First CNC cutting project.....not

So this weekend was supposed to be my first time cutting with the cnc.

Started out being most careful and precise drilling rails to secure to my waste-board and prepping and drilling a second layer waste board on strips.

Then sat down and did a program layout to drill holes to accommodate the flange insert nuts I got.

Well did a dry run no bit in router with a strip of my waste-board clamped up and watched the movement.
Here I was planning on using a 1/4 inch cutter and the hole only needed to be .328 so really very little movement.
But in the dry run it seemed to go way to big.

Well I paused just there to watch the Brady bunch win again and after had convinced myself it was all good.

So put a cutter in the machine set zero and hit run.

Oh boy bad things were said and I nearly had my pants full as the router ran into my one clamp.
It had not done that in the dry run but then again that was without a cutter so duh Rob #1



So scrambled with aluminum flying everywhere and it just powered through pushing clamp aside and continued to the first hole.

Well watched the first hole and sure enough it was way too big.

Essentially what is supposed to be about an 8mm hole is 16mm


In picture above you can see the hole and my clamping setup for the hole drilling.

Well went to look at the program again



Then it hit me between the eyes. “RADIUS”

No wonder it’s double so DUH #2 Rob.

Well as Linda said this is how you learn.

So now I had a wake up call. Also have to look at how I clamp or rather make sure the router misses the clamps. Lol

As Norm says, “and don’t forget to wear these, safety glasses!”

Also, always good to keep an eye on the blinkenlights:

Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen
der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht
fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands
in das pockets. Relaxen und vatch das blinkenlights!!!

The way I see it is - you now can clearly see that it's not all that hard to cut aluminum

Live and learn, my grandma always said.

when you calculate your tool path, make sure that the clearance for your bit is higher than anything on what you are going to cut, hold downs included. that isn't half as much fun as my first try. it went straight up almost an inch, went screaming down the y axis, stopped, zoomed almost half way across the x axis, and went drilling down the z axis, looking for oil...

So much to learn, but hey, It's moving and Cutting! Yay!

Dan's advice on watching the clearance path is a good idea. When you get into vCarve, you'll appreciate the preview mode to help avoid the little things, such as hole sizes. Looks like it cut a nice clean hole though.

I hardly ever use actual clamps, I try to make my boards a little large and just screw them down to the waste board. Oh, and the carbide cutters also do a number on drywall screws too.

as for hold downs, if it is a one off item, like darren, i'll make then blank a bit longer, and hold it down with nails from my nail gun, or if thin enough, from the pin nail gun. if it is a production run, with same sized blanks, i'll use the nail gun, and tap in mdf blocks on all four sides, for a good firm fit. one thing to remember, with vcarve, and cut2d, the default clearance it .8", you have to reset it to .2", after having it run the spindle up into the bracket a few times, that kind of info come in handy.

Peter Rideout said:

...
Das machine is nicht fur gefingerpoken und mittengrabben. Ist easy schnappen
der springenwerk, blowenfusen und corkenpoppen mit spitzensparken. Ist nicht
fur gewerken by das dummkopfen. Das rubbernecken sightseeren keepen hands
in das pockets. Relaxen und vatch das blinkenlights!!!

Click to expand...

Ha! Hadn't seen that one for a while. My parents got a microwave oven in the early '70s, before anyone else they knew. It was kind of a novelty among our friends. We had a sign with this statement on it.

you should not drop these kinds of things in front of me vaughn, especially with the cabin fever in full flush... now you have something you can make rob, once you get that beast under control...

Good laugh there Peter.

Thanks for all the feedback. Now that I learnt to read lol I will adjust the parameters and give it another go.
Next time I will also start from center as opposed to bottom left corner.

I did not create these toolpaths in VCarve . But that’s coming because I like the preview feature in VCarve.

Slow and steady wins the race so I will plug away.

Next time I run a preview and think something is odd I will trust my intuition which I went against this time.

All fun as Brent said we know it runs and cuts.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Late to the party - went blind watching football last evening.

Rob, your duh #1 is why I use wooden clamps. I knew if I used any kind of metal I'd find a way to chew into them!

Oh...and don't think you're so special about the radius and diameter thingy!!

All will be good and fun in the long run once you get past the novelty stage and your CNC becomes another tool in your arsenal.

OK, Peter and Dan! You got me going on a sign for my shop door (with a slight modification):