Undercut Cnc Mill

So my school has a CNC router that is 3 axis. We have a complex topological surface that has a lot of undercuts which cant be cut by having only 3 axis. So my question for the script is if it is possible to take a mesh and separate it into segments so that the pieces that are undercuts are laid out flat separate from the mesh so it can be milled separately, and then put together like puzzle pieces. This sounds incredibly complex so I do not even know if it is possible. Ill upload an .obj example.

Thank you.

Attachments:

uploadgh.obj, 122 KB

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jonah Hawk on June 16, 2013 at 7:45pm

There is a reason no one responded to this... This is not a great part to cut with CNC. Even a 4 or 5 axis mill would have a hard time milling this part. There are some very hard to reach places.

What you're describing is extremely complicated to script given that model.

It would be faster to shell that model, then break it apart carefully by hand, maintaining the miter/split between pieces.... but it is not going to go back together perfectly without a lot of hand sanding of the miters...

This would be best 3d printed, or unfolded/unwrapped flat and cut on a laser.

Could you live with slicing the model vertically, profiling the parts and then gluing them back together?

Permalink Reply by Drew Busimre on June 18, 2013 at 2:15pm

Thank you Jonah,

I realized the insane complexity that would come with this script. I was trying to find a quick way since at the time I was in a time crunch. We did like you mentioned and split the model into multiple pieces milled them separately and then reassembled them. Incase anyone is wondering for future reference, in order to get a very fine amount of detail it is better to go with 1/16" bit that is longer than 3 inches from tip to collet in order preserve as much detail. Of course going even smaller is better for detail but adds time and you must have it long enough.

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