Fun with CNCs [Progress: First Case Cut!!!]

[jbondeson]

Many moons ago I preordered the Shapeoko 3, a medium duty CNC that has a cutting area of ~16"x16". This badboy should be able to cut all the way up to mild steel so most keyboard projects should be within reach. Like all preorders this one took a while to get to me. Finally in July I received the goods! Then I just had to assemble the bugger. Unfortunately life (and a kitchen remodel) got in the way, but I finally got a chance to run it through the paces.

I'm going to document my adventures in CNCs here and will update as I go.

Step 5: Back-side milling

Coming soooon

Step 4: First Case Cuts 2015-10-05

Why start easy? First cuts are going to be into a piece of 1x6 poplar to make a tray style case:


Aaaand here's what I ended up with:





Step 2: Work Holding 2015-09-10

I installed Universal T-Track directly into the base MDF for work holding.



Step 1: Hello World 2015-09-02

The first thing to do is to make sure that every axis is coopering, and the canonical way to do that with a Shapeoko is the Hello World with a pen. I present to you Shapeoko 3 #464's maiden voyage.

Okay, so it wasn't technically the maiden voyage. 

The first time I ran it I realized the Y-axis was reversed, so I had to rewire both the stepper motors. But after that I got what you see in all its geeky glory on E2 paper.

[joey]

I can't wait to see what you can do!

How expensive is a big old block of Alu that can fit a 60%?

[tofgerl]

Let's see... Ooh, $999, nice... And shipping... Hmmm. $50 for US, sounds reasonable... $80 for Canada... OK... $400 for Europe - Me out!

[Oobly]

Very nice! Are you going to use the Dewalt router as a spindle? It's quite a capable and reasonably accurate machine, considering it's using belts.

I'm in the very slow process of putting together my own CNC milling machine (I need more than 75mm cutting depth and would like much higher accuracy than the Shapeoko can get), but I haven't got very far yet. I have the controller, 4 servos, drivers and rails, blocks and ballscrew (with bearings) for the longest axis so far. The other axes were supposed to follow at the rate of one per month, but my funds have been going elsewhere lately.

[jbondeson]

I can't wait to see what you can do!

How expensive is a big old block of Alu that can fit a 60%?

Depends on grade and how you source it, but if you're buying 6061-T651 online and make a couple of them you're looking at ~$40 for the aluminum.

Let's see... Ooh, $999, nice... And shipping... Hmmm. $50 for US, sounds reasonable... $80 for Canada... OK... $400 for Europe - Me out!

I was reading of people shipping them to Australia, and the price on that was obscene.

Very nice! Are you going to use the Dewalt router as a spindle? It's quite a capable and reasonably accurate machine, considering it's using belts.

Yep, my plan is to approach this very incrementally to see what I need to get the accuracy and finishes I'm looking for. So I have the Dewalt 611 and a less expensive collet for right now. I plan on upgrading to a precision bits extreme precision collet (TIR<0.0001"), and getting a Super PID to control the RPMs exactly, and then move on from there.

I'm in the very slow process of putting together my own CNC milling machine (I need more than 75mm cutting depth and would like much higher accuracy than the Shapeoko can get), but I haven't got very far yet. I have the controller, 4 servos, drivers and rails, blocks and ballscrew (with bearings) for the longest axis so far. The other axes were supposed to follow at the rate of one per month, but my funds have been going elsewhere lately.

I spent a good long time researching CNCs for what I was looking to do, and one of the interesting things I found was how fragmented the community is on what to do for hobby CNCs. There's a whole crowd of professionals who are "If it ain't Bridgeport it's crap!", then you have a whole lot of other factions in there as well. The Servo vs. Steppers, the Ball Screw vs. Rack & Pinion, the Table vs. Vertical, etc. etc. Makes for a fun first intro, that's for sure!

At first I was actually going to build a Kronos KRMx02 CNC in the 30" x 27" x 6" configuration (~$3500) or modify a Precision Matthews PM-25MV (similar to a Grizzly G0704) to CNC. After waaay too much reading I realized that the PM-25MV was going to require access to another mill to convert, or a very expensive prebuilt kit, and the total work area just wasn't there, so I scrapped that idea. So instead I bought the books for the KRMx02 and was down that road when I found out about the Shapeoko 3, and realized that before I sunk that much into the machine I should actually get some real time on a CNC under my belt and make sure I was going to utilize the machine enough.

