I am having issues with some 3d finishing on my projects. I am using a Shapeoko XL. I’ve done many projects on the Carbide Create Pro software. But I am having issues trying to get rid of the “stepping” issues while carving out a “dish” area on a charcuterie type board that I am making. I am attaching a pic of my result of one of the spots using a 1/8" tapered ball nose bit. The stepping shows on the simulations but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get rid of it. Can it be done? I am using hardwoods…maple and walnut. I have ran the simulations using flat end mills, and ball end mills, with large stepovers and smaller stepovers, different angles. I feel as if I’m missing something here.!
I read one post from last summer that seemed to show some nice examples on how different bits can help, but it was a bit confusing for me.
R charcuterie board for kathy.c2d (932.8 KB)
I know I can sand it down after the fact but I feel as if I can do better. Thank you in advance for any help.
Hi @Absolut247,
The c2d file you attached does not seem to match the pic, I guess you modified it in the meantime.
You should try with setting the finishing angle to 0.0, it will travel the “valley” left to right, rather than along its longest dimension as shown in your pic, and this should give a much better result with your tapered bit
Also, make sure the diameter of the tip of your tapered endmill is actually 1/8", if this is what you entered in CC tool library.
Thank you for your response. I think I might have made it too confusing as well. I made a simpler file with just a similar cutout as I was trying to show. I have it being cut with a 1/8" ball mill which I do have as well. The stepover is set to 0.006". Angle is still 0 degrees, which it was set at in the original post. When I run the simulation, there is still the stepping. I have attached some pics of what I’ve done. I just can’t figure out why that extra stepping is showing up. I don’t think it’s due to stepover. I have messed with the stepover…but I can’t seem to get that “stepping” to go away. The “stepping” runs vertically but my angle is at zero. Thank you for any help you may be able to provide.
op1a.c2d (188.4 KB)
I will have to get back to you on that one. I’m just heading to bed. 
But the stepping that was shown was translating in to the final project.
I get the stepping you show if:
- the angle is changed to 90 (from 0)
- the tool is changed to #102 (1/8" square endmill)
and it remains if I switch back to a #101 (1/8" ball endmill):
it becomes more pronounced if one changes to a #202:
Increasing stepover (by reducing the value for stepover) smoothes things out:
and a very small value gets us back to the nice appearance of the 0 degree version with the smaller tool:
Interestingly, that same stepover value with a smaller tool still shows steps:
I believe in this instance, a larger tool is better suited for this cut (albeit at a longer cutting time)
also be aware of simulation artifacts; the simulation process is not infinite precise, and there’s an accuracy selector in the main “sprocket” menu… and for some GPUs you need to dial that accuracy down (sigh, like my machine).
Thank you everyone for the help. I am going to pick away at my project. See what I can come up with
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