Drag Knife Tool Path Generation in Fusion 360

[nmeek]

I would like a drag knife tool path generator for Fusion to offset a profiles and add appropriate arcs at corners based on knife tip offset from spindle axis.

Inputs:

Knife Offset (horizontal distance from knife tip to spindle axis)

Minimum Angle (Path angle, bellow which no path compensation is needed)

Axial Offset (from selected contours, material thickness)

Knife Projection (maximum depth of cut)

Cutting Rate

Multiple Passes

Pressure Adjustment: (via spring to allow over-travel of z axis)

Inputs:

Target Cutting Pressure

Spring k factor

Max. Over-travel (maximum travel allowed by spring mechanism) 

Lead-ins and entry positions would be used to orient the knife at the beginning of each cut

Optional - Partial retraction during knife rotation

Input: Retract %

When cutting thick materials it may be beneficial to retract the blade partially before any blade rotation moves to prevent damage to tool/material.

1. The tool would retract to ensure that the knife was removed from the material

2. The blade would be partially reinserted to engage only the tip of the blade in the material.

3. The machine would move as required to reposition the knife in the direction of the next path curve

4. The the tool would extend fully to the configured depth prior to continuing along the cut path.

Optional - Knife Origination Look-ahead

For all interrupted cuts, one could add necessary movements, at the end of each cut path, to rotate the blade in the proper orientation for the next cut. This could eliminate the need for lead-ins at all cuts other than the first one made, as well as reduce machine time.

Comments?

[WhiteRoomSkis]

Please consider adding this tool path