First attempt at 3d, need help

[Maverick54 (John)]

First attempt at 3d and having trouble. The 3d rendering in model seems to be correct, but the translation to toolpaths does not appear to be what I am looking for. Having trouble diagnosing the problem and could use some guidance. File is attached. Thanks in advance.

Santa 3d.c2d

[Tod1d (Tod (with 1 'd'))]

I think you’re going to need a smaller ball mill on the finish path (try the 1/32"), and a much smaller stepover (try 0.25mm). And set the Stock to Leave to 0.0.

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

The 3D model seems good:

A 1/4" square endmill is okay for roughing:

but usually folks use a ball-nose tool:

For a finishing pass, a 1/8" ball-nose tool such as the #101 should work well:

but the default stepover of half the tool diameter is a bit much — tightening that up w/ a smaller value:

and setting Stock to Leave to 0:

(it was 3mm)

gets one to:

If you wish to use Stock to Leave for a finishing pass, it’s usually done so as to leave uncut material for a smaller tool — it looks like the tool geometry here would be okay for a second pass, so change that to 0.0762 to match the chipload of a 1/16" tool

and add a second finishing pass w/ a smaller tool and even finer stepover:

again, w/ Stock to Leave set at 0:

[Maverick54 (John)]

Thanks @Tod1d, the 1/8 ball end is the smallest I have at the moment. I just got the 2 week trial of the pro to try it before deciding to take the plunge.

Thanks @WillAdams, I have used your recommendations and better understand where my mistakes were. I have plugged your numbers in and got the same results in the simulation. I will post up a final pic when done. As always, your input is greatly appreciated.

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

I believe that your difficulty was too-large of a stepover for the 3D Finishing pass, and having the large value set for “Stock to Leave” on the Finishing pass.

[Maverick54 (John)]

Agree, I had left the stock settings for the bit so this was a good learning experience for me in understanding the interplay between step overs and outcomes. Learning curve is still steep but the angle is starting to decrease some.

[Maverick54 (John)]

Came out decent, but I am sure it would be even better with a smaller bit. Thanks again for your help @WillAdams