Cutting a vector shape out of cardboard

[Hurben]

Hi Everyone,

I feel like a bit of a dimwit, my experience lies in Illustrator and Lightwave, and I've recently aquired a CNC machine. I was trying to start simply by cutting an imported vector file out of a piece of 3mm cardboard. So far, it feels like Fusion 360 is far from intuitive, but it could just be me.

Could someone please show me the process to achieve this? Thank you.

[TannerReid]

Hi, Hurben,

No need to feel like a dimwit!  Moving to any new software can definitely be challenging.

I love working in Illustrator for a lot of things, and frequently bring work into Fusion when I'm moving from something like 2-D branding materials to 3D products that incorporate a logo or something else created in Illustrator.  Mind if I ask what kind of project you're working on between the two?

Whatever it may be, you can save an .svg file out of Illustrator and, while in Fusion, insert that .svg into a sketch (video below).  Let me know if this answers your question!  And if not, feel free to share some files and we can work through it.

Thanks for reaching out!

Enjoy,

Tanner

[Hurben]

Hi Tanner,

Thanks for your response. I'm actually 'unfolding' 3D models from Lightwave and creating vector 'patterns' in Illustrator that need to be cut out and reassembled. I'm starting with carboard but eventually will move on to sheetmetal. I'll attach an example file so you have a clearer idea of what I mean.

I figured out how to import svg files, although the software seems to grind to a halt once imported. I found I had to unlink the sketch in order to move it. Creating cam paths from the imported svg is troubling me. I wish I could select an entire sketch to cut, at the moment I have to select each path individually, and as I'm cutting perforations (I think there's about 250 of them in the image I attached) you can imagine how troublesome that is, especially once the technique is scaled up. I attempted to import separate svg files, one for each cam path I wanted to cut, but that doesn't make a difference. 

I'm also confused regarding the 'stock' and the 'model', do I need to 'model' the 'stock'? It doesn't feel like a good 2D solution at this stage, but I'm working on a mac and can't seem to find another other suitable software. Any help or advice you can offer regarding my process is much appreciated, thank you.

[Hurben]

A few other things, once I've selected a contour, I have the ability to choose which 'side' of the contour the cut will take place on using the red arrow. What if I want the cut to occur directly on the contour(centered)? A 3mm offset (the width of my bit) is really inaccurate, and as you can see from the attached image above, I'm not sure which side to choose to cut on for each and every contour, please include an option for cutting through the center of the line.

Also, how do I choose the order of the cuts? I want to cut from the inside of the sheet to the outside, do I have to create a separate cam path for first, second, third, etc?

Thank you 🙂

[Hurben]

I tried using 'slot' and 'trace', but slot doesn't work on single line sketches and trace doesn't offer me the max/min height settings, it doesn't cut through the stock in the simulation.