CAM help with model

[Pshupe]

Hello, I am very new to Fusion 360.  I'm starting to get some experience with the modeling side of things but haven't even looked at the CAM side.  I have a small CNC machine and a friend wants me to cut a guitar neck for him.  He's got a pretty decent model done an I have it imported into Fusion but don't really know where to begin.  Can someone suggest the best reference material for me to learn the CAM side.  I'm thinking I won't be up to speed fast enough for this project, so I would like to get some advice about someone to hire to help me.  I would imagine soliciting is not allow on here but maybe someone could point me in the direction of someone to help me out? OR possibly mentor me while expediting this particular project.  Thanks for any advice.

Cheers Peter.

Here is a snap shot of the model -

[LibertyMachine]

How "small" is your CNC machine, is it large enough to handle the length of a guitar neck in one shot?

What is your comfort level with your machine? Is your only major impediment the software, or are there going to be significant learning curves tied to the machine side of things?

What is your CNC or manufacturing knowledge, apart from your machine? Is this something you do daily, or are you completely green?

None of these questions are meant to challenge or discourage. They are simply asked to establish a baseline of sorts. We are all at different stages of our CAD/CAM/CNC journey, and one never knows where the other is without asking.

Learning:

YouTube University. It's impossible to beat the work of @lars_christensen if you are a visual type of learner. If you prefer the written word, then @mike.mattera has an excellent line of tutorials presented in more of a linear fashion, much like you would experience in the classroom setting.

Lastly, people on this forum are very helpful and you will often find answers within a couple hours of asking them. Be clear in your questions and always provide visuals. Whether that is clear screenshots or the actual Fusion model.

That second bit is very helpful. Exporting and sharing a model makes it extremely easy for us to render aid and direct you to a solution. To export and share:

File > Export > Save to local folder. When you start a thread, attach the .f3d right off the bat and people will be able to dive into the issue without waiting to ask you additional questions.

This forum is a treasure trove of info, you just need to:

A) Ask

B) Search

As for the solicitation, I've honestly never seen it happen OR be frowned upon. If you've got money to burn and need this done, I'm sure I could help you out 😉

If you just want to learn this software and get going, keep posting and asking questions.

[Pshupe]

My CNC machine is 24"x36".  It's fairly robust with a 2.2 kW 3 hp water cooled spindle.  I am fairly comfortable with it but I've been using primarily AutoCAD and Vectric Vcarve Pro and Cut3d.  The 3d machining is somewhat limited with Cut3d, so I want to find something better.  I work for an Autodesk Reseller, so I have been playing around with Fusion 360 for a little while.  I'm finding it challenging.  I have a background in 3d modeling, rendering, and animations but it's related to Architecture.  I build guitars as a hobby and have now hooked up with a small builder to supply him with some necks and bodies.  I don't have money to burn but realize paying someone to help me with this may be a reasonable solution, as it is a paying gig and the faster it gets done the better.  I also would like to get some tips on fixtures / jigs.  Ideally if I am cutting the same part over and over I would like a fixture I can just place a piece of wood and just start cutting the tool paths.  I've been doing one off stuff that I just clamp, tape, or screw down then zero out all axis and start cutting.  If I had a fixture that was placed so X,& Y was already set I could just 0 my Z and be off to the races.

I'm not sure what information someone would need to quote something like this.  There's not too much 3d about this guitar neck.  He wants to carve the radius on the back by hand so that part is OK left as rectangular.  Thanks for the tips on "learning".  I'll google and see what I can find.

Cheers Peter.

[ToddHarris7556]

It sounds like you've got a fun project lined up. Seth's already offered some great advice - I'll just toss a couple of thoughts in :

YouTube - I'm not a luthier, so in terms of advice re: workholding and strategy, I'd go to YouTube for ideas. A quick search on 'CNC guitar neck' turns up a fair number of videos that give at least a look at fixtures & workholding approaches. That seems to be the biggest headscratcher for me when we get a new project in - how can I most efficiently hold this thing in the least number of setups? It looks to me like you'd want at least 2 setups here: 1) for the front of the neck / truss rod cavity and 2) the angled head and tuning key holes. If you wanted to rough the back, then you'd need at least one more on the back side.

In addition to the resources Seth offered, I'd point you to John Saunders YouTube channel. (NYC CNC). John's a machinist, so his whole channel focuses on metalwork, but he does a great job of running through Fusion tutorials, and he has a LOT of them. Check out the Fusion Friday playlist.

