[Teyber12]

hey all!

looking for a cheap cad/cam package that isn't bobcam. Dolphin seems very nice and in the demo so far i absolutely love it

my only cad experience is with sketchup and a tiny bit in bobcad(maybe 1-2h in the demo)- both are not set up like dolphin, and my only annoyances so far in dolphin are:

1) i can't seem to enter coordinates. it says x,y so i have tried 0,0 or 0,1.4023 et cetera. what is the "format" for entering coordinates into the command? i can work around this with 1/16" grid snapping but there are some random holes i need to place in something.

2) i can't figure out how to make it a 3d model- is this limited in the demo version? i go to view-elevation and its only x-y plane or another plane that you can only draw in the x-y plane.

Cheers! sorry if these have been answered a lot in the past, just weird for me as this seems to be set up like an actual cad program, something im not used to (nuts)

cheers!

p.s. i hopefully plan on buying partmaster pro within 3 months or so for a 3 axis mill- i just want to know that i can get the software to do what i want before i drop a lot of money on it (im a high school student with literally 0 income)

[harley4ever]

hey all!

looking for a cheap cad/cam package that isn't bobcam. Dolphin seems very nice and in the demo so far i absolutely love it

my only cad experience is with sketchup and a tiny bit in bobcad(maybe 1-2h in the demo)- both are not set up like dolphin, and my only annoyances so far in dolphin are:

1) i can't seem to enter coordinates. it says x,y so i have tried 0,0 or 0,1.4023 et cetera. what is the "format" for entering coordinates into the command? i can work around this with 1/16" grid snapping but there are some random holes i need to place in something.

2) i can't figure out how to make it a 3d model- is this limited in the demo version? i go to view-elevation and its only x-y plane or another plane that you can only draw in the x-y plane.

Cheers! sorry if these have been answered a lot in the past, just weird for me as this seems to be set up like an actual cad program, something im not used to (nuts)

cheers!

p.s. i hopefully plan on buying partmaster pro within 3 months or so for a 3 axis mill- i just want to know that i can get the software to do what i want before i drop a lot of money on it (im a high school student with literally 0 income)

1) Do you have whatever you wish to draw selected? Line, point, circle, curve, etc..., whatever it may be? If so, then in the coordinate box just type you're coord, x1y2 or whatever you prefer. There doesnt need to be any commas.

2) Dolphin partmaster is not a solid modeling software. You can however select an iso view which I prefer to use mostly.

Once you get the basics down, it's actually very easy and something that will become a sinch to use whenever you do.

[Teyber12]

awsome very good advice!

1) you are correct i needed to type x(length)y(length) and also start the line or w/e first

2) how is it 3d cam then? i think im misunderstanding something

and one more question

how do i delete a segment of a line without deleting the entire line? do i have to go back and re-draw the line to the length i want, then delete the older line?

thanks so much!

[harley4ever]

awsome very good advice!

1) you are correct i needed to type x(length)y(length) and also start the line or w/e first

2) how is it 3d cam then? i think im misunderstanding something

and one more question

how do i delete a segment of a line without deleting the entire line? do i have to go back and re-draw the line to the length i want, then delete the older line?

thanks so much!

Are you sure you have 3D cam downloaded? 3D cam is a CAM system only. Partmaster is cad & cam. My guess is that you have partmaster downloaded. What does your desktop icons say?

[Teyber12]

"partmaster cad" which i used to draw some stuff up
"parmaster comms"
"partmaster post processor"
"partmaster wire erosion"
"partmaster cam"

So i make a 2d part in partmaster cad, then do the 3d stuff in partmaster cam?

Thank you so much its very helpful

[metalworkz]

Hello Teyber,
I think there is a misunderstanding about the Partmaster CAD/CAM program you are doing a trial of. The program includes both CAD and CAM programs, but it is not 3D CAM. The CAD side lets you draw things in 2D and the CAM side will enable getting the toolpath programs for the parts you have drawn or imported.
If you need 3D CAM abilities you will need to look into the Dolphin 3D CAM program and it does cost a bit more than the Partmaster Pro software. If I remember correctly the Partmaster Pro program will do up to 2.5D but you will need the 3D CAM program to do 3D work.
Regards,

[Teyber12]

ah, i was just assuming from the website-
2, 2.5, and 3 Axis Machining W/Rotary for A & B Axis

which is prolly different then 3 axis cad. Could i make parts like this pretty easily with dolphin?:

[metalworkz]

Is that a layered assembly of 13 different discs? If it is an assembly of numerous discs you should be able to do each disc in a 2D CAD/CAM system and then assemble them. If it is a one piece that doesn't have compound angles it can probably be done with a 4th axis in a mill but may need to be machined in several operations. If it can be done as a layered assembly it would be easier to machine each part. If you have other views it may help decide how it would have to be done.
The note you posted about the software says 2, 2.5 for dimensional parts
and 3 axis machining with rotary for A and B axis
Don't confuse the 3 axis machining with 3D machining.

