam

[redwood]

Thanks for your response Adam. I hadn't really noticed or cared previously. I have 42 or these signs to make (I've done 6 so far),so whatever I can do to save time, without sacrificing quality, is good.

With my work around, I save around 30 minutes, but I have another tool change. I'm still not sure if it is worth the few minutes of time saved.

[wchild]

I want to be able to create some text at the top of a pocket in version 10.5. I can't seem to figure out how to set the depth so it will go to the top of the pocket and not to the zero point on the surface. Can anyone help me learn how to set the depth correctly?

[sharkcutup]

Posting a diagram, image, .crv file posted here, more information as to what it is you are trying to accomplish is needed to avoid repetitive guessing.

Sharkcutup

[Adrian]

I want to be able to create some text at the top of a pocket in version 10.5. I can't seem to figure out how to set the depth so it will go to the top of the pocket and not to the zero point on the surface. Can anyone help me learn how to set the depth correctly?

In the toolpath for the text set the start depth to be equal to the the depth of the pocket. So if your pocket cuts from 0 to 0.25" then you would need to put 0.25" as the start depth so the toolpath knows thats where you want to start from.

[wchild]

Thank you! Worked great!