make your job much easier. Look for this feature when
selecting your drafting software.
Continuing, I add a rectangle inside the one just
created. This can be done manually or — as shown in
Figure 6 — by using the contour tool. This extra rectangle is
where I will mill a pocket into the box top. Stay with me
here; you will see the method to my madness in the next
stage. The contour tool is one that I use in many of my
drafting sessions. This is another feature to look for when
selecting your drafting software.
Drafting — Step C
I use the export feature, and export the drawing into a
format my CAM software can use. In this case, it is the EPS
file “dominobox.eps” shown in Figure 7. I have found that
the Encapsulated PostScript works best when transferring
drawings from CorelDraw to Vectric CAM software. Your
results will vary depending on the actual software you are
using. If you get wacky results, go back and try a different
format.
This ends the drafting stage of my process. That said,
it’s not really the end. I often have to go back to the
drafting stage and make tweaks. Think of it more as the
“back to the drawing board” stage.
Tool Path Creation
To create tool paths that your CNC can follow, you
need to use a CAM package. By the way, CAM stands for
“Computer Aided Manufacturing.” The CAM packages I use
come from a company called Vectric. For 2D or 2.5D (as it
is sometimes called), you can use Cut2D or its big brother,
VCarve Pro, or its grand pappy, Aspire. The interface is the
same on all of them. They are differentiated by the number
of features and the amount of drafting they allow you to
do.
While all of them support drafting or CAD to one
degree or another, I prefer using my stand-alone CorelDraw
CAD software for this. Since that is its main function, it
does it very well. For this article, Vcarve Pro is shown, but
the Cut2D software is nearly identical — although it does
have some size limitations.
Tool Path Creation
— Step A
To start, I load the “Domino Box.eps” file into VCarve
Pro. The software starts you out in the “Job Setup” form as
shown in Figure 8. Here, notice that the software has
properly set our stock size. Next, I add the measured
thickness of the stock. In this case, it is .3085.
I uncheck the “Use origin offset” and check the
“Center data in job” options. For this job, something that is
very important is the XY origin position. I set it to the left
rear point. This is because I will be zeroing the machine to
the rear vise jaw and to the vise stop placed to the left of
the vise. Note that other jobs may require other origin
settings. It all depends on where you are referencing zero
on your machine.
Tool Path Creation
— Step B
I’m going to machine the bottom domino first, so I will
40 SERVO 07.2015
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.