I've been cutting a lot of mixed materials lately, requiring me to set up specialized parameters for each material/bit size/feeds/etc... G-10 of various thicknesses, wood, Acrylic, ABS, HDPE you name it. The only thing I haven't cut in a long time has been foam. Each time I find a good group of parameters for a type of material and bit type, I need to make a screenshot of the window so that I can refer back to it when I cut. In some of the models I have, I've got 3 different materials in the same model on separate cutting areas, and if I need to make changes, there is a bit of labor to make sure I get the right parameters for the material I am cutting.

What I'd love, I mean really really find useful, would be to have a drop down parameter list that could allow me to save and retrieve different cutting parameters with ease. They could be separate parameters stored in a subdirectory of the phlatscript folder so they could be managed easily-like a favorites folder for bookmarks.

Just thought I'd throw that into the wishlist ;-)

Chris.

 

Yoram, I've been manually dialing the spindle speed with a cheap HF router speed controller, but I know that it would be much better to do it in the code. My point is the thickness, bit settings, feed rate and all that jazz has to be adjusted manually-and right now I've got a folder full of screenshots to help me remember what I've found works best for each cut. I'd also love to have feed rates on a per-component basis, but as I'm just doing onsey-twosey parts, that isn't the most important thing for me. If it is, I'd probably manually edit the code and set the "F" param.

Just finished cutting a test piece from 1/2" ABS on the stock spindle and it turned out pretty darn good. Now I'll have to save the settings and the notes I took on the material to see if it can be useful in the future.

Chris.

 

This is a very interesting concept Chris. I'll add it to my list....

 

Thanks for considering it, Swarfer. This weekend, I did several small cuts on G-10 using different bits for the same piece. When I had to tweak the model and regen the code, for each bit type I needed a different number of passes and feeds. Good thing I've learned to take good notes. Also, your plunge depth mod really was helpful to get punch through on the drill passes-I'm very grateful for this!

 

Having just done a job with 4 seperate cut files and parameters, you will be happy to know that THIS is the next thing on the list....

1 - 6mm drill to drill for alignment pegs
2 - 3.2mm end mill for the pockets on reverse side
3 - 3D cut at 50% step over. super finish was never the intent, this is a concept tester
4 - outside cut with tabs. highlighted difference between what 3D does and outside cuts.

 

Yes!!!