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Computer controlled machining

This week’s group assignment is to test runout, alignment, speeds, feeds, and toolpaths for the shopbot CNC machine

CNC testing & settings

This is the CNC machine we used.

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For testing we used 3mm bit

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We fixed the board using nails.

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Machine buttons

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Before cutting we adjusted the origin settings for all vectors. Setting Z origin:

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We tried testing different cutting settings & pucketing. We used VCarve Pro software to design & do the cutting settings. After designing, we selcted each element in the design & set the toolpath settings for it & then clicked on “Calculate” button. We did that for all elements then merged them & saved the file to be used in the cutting program. After ensuring that the origins are set correctly, we clicked on “Cut” button, then it requested us to click on the green button & “Enter”.

Tool settings changes depending on several factors such as material type & thickness. Some refrences Makezine & ShopBot Feeds & Speeds Charts.

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For the first one we used:

  • 2D Profile Toolpath
  • 6mm cutting depth
  • One pass 3mm, 2 passes in total
  • Machine Vectors: Outside/Right

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  • Pocket Toolpath
  • 3mm cutting depth
  • One pass 3mm, 1 passes in total
  • Clear Pocket: Offset
  • Cut Direction: Climb

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For the second one we used:

  • 2D Profile Toolpath
  • 6mm cutting depth
  • One pass 3mm, 2 passes in total
  • Machine Vectors: Inside/Left

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  • Pocket Toolpath
  • 3mm cutting depth
  • One pass 3mm, 1 passes in total
  • Clear Pocket: Raster
  • Cut Direction: Climb

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For the third one we used:

  • 2D Profile Toolpath
  • 6.5mm cutting depth (at first we tried 6mm but it didn’t cut 6mm depth)
  • One pass 3mm, 2 passes in total
  • Machine Vectors: On

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  • Female Inlay - Pocket
  • 1mm cutting depth
  • One pass 3mm, 1 passes in total
  • Clear Pocket: Raster
  • Cut Direction: Climb

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Result:

The second sequare (Machine Vectors: Inside/Left) was smaller than the rest

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