Stuck on conical shape

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?

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)

1 Like

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?

2 Likes

@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!

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

@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.

Please see:

Does that not result in a continuous change in depth?

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

1 Like

@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. :grinning:

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

3 Likes

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!

2 Likes

This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.