If I use this sucker quite a bit I'm seriously going to be considering building the KRMx02 as that will give me a much more rigid machine with a much larger (and deeper) cutting area.

[CPTBadAss]

I'm so incredibly excited to see what you mill with this thing. Any time I get to see chips flying or something milled, I get so happy

[jbondeson]

I'm so incredibly excited to see what you mill with this thing. Any time I get to see chips flying or something milled, I get so happy

So hot CNC-Pen-on-E2 action doesn't quite do it for you? 

I'm currently torn on whether to tear the machine down and put in mounting holes before or after I do the first couple cuts on it (I could just do work holding with clamps). I'm doubly torn because I'm thinking of ditching the MDF and replacing it with HDPE so I can run fluids when cutting aluminum.  Choices, choices, choices

[CPTBadAss]

Wasn't a fountain pen . I loved the mounting though .

And yes! Ditch MDF for that cooling liquid action.

[jbondeson]

So I finally decided the first path for tool holding. I'll be sticking with the MDF for now and picked up some Universal T-Track to run the clamps through. Naturally this was not without consequence. It turns out the T-Track is 3/8" deep, and I'm installing it into 1/2" mdf, which would leave only 1/8" of mdf under the track which would Not Be Good(TM). Luckily underneath there's room to install another 1/4" of mdf in sections between the steel strapping. So this weekend was spent bracing the spoilboard and building the sleds to route out the channels.

Finally last night I got to actually start working on the channels...

In Progress routing (the sleds are to guide the router for cutting the channel)


Test fitting the track in the channel.


Next up is the right-channel and then finishing and mounting.

[trenzafeeds]

Excited to see some cases come out of this, it's always fun messing around with a new toy!

[kurplop]

This looks like a lot of fun. Keep us posted with regular progress reports.

[Melvang]

Do some serious looking into compressed air for cooling instead of liquid.  A lot of shops are switching over to it for multiple reasons. 

1.  It can provide more consistent cooling to the bit than liquid, the air flows around the flutes of the cutter better than liquids do.
2.  Much cleaner
3.  No MSDS or chemical safety required
4.  Does a much better job at chip evacuation.
5.  Cheaper
6.  Depending on parameters of the cut, air as a coolant, provides more accurate machining.  Granted the difference here in our projects is orders of magnitude tighter tolerances that what we need, or most of us could even measure.  But still something to think about.  The reason here is, the liquid coolants can actually push the cutter out of the way, where air doesn't.

With modern coatings and materials of cutters, liquid coolants don't need near as much cutting lubrication as they did years ago.  Plus some coatings preform better when hot, granted these cutters a lot of the time are designed for cutting exotic and difficult to machine materials like titanium, inconel, and some grades of stainless are actually very difficult to machine, such as 304.

Don't take this as gospel, but something to look into.

[kurplop]

I use compressed air when I'm milling aluminum and it works great. Unlike steel, aluminum needs cooling more than lubrication. The
only problem is the chips really fly.

[Melvang]

I use compressed air when I'm milling aluminum and it works great. Unlike steel, aluminum needs cooling more than lubrication. The
only problem is the chips really fly.

A lot of places are actually going to compressed air for steels as well.  With that and careful selection of cutter material and coatings, they can actually achieve higher feeds and speeds than they could with liquids.

Not even compressed air.  If feeds and speeds are matched to what the machine is capable of with good cutters, little heat stays in the part and cutter.  It leaves with the chips.

This video is a prime example of showing how the heat leaves in the chips.

Edit: had the wrong video for the second one

[njbair]

All for the best. Liquid coolant can cause microfractures in the cermets used in most cutters, due to the rapid heating and cooling over and over again. The result is actually faster tool wear than dry cuts at optimal feeds and speeds.

[jbondeson]

Do some serious looking into compressed air for cooling instead of liquid.  A lot of shops are switching over to it for multiple reasons. 
[...]

Ohhh, this is good. Not having to convert to full liquid would be a huge timesaver. I'd definitely have to do a full enclosure but it also would solve the dust collection... In that you wouldn't try other than to keep dust out of the air when milling non-metallic materials.

Now into the rabbit hole of vortex tubes and quiet air compressors...

[Oobly]

Melvang, thank you! I didn't know about running dry and have been dreading designing, building and installing everything needed for flood or spray cooling. Looks like I'm going with compressed air on my build in the end.

That's some super high speed cutting in the first vid!

And interesting thread on this topic I found: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/cnc-machining/air-instead-coolant-163607/

They mention climb cutting on air cooled inserts being the way to go.

