On Sunday 20 September 2020 05:31:13 Lester Caine wrote: > On 20/09/2020 08:47, Gene Heskett wrote: > >> Type in the filename, select the directory where you want it > >> (defaults to the current location), and select STL from the list of > >> many export options. > > > > And that part works fine. BUT I NEED A SOLID METAL PART! > > > Going back 15 or or years, creating gcode to produce a solid metal > part needed substantial help from the machinist. And not much has > changed today. A few years back I was given a very nice STL model of a > train wheel with the request to cut one. Bottom line ... totally > pointless exercise. What I needed was the original objects that were > used to create the model, and the ability to select both faces and > construction lines which can THEN be used to build a set of gcode. At > that time I was using tools like vcarve and cut3d and feeding in 2D > drawings which provided the various profiles to be cut. Now I have > FreeCAD in the toolkit, essentially I'm following the same process but > in the one package of tools. Certainly the older packages are much > better at some elements of the process such as say 'engraving text > around the curve of the wheel', but FreeCAD has a growing library of > tools that take elements of the object and produce the relevant gcode. > > At some point in the future we may well be able to tell a machining > suite 'I have an XYZ mill and here is the part I need to machine'. It > spews out a list of tools to use, cutting feed rates, and either > individual gcode files for each tool change, although if you have one > of those million pound machining centres with an unlimited tool > changer then it could be a single file. At the moment we still need to > provide the intelligence to decide - appropriate to our available > tooling - just what order of machining is appropriate, and FreeCAD > today does allow me to create parts from a scrap of paper with a > sketch on to a finished part. > > Personally I find the drafting side of FreeCAD cumbersome coming from > some 30 years of Autocad style drawing and THAT side needs some more > intuitive developments especially when taking existing drawings as a > starting point. However as a framework to build on it is doing a good > job and with more people working on niche areas it can only improve? > In much the same way that LinuxCNC has ...
That would seem to still be true Lester. I was somewhat surprised it didn't want more info than just linuxcnc flavor. To be fair, I may as well have a paper napkin sketch at this stage, but I was a bit put off when I can see the first stage of what I need on-screen, as shown in the screen snap I posted, and it couldn't even put that on paper. Because of the length of shaft sticking out of the BS-1, I made it 35mm long, and that alone takes it out of the one setup category due to the practical length of tool stickout needed. So the first step is to bore it thru so theres a locator hole to center it with when its turned over to do the other side. I understand that, but the code generator more than likely does not. It also would be much easier to make if the motor was already driving the bs-1, classic chicken v egg problem. :-) At this stage, I don't even know how to add the dimensions so they would be output in an engineering drawing format as that would serve as a handy source of info while writing the code by hand. And it looks to me like I'll need to src a boreing head, something I don't own yet, or do it on the Sheldon, which may be the fastest to a usable part. I fine tuned my ebay search a bit and found other vendors besides that jerk, selling the same thing, so if he doesn't ship and I have to do the chargeback, all is not lost as I should be able get it from other on-shore vendors. The other wish is to locate and acquire some 2" or 2.5" alu rod in 7078-t6. Hell on tooling but sure makes nice stuff. It also holds threads well, where 6061 is gone by the time you've tightened the bolt 10 times. Even helicoils won't hold in that crap. A railroad wheel? I'll not live long enough to own a machine that big. Thank you Lester. Cheers, Gene Heskett -- "There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty: soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order." -Ed Howdershelt (Author) If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable. - Louis D. Brandeis Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene> _______________________________________________ Emc-users mailing list Emc-users@lists.sourceforge.net https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/emc-users
