New Version 2.255

[ArtF]

Hi All:

  The 4th axis module is released in this version, here is a video on its use,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv77x7I ... e=youtu.be

  Bugs are pretty much ensured to exist, but are clearing quickly...


Have fun
Art

[John S]

Art, watched the video and I thought it was good and explained it very well.
Just two questions and the first relates to spur gears only. You have an operation for shaped cutter which is basically a shaped end mill but there are more easily available cutters of the disk type format available but these on most vertical spindle machines need to be applied to the blank from the side. GM did have an option for that. Will this option be added in 2.0 ?

Secondly because of all the root work and then shaving it is a very time expensive operation even though it allows you to make something with easily obtained cutters and no special purpose machinery.
Could an elapsed time display be incorporated to allow a 'what if ?' to see what affect alterations have on the time. ?  Wouldn't want to miss me tea.  :P

[ArtF]

Hi John:

  Yes, slit saws or disk cutters need to be added, this will be done shortly. I figured Id let it steep for a week or so before I madde that final push.. ( Herringbone is the other thing that doesnt work, it will be added soon as well.

I like the idea of estimated time.... Ill look at adding that as well. This will be an ongoing development and other types of 4th axis machining will
be added in time as well.

Thx
Art

[Bloy]

Hi Art,
 During the preferred method of tangential shaving, you explained that the tool lowers as the 4th axis turns to maintain a smoother cut from the side of the tool.  You warned that the tool tip may invade the opposing gear tooth space as the operation proceeds.  Will you introduce a method of controlling the depth that the tool lowers so that the tangent is always optimally close(but not on) the bottom edge of the cutting tool?  This might reduce to fear of the tool cutting into an adjoining root/tooth area.

You must be having a blast wielding your wizardry like you do! 

Thanks loads!
John M  

[ArtF]

Hi John:

  Im considering trying to put a calculation on that, but I figured Id wait and see how large a problem it is... if it is..

Art

[John S]

Thanks Art, looking forward to the disk type cutters being added.
For one thing it will speed up the cutting and also reduce the risk of broken cutters on a long job in hard materials like steel.

As a quick test I programmed a spur gear 1.25 MOD which is about 20 DP, 20 mm face width 40 teeth.
First trial was with a 2mm cutter at 1mm step over and 0.5mm depth per pass which i though acceptable given the cutter size in steel. Set for Root, flank and tangential cutting. Ran the code, put it into Mach and got a cycle time of 1:06:16.

Ran the same gear with a disk cutter with 20 degree included angle and 2mm tip width. This would not be a hard cutter to grind up out of a normal side and face cutter and isn't limited to just this gear.
All the same settings but only ran the tangential at full depth as a cutter like this will handle it OK without breaking.
Cycle time was 0:23:30.

So a substantial saving plus virtually no chance of the disk cutter breaking but every chance of the 2mm cutter breaking over a 1 hour cycle time.

Forgot to add, when you go to save post everything is Ok but if you go back, alter something, hit post again and choose the same file it will overwrite without asking.

[John S]

OK not a gear but Gearotic if fast moving into new avenues.

What I'd like to see, and so far don't know of a program that can do this completely is dials, like the type you get on the cross slide of a lather or milling table.

A program than can divide a circle into divisions with the 10's and 5 different lengths to normal units plus add the numerals on to whatever total and in whatever direction, rising or falling to compensate for the way it's turned.

Seen some programs that can convert rule type marks to a 4th axis but not one to neatly engrave the numbers, letters on.

No rush - next Friday will do  :P

[ArtF]

Hi John:

  Disk cutters shouldnt be that long, they really just require two axis to swap.. Z and Y..

Fro dial engraving do you mean just to generate a dxf or just have the Cam section piut out a center line engrave of
a dial output.. Doesnt sound hard to do...

Art

[John S]

The latter, centre line engrave.

Possibly a module where you fill in the boxes, OD, number of divisions, start number, end number, depth of cut etc.

I have looked and although you can get programs to wrap a flat file round a circle, Vectric has a module built in, they are all clunky and expect you to draw the scale to Pi*D then convert it instead of working direct in 4th axis in degrees.

One problem with the former is that if the OD is off slightly then the start and end do not match. Working in 4th axis mode from the start does not incur this as a circle divided into say 100 will always be 100 regardless of OD.

I did a search on Youtube to see what everyone else is using and the best I have found is people engraving the marks then hand stamping the numerals. A bit Fred Flintstone in this day and age.

Which leads me to another variation which is more in Gearotics line as it applies to clocks. Clock dials engraved in the flat.

See here.
http://www.jeffree.co.uk/pages/chapter-ring.html

Now Tony is a good friend of mine and this is the best method he could come up with because it's hard to orientate even in CAD the 1,2,4,5 etc a the right radial angle. Tony did it by always working in the vertiacl at 12o'clock then rotate the dial on a rotary table so all the numerals [ in Tony's case, Roman ] are radial.

If CAD can automatically lay out radial text then you are 95% of the way there.

So seeing as I have thrown a bit more into the pot a week next Wednesday sound reasonable.  :P

[ArtF]

John:

  Is there any good reason to do all this in 4th axis? Seems to me to be more appropriate to 2.5D
CAM for the whole thing.. or is it that resolution is better in 4th? I mean I can see where I could do the
entire face in 2.5D more easily than in 4th axis..

Art

[John S]

Art sorry me jumping the gun a bit
There are two posts mixed up here.
One is the machine dials in 4th axis and the other is the clock faces in CAD in 2.5D with radial text.

Machines dials are the ones I mentioned first then got carried away.

I'm sure that when I die, if I get reincarnated as a vulture I will be the first of the species to go out and actually kill something.................

[ArtF]

John:

  Even for machine dials though, wouldnt 2.5D work just as well as 4th?

Art

[John S]

No need the 4th.
Picture should explain it all.



At the moment this is about the best the manual way produces.



Think you will agree, no contest.

[ArtF]

Hi All:

  2.556 is online, it corrects a few small bugs, and add time of job to the 4th axis screen so you can guage
how much time your adding to a job by various methods..

  ( This, of course, is an educated guess, I have no idea as to your accel and rapid rates.. ( though I do know your
feedrates.. So I take the best guess I can. :) )

Art

[ArtF]

John:

  Ahhh, I see what you mean.. I hadnt considered that..

Good idea though, Ill look into it..

Art