Stuck on conical shape

[Burly (David Flowers)]

I am trying to carve a conical shape and I believe I have hit the limits of my software. I have tried Vcarve Pro and CC. I am doing some milling for a custom gunstock and I am stuck on milling out the fore grip where the barrel sits. As you can see the the bottom is a radius and tapers from 1 inch to .7 inches at the tip. I have not been successful in replicating this shape because I guess this falls into the 3d category. If anyone know how to accomplish this in either software I would love to know how.
Part two is I expect Meshcam will do it but not certain if it works with CM on the S3. Does it?
I have a 3D cad software that I could import to Meshcam.

Fusion360 I am sure will do it but don’t have time for the learning curve but it is option 3. Aspire is way too expensive.

Any thoughts?

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

MeshCAM would easily cut this if provided with the shape in an STL.

Other 3D modeling options would be:

• Moment of Inspiration — this is probably the easiest free-form 3D modeling program
• Blender — free/opensource some folks are successful with this
• Alibre Atom3D — a mechanical modeling program, it might be possible to model this shape

It should be workable to model this using the 3D features in Carbide Create Pro:

In CC406 Carbide Create adds the option of 3D features in a new “Pro” license. Currently available as an open beta for testing at: https://carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/ (see: https://carbide3d.com/blog/2019/carbide-create-400/ for the initial announcement and consider checking out a beta if available)

To activate the features see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dMVzLTbego and https://launch.carbide3d.com — creating an account will allow a free trial. “This trial is fully functional … so you can generate G-Code and try a full project.”

See: Carbide Create Pro - First Look for some more details.

A video tutorial at: Starting with 2.5 d carving and see Vcarve pro wide flutes for a decorative 3D design.

Pricing discussion for the “Pro” license (the base functionality will remain free): Carbide Create Pro- What do you want to see?

See attached. sample.c2d (12.4 KB)

[Julien]

@Burly

I have a 3D cad software that I could import to Meshcam

do you mean a 3D model of that piece ? If so, couldn’t you just import an STL export of that model into VCarve and then use a 3D toolpath?

[Burly (David Flowers)]

@WillAdams Fantastick! I will give it a try!
@Julien The only compatible format is a DXF file. It will import but I need to learn how to deal with it once I get it in. The preview was not what I expected so I think there is some learning to do here. But this is also looks like an option!

Thanks guys! you saved my Sunday afternoon from being a real drag!

[fenrus (Arjan van de Ven)]

if you have an STL you can carve that pretty easily…
from paid-for tools to free/open source tools

the harder part is to get to that model, blender and co can get you there as can f360 and more complicated tools

[Burly (David Flowers)]

@WillAdams downloaded CCpro and was able to to get 80% there. The one thing I can’t seem to do is control the z depth along to cone. Since the cone has a larger radius on one end and smaller on the other, the depth needs to get shallower as it get to the smaller end of the cone. From what I am doing I get a rounded bottom but the depth is constant along the length. This is what I have in my cad software. Sadly I can’t export as an STL.

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

Please see:

Vcarve pro wide flutes

Does anyone know of it is possible to create wide flutes similar to what are in the photograph with vcarve pro? [image]

Does that not result in a continuous change in depth?

[JeffWimer]

You could always prop one end of the piece and then route?

[Burly (David Flowers)]

@JeffWimer I actually thought about doing that as a last resort. Then it occurred to me that my daughter might be able to help. Graduating with a degree in Interior design in May! What a relief! I gave her the specs and she whipped out an STL file like a pro! About time I get something for all that money I spent!
Pulled into vcarve just fine. I do need to find another way to do this. It kinda hurts my man-pride ya know.

If anyone comes up with an alternative I’m all ears.

[Burly (David Flowers)]

I wanted to post the final product here as an update for those interested. The barrel section is the 3D piece I was having trouble with. It came out quite nice! I did have to cut a section out of my baseboard and wasteboard and had to raise the machine to get enough depth to hold the grip portion which is 4 inches tall. Also had to buy a 3 inch long .25 endmill in order to cut 2 inches deep. This was a fun and educational project. My customer is very happy! Thanks everyone for your help!