MIP Dimmer Panels

[Coco737]

Couldn't see these files anywhere (never looked too hard)  So made them myself. Hope it saves someone a bit of time.

The Aspect file is the rar file.   
cutting panel size 150mm by 100   5mm acyrlic.

10 degree envgrave bit with a .3mm depth
2.9mm end mill for pockets and profile
3.5mm pockets for the switch covers and the potentiometer nut
5.5mm cut profile.

[ifeliciano]

Cool. Can you show a closeup pic of the engraving? I've not been successful at engraving with a CNC yet.

[Coco737]

What is it about the engraving that you are having a problem with?

[Coco737]

First I record my machine Zero in case I have a problem then I cut the panels out. Then I make a pocket for them to fit tight into. Then I engrave. As you can see from the pictures they are not perfect but I feel they are good enough for me. I just have a chinese 6040 and I like it a lot but if I have a better cnc I would only go down 0.2mm but hey ho you can only work with what you have

[ifeliciano]

What is it about the engraving that you are having a problem with?

MY feed and speeds are probably the main issue. I'm running low speeds 8k RPM 762mm/min with .15 DOC with a 30° v-bit .15mm tip.
Also I dont have a good single line font that is close to MS33558 or Futura. 8000rpm is the lowest my spindle will go.

[Coco737]

MS33558 is freely available in the net. I run at 20k for engraving with a 20mm/s feed and 17k for profile with a 50mm/s feed. But you can play about with them in my opinion getting the bed level is key.I don't v carve single line fonts I just use true type and the software does the work

[ifeliciano]

MS33558 is freely available in the net. I run at 20k for engraving with a 20mm/s feed and 17k for profile with a 50mm/s feed. But you can play about with them in my opinion getting the bed level is key.I don't v carve single line fonts I just use true type and the software does the work

Right, i do have the fonts, but they are TTF instead of Single line. What CAM program do you use to create the engraving toolpaths? 

[ifeliciano]

Never mind. My old brain has blocked out the other thread where we chatted about this stuff already..DUH!

http://www.cockpitbuilders.com/community/index.php?topic=6734.0

[Fcoq]

I think the problem was the acrylic .......
we would say seeing the photos that the plastic melts around the mill.......i'm right?

[ifeliciano]

I think the problem was the acrylic .......
we would say seeing the photos that the plastic melts around the mill.......i'm right?

Franck, I use cast acrylic. No, its not melted on the bit, but there is chip re-adhesion or re-welding in the engraving itself, because the v-bit is not ejecting the chips properly. Usually I need to run the program twice to clean out the engraving.

I just need to play with the depth of cut, feed rate. and spindle RPM. Also need to understand the V-Carve tool path better.
The attached image is an exaggeration of what im usually getting. I usually only go max depth of .2mm in this one, I went .5mm deep with a 30° engraving v-bit

[Coco737]

I use aspire 4.0 for the design and toolpaths

[ifeliciano]

I use aspire 4.0 for the design and toolpaths

Thanks Colin. I have V-Carve Pro 9 and Fusion360. Slowly learning along those CAM packages.