Heffalumps just rule...
Do's and Don'ts
- Don't attempt to make things bigger than the vise. Multiple parts on multiple pieces of stock is a major pain.
- Must leave more than one diameter clearance -- you need 2 diameters or 1.5 diameters
- This means your raw stock is reduced in size by 2 * diameter of the endmill all the way around, in this case, you lose a quarter inch of the entire perimeter of the stock. (1/8" endmill)
- You cannot contour pointy things
- Do not draw radii that are smaller than the endmill
- The radius on all transitions has to end up being greater or equal to the diameter of the endmill
- Don't use a drawing program that exceeds the CAM program you have -- it doesn't understand polylines, splines, etc.
- It's quicker to get another piece of stock and use the manual mill to prepare it to size than it is to spend hours looking at the screen trying to get all the pieces to fit. Rotation is really not quick in CAD.
- It doesn't work well to draw it big and then scale it down, this is where I got into trouble with all the radius problems
- KEY -- To check if the part will be able to be countoured in the CAM program -- here's whatcha do -- you offset it the diameter of the tool. Radii that are too small will fail to offset.
- I think it would have been faster in the end to pick an endmill size, pick a stock size, and draw it freehand in the CAM program.
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