Should be simple pocket, but not working

[Smorgasbord (Ben)]

I need to cut a shape into a piece of plywood. It’s basically a round hole with two sides chopped off. I created it in Carbide Create with a circle and a rectangle and trimmed vectors:

But, when I try to create a pocket, I get an “EMPTY TOOLPATH” message.

and

Here’s the file:
MagJig150.c2d (44 KB)

I can create a Contour from the same vectors, but I need a pocket.

[CullenS (Cullen Simpson)]

It must be an open vector. Those are supported for contours.

Select all of them and then the join vectors button. Then select off and back on to see if the
Whole thing highlights. If not then zoom up on the intersections to see if there are overlaps or gaps.

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

As @CullenS noted, the vectors are open/unjoined (indicated by their being magenta) and the solution is to select them:

and use the “Join Vectors” command:

Yes

which will then work for a pocket:

[Smorgasbord (Ben)]

Great! I tried grouping, but obviously that’s something else.

Now another question - since I’m cutting all the way through the stock, how can I just cut the outside-most path? That’ll leave a piece in the middle, but that’s OK since it’s double-stick taped to the spoilboard.

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

Where possible avoid slotting and add geometry and cut as a pocket

Making vacuum hose adapters

While cutting up vacuum extension wands for this is expedient, it’s a bit problematic given that Shop Vac recently filed for bankruptcy, was bought at the last minute, and production hasn’t caught up. I need a receptacle for the Sweepy 2.0 dust fitting — one option would be to purchase one from Woodcraft, but Carbide 3D sells blocks of HDPE: which looks to be just barely big enough for things to fit. Measuring the hose fitting I get a diameter of ~63.5mm — offsetting that twice we arrive at…

and/or

Adding geometry to cut as a pocket with a finishing pass

One technique which is often suggested to avoid slotting is to add geometry around a part which one wishes to cut out and cut as a pocket down to tab depth — here’s one technique for that. In this case, the project is a bevel gauge which will be cut out of 0.0625" (~1.5mm) thick aluminum: [bevelgauge] Due to the narrowness of the angles, an 0.03125" endmill has to be used, so after importing and scaling the file (we will be cutting out one which is 3") we select the perimeter and offset it tw…

and consider leaving a roughing clearance and taking a finishing pass.

Best Bit for full cut through

One which has a cutting flute length equal to or greater than the thickness of the stock — pretty much any tool should work. Big thing is the toolpaths — if cutting out, rather than just cutting a slot: [image] Offset to the outside by endmill diameter plus 10% or so: [image] [image] [image] Then cut as a pocket: [image] down to tab height or the penultimate pass: [image] then move the contour down to below the pocket and start cutting at the bottom of the pocket: [image] and…

[Smorgasbord (Ben)]

Just wanted to say, it’s working great - thanks for the quick turn-around on a Sat night!

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

That’s great to hear!

We do our best to staff the support queue and various social media sites on evenings, weekends, and holidays, since that’s the only occasion many folks have for using their machines.