[Macguitar]

I have a question regarding Parallel Finishing results ( See attached Pic ) I am doing the back radius on a guitar neck there seems to be no problem with the roughing stage but when the finishing step begins it is removing additional surface within the containment area. I am not sure why obviously I am entering improper information. I have attached copies of my setup screens. MAX/final thickness of the flat surfaces is .75 the stock is .75 thick

Hope someone can shed some light

Thanks

[awerby]

It's not clear what your problem is. A finishing pass is supposed to remove additional material; if you don't want any material taken off, you shouldn't run one. Similarly, if your stock is .75 and the max final thickness is .75, then you don't have any to take away, right? If the flat area you want to leave untouched is inside the "containment area", you might try editing that region to leave it out.

One of the really nice things about RhinoCAM is the free tech support you get from Mecsoft. Have you tried calling them? The tech there can take over your computer, see what you're doing wrong, and show you how to correct it, right there on your computer with your files. Give it a shot - it's going to work a lot better than asking for help here on the Zone.

[Macguitar]

thanks

[Macguitar]

maybe I'm just asking the wrong question. Since I have never done milling. I think this is really a lack of understanding of the actual process on my part

assumptions: If I want my final max Z at any given location to be at .75 I should first cut/mill to that Z before I cut my final design
question: or should I start with a larger Z and just rough and finish mill the design out of it. since my design/drawing is accurate at the highest Z.
Assumption 2: if the stock is first milled to the design highest Z and I run parallel finish leaving 0 stock it should ignore anything that is already at the design highest Z,

Hope I am using the correct lingo

[awerby]

You can either finish your stock to the final height and then cut on the portions that need to go lower than that, or leave the whole thing rough and carve it all at once. If you go with the first option, then draw your machining region to exclude the finished area.

When you set up the roughing pass, you left a .025" stock margin. That will be removed by the finish pass if you leave a stock margin of 0; it won't be ignored. It's hard to tell what exactly you're trying to do, but it seems that a "facing" routine would be better than a "pocketing" one for making that neck. But as I said, talking it over with tech support should shed more light on the issue.

[routalot]

This is a bit of an old thread now and the problem may have been solved.Looking at the screenshots it seems that the cut direction is across the worpiece-any reason for this?I would have selected lengthwise movements and for the finishing cut I would probably only use parallel cutting for the central 70% of the part and use horizontal machining for the remainder in order to keep the cusp size down.I would also use the clearance plane as a tool transfer height and set it just a little above the stock.If this still produced components with steps,I would have a serious look for backlash issues with the machine.As for stock size,at least 1/16 th surplus would help keep in mind that wood can move when stock is removed.

[Melkiades]

Nope. His problem was in 0.025 stock left when roughing, and incorrect machining area definition.
Depends of result, he need to machine flat area at top, or define area for finishing at the edge of the arc.
IMHO