4th axis use of a slitting saw

[Dan Mauch]

  I was just in the latest ver of GM trying to set up a slitting saw in the tool window but the terminology and the fields don't apply to a slitting saw. I don't see where I can enter the diameter of the saw and the thickness. I was going to use this type cutting tool since on a 52T pulley I would need a .020" em mill and that would be too fragile to machine an aluminum pulley. So a slitting saw would be the better choice.
Dan Mauch

[Ya-Nvr-No]

here is a snapshot of one of my slitting saw tool layout

[Dan Mauch]

Thanks for info I had figured most of that out but is the .06 the thickness of the slitting saw or is it the saw teeth depth?

Dan Mauch

[ArtF]

Hi Dan:

  Just got back..

Yes, the .06 is the thickness of the saw blade in this  case... The program sees the saw as a flute.. so the meanings of the various settings get a bit non -intuitive at times.. :)

Art

[Dan Mauch]

Thanks.  From the screenshots you can see that the X axis wastes a lot of time machining in air. I don't see the input that controls the amount of travel the X axis makes. How do I control the X axis travel?
Your  XL pulley program defaults the depth of the root to about .065" However several pulleys I measured only had a .040" depth. For the G code is it possible for me to set the depth? Or do I have to edit the G code which would take some time to do?

Thanks again. Hope you had a grand vacation.

Dan Mauch

[ArtF]

Hi Dan:

  Vacation was great, thx. :)

  Um, for the over travel ,override the FaceWidth settings. By default,
the program will use the actual gear width, and adds enough that the entire
saw blade emerges, overkill for most, so override the face width to the actual width of the gear for no wasted motion. It was recently recoded to make sure the blade is out during any angular motion..so check that is you modify the facewidth for more efficient cutting.

  Nothing you can do about the pulley root depth. The 4th axis is actually not
computing its toolpaths form the numerical data, its a collision detection engine, it looks at the actual gear or pulley and computes how close it can move the tool to the 3d stl object's tooth shape. This makes it impossible
to do depth modification other than to modify the object. OK for gears, but the pulleys are defined shapes, there was no other possibility as the pulley
specs often simply dictate curve centers and radii as part of the spec. No actual dedendum information is provided for some types..

Art

[Dan Mauch]

Ok thanks I work with what you provided.
Dan Mauch