I will say that for a large stl file, I ended up using Meshcam, (V6 I think) and it took less time to generate a toolpath then Fusion 360 did.
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It is very hard to carve out a stl because you can not select the surfaces of the model to fine tune the tool paths. For example a solid model would have a nice smooth curve to select and create settings for. Hard to do with 18000 triangles lol…
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This photo is kind of scary, things are going wrong for sure. The photo suggests it is losing steps all over the place, possible extremely dull tool, I would check the condition of the tools before using them for anything else.
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So the tool was new; first passes with it. I do not know what you mean by ‘losing steps’. But I am picking up that using an stl file into Meshcam is suspect as the root of the problem? It would be nice if somewhere along the way I could say “THIS is what went wrong, and THIS is how to fix it.” I have yet to have any idea what ‘went wrong’. Just theories like “a hiccup in the software” or “machine does not have the torque”.
Take a look at this picture. Different attempt, it started drifting to the left. If you look at the middle you can see with each pass it is a hair more left, until it failed because the bit was pressing hard against the side of the cut. You can see it all over the piece if you look closely. When I aborted and checked xy zero it was still right on, maybe just a hair to the right (other direction)
Losing Steps is when for some reason the stepper motor is losing steps.
Mechanical reasons are:
depth of cut, too deep bit is pushing through cut…
“X” “Y” or “Z” is hitting something like the dust shoe or dust hose
if you have a belt driven machine, missing tooth or belt too loose.
Good luck, now I will go back and read your thread.
Just fyi - I am working with someone to get this done. Thank you all for your help.
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