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Going from virtual parts to real parts

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FritzW

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2011
Messages
3,896
Location
Las Cruces, NM
Because this is becoming an issue I thought I'd post a little "how to" on taking CAD models or DXF's and making cutting files out of them.

There are lots of ways to go from a CAD model to a finished part. The easiest way is to just be patient and let someone else make them ;) I use SolidWorks and CamBam. CamBam looks a little old school but it's very powerful, it's what I was raised on and the price is right.

A lot of guys would argue that a CAM addon like HSMWorks is the way to go. Yeah, maybe, but not for this kind of a job.

R2G NC1.jpg
R2G NC1a.jpg
First: Pull the part you want to make out of the model. You can do this in SW or any of the free CAD viewers.
R2G NC2.jpg
R2G NC3.jpg
Either edit the drawing for the part or create another drawing in a separate sketch.

R2G NC4.jpg
Draw a little slot where you want the cut (see above).

R2G NC5.jpg
Hide all the drawings you don't want to cut and save it to a DXF file.

*****R2G NC6.jpg
SIDE NOTE: You can skip all of the above by just copying the part directly from the assembly DXF. ...but I guess some folks were uncomfortable going that route. (try that with HSMWorks<lol>)

R2G NC7.jpg
Open the part and add two simple tool paths, one to cut the ends to the right size and shape and one to drill the holes. These have to be tailored to the specific machine. ie. a light machine with a small router wants different settings than a heavy machine with big spindle.


Clamp a stick in the fixture and hit start. (this is the front pylon diagonal on the Ranger, it's pretty long and has more holes than most of the sticks so It took 3 minutes to cut)

 
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