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What style of toolpaths do you use for the back of necks?


thekt88killedjfk

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I've experimented a lot with parallel, pocket clearing, etc in fusion 360.  I can never really get a clean and quick toolpath out of the software.  It makes me wonder if something like "morph" would work better.  Right now it takes about an hour to clear the stock and cut out the neck to an okay finish.  I use 1/4 flat and ball end mills. 

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I'm using a 3D adaptive with a 12mm square endmill to rough out the rear profile and then a 3D parallel with a 6mm ball end endmill to provide a finer semi-complete surface finish. I'm still left with ridges that have to be hand sanded and scraped out, but I'd rather spend 30 minutes doing that by hand than spend hours on the mill going finer and finer. just to get the surface closer to a finish-ready state. I have to go up the grits in order to get to that point anyway, so it makes sense to get the neck to a point on the mill where the labour trade-offs become inconsequential.

Including tool changes and fiddling with work holdings I think I can turn out a neck profile in a bit under an hour. Note that doesn't include the overall 2D outside profile of the neck or anything else; just the rear faces of the neck that the palm of your fretting hand holds on to.

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On 10/19/2021 at 6:50 PM, curtisa said:

I'm using a 3D adaptive with a 12mm square endmill to rough out the rear profile and then a 3D parallel with a 6mm ball end endmill to provide a finer semi-complete surface finish. I'm still left with ridges that have to be hand sanded and scraped out, but I'd rather spend 30 minutes doing that by hand than spend hours on the mill going finer and finer. just to get the surface closer to a finish-ready state. I have to go up the grits in order to get to that point anyway, so it makes sense to get the neck to a point on the mill where the labour trade-offs become inconsequential.

Including tool changes and fiddling with work holdings I think I can turn out a neck profile in a bit under an hour. Note that doesn't include the overall 2D outside profile of the neck or anything else; just the rear faces of the neck that the palm of your fretting hand holds on to.

Most of the time ridges are an indication of three things, either flex in the machine, flex in the end mill, or the machine is not trammed correctly. Any at the same time will make it worse.

Just my many years of doing this from an experience stand point.

Mike

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6 minutes ago, curtisa said:

The ridges I'm referring to are the minimum stepovers left behind by the tool in its attempts to approximate a 3D surface at a finite 'resolution', if you will. Akin to taking a digital photo with a low pixel depth.

Got it. Just making sure. :)

mk

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