you can take a look at this freeware called - cnc toolkit - .it is a pain to sign up for but it is free.
might be what you need to get going.they work on it all the time.

bill

Yaa i have seen it and worked with it..but it is difficult;)

it might not be that bad for brian since he is new at this.he will take a few lumps up front learning the package.but in the
longrun he might come out ahead of the curve.they add to it every week and it has plenty of options.the stuff it can import
is pretty impressive.

bill

To do what you want to do it takes 5 axis not 4 (;-)

4th axis work is basically 3 axis WORK as IF you move the spindle OFFcenterline of the rotary then your cutting is offset from the rotary axis  and difficult to do and mostly NOT neccesary as you will get the same results from just the 3

Just a thought,(;-)

A little apprehension on this "4th axis work is basically 3 axis WORK "..
A true 4th axis work is actual 4th axis work includes simultaneous movements of all 4-axis...

MUMMMM don't think so(;-), Think about the relationship of all 4 axis. ONE of the XY axis has to remain on the rotary axis centerline to make cutting senseable. AND you gain nothing by moving off of it.

Now IF you are 3 axis plus 4th indexing then you have 3 1/2axis control. But cutting is still 3 axis. Even 3d 4th is still 3 axis movement. Maybe a 4 axis where the 4th is atrunnion on the spindle. But never saw one that did not have the 5th as well.

I don't every recall seeing a true 4 axis machine that was not a 5 axis control. But I could be wrong. (;-)

BR549

i do a 4 axis part that has to move off the centerline of x & y in order for it to work.
XYZA all have to be in motion to make the cut.it is a pretty neat looking cut when it is
finished.when you look down the nose it looks like the bow of a boat.


bill

It would be interesting to see a picture of your setup.

you can take a look at this freeware called - cnc toolkit - .it is a pain to sign up for but it is free.
might be what you need to get going.they work on it all the time.

bill

Thanks for that Bill, I will look into this.

brian

To do what you want to do it takes 5 axis not 4 (;-)

4th axis work is basically 3 axis WORK as IF you move the spindle OFFcenterline of the rotary then your cutting is offset from the rotary axis  and difficult to do and mostly NOT neccesary as you will get the same results from just the 3

Just a thought,(;-)

My rotary 4th axis will be mounted at 90deg to the XY plane and its axis is in line with the X axis. With Meshcam it can only really be used as a convenient way of orientating the stock and as far as I can tell will not move whilst cutting.