[harley4ever]

From how I see this, I think dolphin would handle it pretty easy.

[Teyber12]

sure:


It is one piece and made with a slitting saw. so would i have to create a program that just starts at say 1.5" diameter, cuts circle a little bigger, then a little bigger, et cetera then goes out and down say 1/8" then just copy and paste the g code and do this several times?

[harley4ever]

Yes that should be rather easy.

[Teyber12]

OK ive been playing with vectric 2d for a couple days and it helped me understand how you can cut 3d stuff with 2d cam

Ive been talking to a dolphin and have gotten great service- I have it all lined up with a sales rep and i will be buying it tomorrow

I will probably be bugging the crap out of you guys with dumb questions but i promise to watch all the tutorials 2x each before i do so and one day hopefully i can contribute back to help others

[Teyber12]

Its purchased! :rainfro:

One quick question. I have included a drawing of a mounting for something. I want the edges chamfered so i made a chamfer but i don't know how to delete the line segment that was there, aka the line outside the newly created chamfer.

Is there a simple way to do this?

thanks!

edit:

lol lets try it with a picture this time -_-

[metalworkz]

Hello Teyber,
It looks like a radiused corner in the picture.
From the 'Edit' tab select the 'Delete item' option. It will show an eraser on the cursor and the vectors that you select with the cursor will be deleted. If you accidentally delete something and want it back just go to the 'Edit' tab and select the 'Undo' option.
I hope this helps you!
Regards,
Wes

[Teyber12]

Hello!
having just watched this-
http://www.zen26610.zen.co.uk/flash/...0deleting.html

My problem isn't just deleting something but only deleting a part of the item. For instance i don't want to delete the entire line, i just want the line that leads to the chamfer.

My google sketchup habits seem to be my only problems with this software
perhaps is there a "explode line" or something option?

in another drawing i am trying to get rid of a section of a circle but also same problem- i don't know how to not delete the entire circle just a section of it. can this be done in pp?

Cheers!

[metalworkz]

If you draw an intersecting line thru the points where you want to trim the circle you can use the trim options in the line intersect commands to remove the unwanted section. It seems there has to be an easier way, but I could not find it in this short time. I was able to draw a circle, intersect it with some lines and then use the trim options to end up with a small arc. Hopefully someone will reply with the easy way to do it. It seems you would be able to edit the geometry directly but my geometry editor is not working correctly.
Regards,

[Teyber12]

Thank you very much for your help and patience tonight!

This is embaressing but where is the trim / line intersect commands? ive searched all the pulldowns lol

[metalworkz]

Thank you very much for your help and patience tonight!

This is embaressing but where is the trim / line intersect commands? ive searched all the pulldowns lol

Hi Teyber,

I'm sorry, it is probably not labeled as a trim option.
On the buttons with the graphics on them along the top menu bar there is an 'Intersect' button just to the right of the Red 'NC' button and it looks like 2 black lines with a red point at the intersection. When you mouse over it it should pop the button name in a small box. If you click that 'Intersect' button it will open a small option box along the left side that has several 'Clip' options for intersected lines etc. Those are the buttons I used to create the intersection and clip the unwanted lines/arcs. I had to play around with them to find the one that worked best, but I was able to trim the circle down to a small arc. I am so used to node editing and it seems there should be a way to do it in Dolphin, but I have not draw much in Dolphin CAD in a while. Let me know if you have any more questions.

Regards,

[Teyber12]

You are the greatest sir! You have truly helped me out. I immediately noticed that and also the split item which seems to be exactly what i need

cheers!

[metalworkz]

Hey Teyber,
I just viewed the trim and extend tutorial on the Dolphin website and using the intersect with the 'split' and 'area' options allows you to select and area with the cursor and then all the intersections are split within the selection and you can delete all the unwanted items.
Here is a link to the tutorial page;
http://www.dolphincadcamusa.com/inde...#37;20Geometry

Regards,