Hey there. I’m new to using my Shapeoko for 3D cuts and wondering if anyone knows a way to create a tapering bevel cut for an oval, without upgrading to Carbide Create Pro?
Here’s an example of what i’m trying to cut:
Thanks!
All you could do in the free version of Carbide Create is draw things up in profile and do a series of no-offset contour toolpaths w/ a ball-nosed endmill — how smooth this would be would depend on your patience in setting up the file.
If you can generate a 3D STL you could use:
https://fenrus75.github.io/FenrusCNCtools/stl2nc/stl2nc.html
see:
Because the bevel angle varies you can’t use a fixed angle V or bevel cutter so you’ll need to use a ballnose. I would say that creating a valid toolparh in CC standard will be very challenging. If budget is an issue, have you thought about the free version of F360?
Not a full tutorial, but the basic logic of doing it manually in CC
Start with your design
Draw in some sections
Now add some circles that represent your tool, and align them to the sections.
I aligned the top circle to the shallow bevel, and the bottom circle to the steep bevel to get my min/max depths to cut. Then I just added one halfway between. You’d want a few more to get a good cut.
Once you have them positioned where you want them, take some measurements
These are your depths & radii. I would create rectangles using the radii from both sections, then use those to position my ovals for each level.
Then contour each level using the appropriate oval.
You could create the ovals on the circle centers & use “No Offset”, or like I did on the outside edge & use “Inside/Left”.
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Estlcam is free and will create tool paths for a 3D model.
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