[Charles88]

Im fortunate enough that the company that I work for allows me and my co-workers to use the machines after work to do our own personal projects as long as its not on company time and we clean up after it, duh lol. The point is that ive wanted to machine something custom for everyone in my family for a long time and with christmas coming up i figured thats a great time. I work on a HAAS VF-4 and we use gibbs cam programming software. Im currently working on trying to machine a celtic cross for my mother, i just bought a plate of 6061 thats 20"X40" and im going to machine the cross to 18"X36". Ive got the base of it drawn up into a solid on gibbs cam for now and now im just trying to figure out how i might be able to do the splines all over it, i dont think it will be a problem to draw all of the radiuses inside of it but trying to figure out how to ramp them is going to be trouble, if anyones got an idea or a suggestion id like to hear it. Ive posted the picture i have of the solid i made, the cut image of it with a 45 degree on the edging and a picture of a celtic cross so everyone has a better idea of what im talking about with the radiuses and them going up and then down into the next one.

[Trotline]

It's not much like the style of cross you've started to model, but I've done some work on one based on the center image. http://www.cnczone.com/forums/bobcad..._vcarving.html
I'm not familiar with GibbsCAM, but if you could make use of a .stl file of the model in that link. PM me and I'll email it to you.

Edit to add: I can export to other formats, too, if that would be better.

Luke

[Charles88]

Jesus that is some bad ass work you did on those. I appreciate the offer but especially because i am trying to make it for my mother id really like to work on it myself. At the same time the other concern is that if i really like how i do all of that work and if i have time for it, i might try to sell those on the side also, i know you do that with yours too, i just wouldn't feel right at all if i had your solid and used that and somehow profited off of something i did not do. the picture that i had posted of the celtic cross i posted i know does not look anything like what i have drawn, but i put that picture up mainly to show/describe better what i was talking about with the radius's in the middle of the sections and possibly trying to program them like splines as if they were actually going over and under each other. I wish i could machine it out of wood though, i really do, but with it being a company machine and knowing the dust that creates and not necessarily knowing where all of that dust would go i dont think that is something i can do.

[Trotline]

I knew it might not be something you could use, but I wanted to make the offer, just in case, mostly because it was something for your mother. Your desire to make it something totally from you, and your reluctance to take it and use it for profit say pretty good things about you, man. Your mother raised you right. Take care!

Luke

[Charles88]

I appreciate that alot luke. i hope we run into each other on the forums again, maybe we can work on something together one day

[Trotline]

It's a small world, and that just might happen. Good luck with your project! I'm sure some of the GibbsCAM power-users can give you some pointers. Have fun!

Luke