Cannot Select Tool Path for Carving

[joel.michalski]

This circle has a carve-out of a Greek pattern.  It is continuous around the whole circle.  When I use the carve tool it won't allow me to select the top contours representing the carve boundaries.  It will only allow me to select the boundaries at the bottom of the carvings.  Even then I can only select short line segments at a time and then it won't carve with a smooth and continuous movement.  Is there anything I can do?

 

 

[Anonymous]

Hello Joel,

My  name is Oscar, and  looking at the forum I have seen your file .

I would like to help and at the same time practice. since I'm learning fusion 360.

let me try and add toolpath to machine your parts and send it back. If it's ok with you.

Regards,

Oscar S, Gomez

[joel.michalski]

Thanks Oscar, if you can discover why it doesn't follow the top contour for the carve boundaries that would be great.  Perhaps the curve is just too complex.

[Anonymous]

I measured width in two places, smaller one is .23,.... you cannot put .25 diameter tool into .23 wide slot.

[Anonymous]

Is this what you were after?, I am not sure what you intended to do with carving tool and vertical channel walls.

[joel.michalski]

The carving bit is a v-bit so there is no issue with diameter.  The v-bit carves to the width of the channel based on the z-height of the tool.

[Anonymous]

OK , then you would have to offset one edge to create drive curve for tool tip in the middle of slot.

You could do that on one segment, program it then dump it into circular pattern to complete the rest.

[Anonymous]

Or did you wanna engrave each line as is? I selected sketch and set bottom height to -.05.

[Anonymous]

Joel,

I have create a toolpath to machine the  Greek nice pattern cavity.

2D contour with a 11/64" Flat endmill.

Also, another way to machine this will be with a sketch center line with of the cavity shape and just Z down to a desire depth.

Hope that help, the surface needs to be converted to a solid model. because I have tried the outside profile 

and the contour selection works fine

Well, I have few months with fusion, again hope this help.

I'm not sure how to sent the model back to you with the Toolpath I have created.

Please, advise..

Best Regards

Oscar

[HughesTooling · Accepted solution]

If you want to use engrave with a V cutter on this part it's a lot easier if you project the faces into a sketch then select the sketch curves.

Is this what you're after? file's attached. 

[HughesTooling]

Note. One problem with Engrave is it rolls around external corners so you only get a sharp corner at the top face.

Unlike 2d contour that has the option to keep sharp corners. @seth.madore  Is this down for an improvement?

2d contour gives a sharp external corner but a rounded outer.

Thanks Mark

[joel.michalski]

Thanks Mark,
This gives the result I'm after.  I'm confused though why I can't just select the top contour outline from my model to create the tool path.  It works fast and easy when engraving text.  What is the difference here?  Is it simply that my engraved channel is too long and loops into itself?  Fusion doesn't know where to start and stop?  Thanks for your helpful reply.

[HughesTooling]

Actually I think it's a bug. Occasionally you'll get parts where Fusion does not select the obvious path around the XY plane but insist on selecting paths in the Z plane. The sketch is just an easy workaround.

Mark

[joel.michalski]

OK, good to know.  Making a 2D sketch is an easy work around.  Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

I produced that sketch in first file I uploaded, I sort of expected you to look through file to see how I got tool path since your main issue was .... "Cannot Select Tool Path for Carving", 🙄

[joel.michalski]

My description may have been confusing.  But using the "carve" tool lets you easily engrave a channel such as when engraving text.  I was expecting to be able to do the same with my Greek pattern.  As Mark indicated, there's probably a bug in the software that wasn't letting me choose the channel contours in the xy plane.  

[Anonymous]

I don't do engraving of art so I have no interest in digging out specifics, my point was about the sketch, not your "solution award".😋

[seth.madore]

I don't think it's something I recall ever seeing a request for. I can open a task to consider it..

[HughesTooling]

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@seth.madore wrote:

I don't think it's something I recall ever seeing a request for. I can open a task to consider it..

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It has come up a few times but don't think in a thread where anyone from support participated in the thread and the people trying to help didn't really understand the request.

Just needs the same option as 2d contour to keep sharp corners. Also would be nice to have face selection for profiles like 2d profile.

Thanks Mark

[HughesTooling]

@seth.madore  Just like to add, the face selection in 2d contour seems to work quite well. What's odd is it seems to work better than the face selection in the pocket OPs.

In this thread I can cut the pocket using 2d contour with multiple passes but pocket fails and selects the outside of the pocket. Selecting the face or the edge fails, flipping the arrow direction makes no difference.

Edit. Also Seth, try edge selection using the file in this thread. It keeps trying the select the path along the Z axis rather than the obvious path in the XY plane. This also adds the problem that the path is projected to the lowest Z level.

Thanks Mark