Using GH to visualize router bit cutting profile

Hi all,

I somehow lost a previously-functional GH definition, and now I can't remember how I made it... I need to be able to visualize how different router bit profiles look after traveling through solid material. My main questions:

1: When I use RevSrf, I don't get a shaded preview for the router bit - am I doing it wrong?

2: How do I tell GH to essentially do a Sweep1 using a solid Brep as the profile instead of a crv?

Attached is my clumsy start. Any help is appreciated!

Best,

Attachments:

profiling.3dm, 85 KB
profiling.gh, 4 KB

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Declan Halpin on October 9, 2012 at 6:15pm

Just a bump...

Anyone have any suggestions? I'm kinda dead in the water....

Permalink Reply by Yoann Mescam (Systemiq) on October 9, 2012 at 8:14pm

1. retype 0 to 2*pi in the angle domain, or/and give a better axis.

2. No idea, but you can simulate the cut by creating a lot of copies of your router and use them to cut the shape. Notice boolean operations hate when you provide breps with planar faces on the same plane and intersecting, thats why i moved the shape a bit up.

You can also sweep your router profile, but rotate it first -pi/2, and close it, and use the sweep for difference.

Attachments:

profiling.gh, 7 KB

Permalink Reply by Declan Halpin on October 11, 2012 at 12:19pm

Ok, it looks like this is more complicated than I thought. If I use your definition, it works great, but a) it's pretty slow if I get up around 100 divisions/booleans. and b) it was failing when I had too many divisions.

I tried a simple Sweep1, but the self-intersections cause a problem at the boolean stage.

Any other suggestions?

Permalink Reply by Yoann Mescam (Systemiq) on October 11, 2012 at 1:44pm

Using offset, CurveCP, sweep2 (modified because sweep2 bugs on closed rails)

Attachments:

profiling.gh, 25 KB

Permalink Reply by Declan Halpin on March 9, 2013 at 6:35am

Systemiq -

Sorry for the long delay. This definition looks great! Thank you so much! Now I only have one more little wish... ;)

I would like to be able to move the control points of the path crv up/down in Z. Currently, that kicks the cutter axis off to one side, but our machine will simply 'lift' the cutter and 'lower' it. Is that possible?

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