Questions about bowl bit / radius

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1

I have the Whiteside 1372 bit and it works great. It has a 1/4" radius.

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I want my pockets to have a larger radius. Be more “swoopy”. I can’t figure out how to make this tool path in Estlcam.

In this example, I have a 5/8" radius in a 5/8" in deep extrusion.

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Do I need a 5/8" radius bit to machine this? I figured I could create a path that would cut deeper in the middle than the outside.

I figured I could do concentric circles and specify a different depth for each pocket but that sounds hard and like a lot of math.

Thoughts?

2

My two cents,
Until fairly recently these were cut with core box bits (round nose), they are still available. The Bowl and Tray bits are better suited to manual use with templates

3

If you model the contour you want in CAD and import the STL file into CAM you can do any surface you want with 3d milling.

4

That looks pretty rough in Estlcam. How bad do I want it… :grimacing:

5

?? I don’t understand. In estlcam you open the stl and adjust your stepover and you’re done.

6

They were thinking 2D paths, you are thinking STL and 3D paths, which does take a bit longer.

7

I’m not trying to be dense but this doesn’t mean anything to me. I have no idea what this is going to do

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I didn’t RTFM yet, so that could be the reason why

8

Does that pocket have a round bottom or a square bottom.

If you click through and take a look at the paths it should make more sense.

9

It is like the profile above. It has a flat bottom, but big fillets. I don’t see any way to select anything in Estlcam.

STL -
Body1.zip (79.1 KB)

10

If you load the STL there are no choices really, it creates all the toolpaths in 3D automatically.

11

Yeah that should work, how do the toolpaths look?

12

I’m sure I can optimize / speed this up, but I think I am going to look for a different way. This is way too slow with 1/4" bit.

I don’t really like the lack of control in 3D Estlcam. It seems like going from 2d / 3d milling is a big jump.

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13

You can use a mask to just 3d carve the bowl, then 2D the rest.

I think estlcam has a demo of that in their videos. Pretty sure you just select the outer path of the bowl as your mask.

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14

Okay, we are getting closer to where this is a possibility again. I’m sure my speeds can be increased, but this might be a good starting point.

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15

That is looking better. You definitely need to do some test to get the surface finish you want without spending all day carving. With that shape waterline might be real nice.

16

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Well it worked kind of. I don’t really like it, but it did what I asked it to.

Now I just got to play with the shape and refine the settings

17

I wonder if you could just make it a simple 2d slot? Then using that bit you should end up with the shape you want at the end. Will just have to set the depth for what you are looking for and the width correctly to trick it into thinking its a normal bit.

18

Yeah, that is what I’m thinking. I ordered a Whiteside 1406 for tomorrow morning. 3/8" looks like the biggest radius you can get with a 1/4" shank.

I think I can make this work in 2D with that bit… maybe.

Okay whatever I wanted a new router bit

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19

I went back and re read your original post. I didn’t catch that your bit wasn’t the same radius as what you were trying to achieve. For that you are on the right path with 3d milling. Probably just need to lower your stepover on the finishing pass. Probably by at least half of what you used. Will make it take longer but it will give a much nicer finish.

20

Yup. This method can get you super crazy detailed cuts. It is worth doing a few test cuts. It is what I believe to be one of the only things a CNC can actually do that you can not do by hand without years of skill building.

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