In terms of strategy - it sounds like you've already got some mileage on the machine, so concepts of roughing and finishing passes probably aren't new, nor are feeds & speeds. The CAM portion of Fusion is really quite powerful and the learning curve is short compared to many other CAM tools, in my opinion. The basic steps are :

1) Start with a SETUP. This is simply defining your stock and the orientation in the machine. Get the axes set up properly, and you're off and running.

2) Pick a toolpath. Select a tool, and define both your boundary conditions and then the basic parameters - stepover and depth. There are leadins and leadouts, and some other bells and whistles that are important, but to steal some of John's advice : start with a basic toolpath, then add to it and fine tune it. Don't get all hung up on getting everything perfect at first. Also, John gives some great advice : in Fusion, it can be helpful to think of 2D toolpaths as relatively unsophisticated - you start basic and then ADD to them until they do what you want. 3D toolpaths are smarter. You approach them the other way - define boundaries, and then take away more and more until they do what you need.

Anyway... as Seth said - there are lots of resources. Try some things. Ask for help when you need it. Good luck! 

[daniel_lyall]

To make life a lot easier when you cut odd shapes like the guitar neck if you use a sketch as your machining boundary you can ruff out the whole top side in one go, the bottom as well. 

[Pshupe]

Thanks - yeah I've got a decent handle on speeds and feeds and the right bits etc, so hopefully it's just the Fusion 360 help I will be focusing on.  I'm finding this software a bit foreign.  I've used AutoCAD for over 25 yrs and other Autodesk products fulltime, for Architecture, for about 10-15 years of that time.  3ds Max, Revit, a bit of Rhino, some sketchup and a smattering of others.  I've never done anything with manufacturing offerings and maybe this is the reason this is so foreign.  It could be the wrapping my head around cloud based stuff as well.  It's the little stuff that is frustrating.  Zoom with the middle wheel button for instance.  Really?  backwards to other Autodesk products??  In is out, out is in, oh man! 

I think I will just plow forward and post when I have issues.  I don't want to be a nuisance but I really like this forum as I can post a question go work on something else and come back when there is an answer.  I'm probably taking advantage and being somewhat lazy, but oh well.  If you guys don't mind, I might as well take advantage. 😉  Thanks again and you will be hearing from me very soon.  Cheers Peter.

[Pshupe]

Thanks Daniel - I'll have to learn what sketch is and boundaries as well.  I found the CAM tab and managed to get a setup, although I seemed to just create a new setup every time I clicked on it and the previous went away??  I will be asking specific questions soon, so no reason to explain this one.  Speaks to the foreign nature of this software, to me.  Thanks again.

Cheers Peter.

[LibertyMachine]

I think we all have some small bit of laziness in each of us. Human nature, I guess.

Ask questions. Search first, and then ask questions. A lot of the regular forum users have gone to the trouble of making "Screencasts" that demonstrate problems and solutions. As far as I know, these are available for viewing if you click on someone's profile. For instance, here is mine: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/profile/LNBKFNHS5OWAF/screencasts

I'd start you off with this one I made a while ago, regarding Setups:

[ToddHarris7556]

Hang in there, Peter 🙂

I've used AutoCAD since r2.6. I ran design groups, and taught AutoCAD at a local college. I developed in DCL, AutoLISP, and VB. In 2004 I switched over from 3D AutoCAD to Inventor Professional, and never looked back. I remember when Fusion first came out as part of the Inventor subscription - I played with it but wrote it off as 'an interesting experiment, unlikely to ever make it as a real product'.

We all miss the boat from time to time 🙂

Fast forward several years, and I now own a company with a handful of designers. We do a variety of development, prototyping and short-run manufacturing on assorted CNC equipment. Our workflow had one major headache - a unidirectional export from AutoCAD, Inventor or Sketchup into our CAM software (which I won't name, but will say it was a mediocre product with an absolutely miserable company behind it). Every time we modified the model, we'd have to re-export, import into the CAM package, and re-toolpath. It was very tedious and enormously inefficient. It was then that I realized that Fusion had associative toolpathing, and exactly what that would mean for us.

Fusion's still an immature product in several areas, but BOY.... once we made the commitment to learn the CAM side, I have to say that it's much more intuitive, powerful and hugely more efficient than the workflow we had before.

FWIW... I also discovered 3DConnexion 3D controllers when I first switched to Inventor, and in terms of navigating efficiently, it was HUGE. Navigate with the left hand, and modify with the right. Simultaneously 🙂 YMMV, but I laugh at how crippled I feel when I'm without it.

My whole point is, the workflow and details are a whole lot less complicated when you look at them in the rearview than what they look like right now. But stick with it. Each part will become easier.