Errors in 3-axis machining

[mad4planes]

I am experiencing errors when I send a wheel or pinion to the 3-axis machining part of Gearotic (I am using version 3.02000). For a pinion, I selected a tool path to machine the outside of the stock for the teeth and the inside of the central hole. Since I'm such a newbie at CNC, I thought the tool paths looked OK. But, when I transferred the g-code to my Tormach 770 to machine the part, the mill only machined part of the profile. After this happened, I looked back at the tool paths in Gearotic and there were gaps in the path that matched the error. As the end mill is cutting the stock, at certain points it lifts up, continues to follow the X-Y part of the profile and then plunges back into the stock. I haven't tried using the program to cut a wheel yet, but when I send a wheel to 3-axis, I see the same phenomenon. Based on this information, I believe the problem lies within Gearotic and not at any step beyond that. I have attached (I hope!) a photo of the pinion. I would be very grateful if you could help me solve this problem.

[ArtF]

Hi:

  It sounds as if tabs are turned on and set very badly for the cut size.
Small pinion, so tabs may be set pretty tight. Set the #Tabs edit box to
0 and try generating the path again, you shouldn't see the tabs anymore.



Art