as I am pretty new to Snapmaker Luban, I am not sure if this is just a false setting, a failure in preview or some kind of bug.
Trying to set up a job for 4-axis CNC with a Minion (what else…) the preview shows some parts not beeing carved/cut out. I have tried out different settings and tools (flat-end, V-groove, ball-end), cutting-diameters (0.1 - 3.175 mm), different values for point-angle and so on. It always looks the same regarding the highlighted parts in the picture.
Diameter of workpiece is 37 mm and set in “Job Setup”. i also wonder why “Stepdown” is set to 17.5 mm which I think is enormous deep.
Thanks for pointing me to the right direction.
Tobias
@TobiH,
So that the cutter does not come everywhere is normal unfortunately otherwise you would have to have a 5 axis. As seen here in the Picture then it would go. Since the cutter really comes into every angle!
The 17.5 is not a problem as long as that is also the epoxy round bar provided by Snapmaker, because at the head of the Minion’s goes the cutter to the middle and the feed takes place in Y direction, so he can quietly lower to 17.5mm in the Z-axis!
With other material, I can not tell you whether the data goes like this
Here again in the picture the axes of the Sanpmaker:
means your Minion is slowly milled away from the front beginning material to the rear to the rotary axis receptacles!!!
Thanks a lot for your kind and detailed answer. I fully understand what you are saying, however I don’t understand why it should be like that So the carving-process starts at the far-end of the Y-axis and moves towards the jaw chuck. The B-axis can fully turn 360° to the left and to the right, correct? So why shouldn’t it be possible to carve deep into some points?
Taking said Minion as the example, the carving under the eyes is fine. Funny enough, if I change position of stl-model to “Top” instead of “Bottom”, the part above and below the eyes aren’t cut. How comes?
Having a look at this page, delicate structures should be possible (see pictures or youtube-video)
Here I have done same with Baby Groot: having a look at the part between his body and the waving arm, I am quite sure that mechanically the carving tool should be able to reach there (the other picture is an stl-preview).
Which mode are you using for generating toolpaths? If I recall one only cuts along the y-axis (essentially not moving along the x-axis) and the other (linkage I think?) also moves along the x-axis.
The first mode generates the behavior you see, while the other should be able to cut away more. Unfortunately I don’t have my computer available at the moment to see what the names of the modes are, but hopefully this at least points you in the right direction.
Does the toolpath also show that this area isn’t being cut? I also remember there being a thread that explained the simulation may not show parts being cut in order to save on memory, but the toolpath will show the model being cut correctly.
Edit:
Here’s a link to an official post about this phenomenon.
Maybe it’s because the stepdown is limited to 17.5mm, have you seen what happens when you increase this value?
Or it could also be due to the V-bit, since it is wider to the cutter module, possibly then with a deeper setting than 17.5 the glasses of the Minion would be milled off above since the cutter would drive deeper into the material!
If you could provide me with the file, I could see what Deskproto makes of it!
Also a program to mill with the 4 axis and the program also works with the Snapmaker !
Or what if you use a V-bit which has a narrower angle than 20 degrees!
Thanks for the link, bobby. That seems to explain a lot.
I will do some tests the coming days and see what will happen.
Can one change the colors in the preview, black-white-brown is no good contrast…
I’ve wondered about this as well. If you look behind the shield when you set up the lion chess piece, you’ll notice it doesn’t carve that area. I was actually trying to carve the mouse piece from the Root board game when I first noticed this. I opened the file in Aspire and the setup looks the same - before there are any applied toolpaths, so it isn’t related to bit length; however, things got busy and I didn’t chase it down. Thanks for asking the question, I look forward to the answer. I’ll post this question on the Vectric forum as well.
I would recommend the same steps as I did earlier in this thread. Check to make sure you are using the right mode (like linkage vs rotation) and view the toolpaths to make sure it’s not just a visual bug of the simulation (as outlined in the earlier link).
So the carving-process starts at the far-end of the Y-axis and moves towards the jaw chuck. The B-axis can fully turn 360° to the left and to the right, correct? So why shouldn’t it be possible to carve deep into some points?
