CNC'g Flatwork

[kayakerca]

Given that I have a Shapeoko 3 CNC router on pre-order (hopefully it will arrive late April) and the escalating cost of Flatwork some of us seem to be experiencing, I though I'd take a shot at mocking up some bobbins in SolidWorks. Hopefully the Shapeoko 3 is a tool that can do this job nicely. Hopefully. . . Anybody that has any experience or tips wrt to CNC'g this type of thing, I'd appreciate you passing them along and cutting down my learning curve (or machine/material damage curve ).

[David King]

Jim,
What are you using for CAM software?

[kayakerca]

Jim,
What are you using for CAM software?

I think I will go with MeshCAM for the CAM software, but have not pulled the trigger on that one yet. MeshCAM has a post processor that does the tweaking for the Carbide 3D controller software that comes with the Shapeoko 3.

[David King]

Thanks Jim,

Just looking at your drawing, you had better bump that magnet hole size to .186" for a tight fit or you will struggle pushing the magnets through i think and will probably end up with a distorted piece of Forbon.

[kayakerca]

Thanks Jim,

Just looking at your drawing, you had better bump that magnet hole size to .186" for a tight fit or you will struggle pushing the magnets through i think and will probably end up with a distorted piece of Forbon.

Thanks David. I agree with your observation. I measured the holes on bottom flatwork from 2 different suppliers and they were both ~ .180", so I drew it up at .180" and was going to work my way up to the .186" that you recommend, one thou at a time, and compare the fits. That's assuming the new toy does a reasonable job on flatwork.

[Rodent]

until I have a business case to support the cost of a laser cutter, I CNC cut my custom flatwork shapes using Rhino + madCAM. probably the most 'interesting' aspect is discovering how best to hold to Forbon in place, and also which mills work best for the sometimes very small details

for mills, I've found a single-flute designed for plastic is the most forgiving when it comes to loading up while cutting. these can be difficult to find in a lot of different sizes, and you have a lot of waste between parts that would be usable with a laser.


for CAM software - I gave meshcam a try several years back, but couldn't see how it would work at giving me the level of control I wanted when defining tool paths. hopefully there's been a lot of R&D work since then so that it's useful for you.

[kayakerca]

for mills, I've found a single-flute designed for plastic is the most forgiving when it comes to loading up while cutting. these can be difficult to find in a lot of different sizes, and you have a lot of waste between parts that would be usable with a laser.

Do you climb mill when you CNC mill your flatwork? I am in the process of ordering a few different types and suppliers of mill bits. Some one, two and three flute mills. I'll definitely try out the single flute on the flatwork first.

for CAM software - I gave meshcam a try several years back, but couldn't see how it would work at giving me the level of control I wanted when defining tool paths. hopefully there's been a lot of R&D work since then so that it's useful for you.

This is my first venture into a CNC router. I am almost certain I will go with MeshCAM at this point. I have been through it a bit and it has much more functionality than I could see outgrowing for the price, plus, it has a post processor for the controller on the Skapeoko 3 and is at a price that I can work with. I'm trying to make my like as uneventful as possible getting into this.

I was thinking the CNC router would work well for making things such as forms for vacuum molding pickup covers.

Thanks for your comments! Very much appreciated.

[David King]

Just so you know, SW licenses are definitely not transferable so you may want to edit out any info from your post above... Some of these companies are notorious for chasing down any infractions even with 12 year old software. Especially when it sells for $4000/seat.

[kayakerca]

Thanks David. Done.