Pathing a Ball Mill/End Mill combination

[TylerJ804]

Hey there,

I'm trying to machine a finger hold in some MDF and I've got a 3/8 Ball end mill to preform the task. Ideally I'd like to machine a flat area and then have the ball produce the radii corners; in whatever order would be preferable.

I've tried a number of different tool pathing set ups, including deleting the features from the model and I'm not achieving the result I'm looking for. I constantly run into the error "Empty Tool Path" or just completely missing the mark. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

[DarthBane55 · Accepted solution]

Which toolpath says "empty toolpath"?  The endmill or the ballmill path?

Also, is the ballmill the same size as the radius at the bottom?  It looks like it is, and if so, use 2d contour, pick the top edge of the profile for the ballmill path.  For the endmill path also use 2d contour and pick the bottom profile edges for that one.  That should match nicely.

If the ballmill is smaller than the bottom radius, tell us, you need to surface it and that is quite different.

[mark.millership]

@TylerJ804 are you still requiring help with your toolpath issue?

If you would like to share your F3d file then I'm sure we can sort something out?

[TylerJ804]

@mark.millership 

I completely forgot to respond, but @DarthBane55 was absolutely correct in his instruction!! I’m not sure what I was doing wrong but following his steps fit the bill. Thanks guys!!