Loving this thread. Maybe we can encourage some of the other CNC-enabled (or manual mill) GH'ers to post pics, vids or tales of making chips?

[njbair]

Melvang, thank you! I didn't know about running dry and have been dreading designing, building and installing everything needed for flood or spray cooling. Looks like I'm going with compressed air on my build in the end.

That's some super high speed cutting in the first vid!

And interesting thread on this topic I found: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/cnc-machining/air-instead-coolant-163607/

They mention climb cutting on air cooled inserts being the way to go.

Loving this thread. Maybe we can encourage some of the other CNC-enabled (or manual mill) GH'ers to post pics, vids or tales of making chips?

You always want to climb cut whenever possible. Conventional milling pulls the cutter into the cut while climbing pushes it away, ensuring you don't violate your dimensions. It also leaves a much better finish and creates a more consistent chip load.

Chip load is a huge deal for heat because if your chip is too small it can't conduct enough heat out of the part, too large and you introduce way too much friction.

[Melvang]

Melvang, thank you! I didn't know about running dry and have been dreading designing, building and installing everything needed for flood or spray cooling. Looks like I'm going with compressed air on my build in the end.

That's some super high speed cutting in the first vid!

And interesting thread on this topic I found: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/cnc-machining/air-instead-coolant-163607/

They mention climb cutting on air cooled inserts being the way to go.

Loving this thread. Maybe we can encourage some of the other CNC-enabled (or manual mill) GH'ers to post pics, vids or tales of making chips?

You always want to climb cut whenever possible. Conventional milling pulls the cutter into the cut while climbing pushes it away, ensuring you don't violate your dimensions. It also leaves a much better finish and creates a more consistent chip load.

Chip load is a huge deal for heat because if your chip is too small it can't conduct enough heat out of the part, too large and you introduce way too much friction.

Correct on the climb milling.  The one caveat here though I'd backlash, especially on older worn manual machines.  When you climb mill, as soon as the cutter starts cutting it will want to grab and pull in, so if you have say .025" backlash, you are going to take that much cut almost instantly, possible bad things happening.  I have however heard of old timers giving the bed a shove in the direction of the cut the moment before engaging the cutter all but eliminating that jump on worn lead screws with no backlash adjustment.  This is much less of a problem in cnc due to most units having ball screws and .001" or less backlash.  From what I have gathered, without proper anti backlash nuts, having that little backlash on traditional lead screws is fairly hard on them.

On heat, the big thing here is making sure you have the proper chop load.  This I bet eve is usually calculated from cutter rpm, feed rate, and number of cutting edges, shown as inchs of cut per tooth.  Or each tooth is taking .006 inch of cut, so on a four flute end mill it would be .024" cut per revolution, times rpm, would dictate feed rate.  Though I am not sure if you would work from that direction, or from feed rate to rpm divided by cutting edges.  I don't have that kind of experience yet.  Though I am still planning on getting a Sherline 2000 manual mill.

Time will tell.

[njbair]

Melvang, thank you! I didn't know about running dry and have been dreading designing, building and installing everything needed for flood or spray cooling. Looks like I'm going with compressed air on my build in the end.

That's some super high speed cutting in the first vid!

And interesting thread on this topic I found: http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/cnc-machining/air-instead-coolant-163607/

They mention climb cutting on air cooled inserts being the way to go.

Loving this thread. Maybe we can encourage some of the other CNC-enabled (or manual mill) GH'ers to post pics, vids or tales of making chips?

You always want to climb cut whenever possible. Conventional milling pulls the cutter into the cut while climbing pushes it away, ensuring you don't violate your dimensions. It also leaves a much better finish and creates a more consistent chip load.

Chip load is a huge deal for heat because if your chip is too small it can't conduct enough heat out of the part, too large and you introduce way too much friction.

Correct on the climb milling.  The one caveat here though I'd backlash, especially on older worn manual machines.  When you climb mill, as soon as the cutter starts cutting it will want to grab and pull in, so if you have say .025" backlash, you are going to take that much cut almost instantly, possible bad things happening.  I have however heard of old timers giving the bed a shove in the direction of the cut the moment before engaging the cutter all but eliminating that jump on worn lead screws with no backlash adjustment.  This is much less of a problem in cnc due to most units having ball screws and .001" or less backlash.  From what I have gathered, without proper anti backlash nuts, having that little backlash on traditional lead screws is fairly hard on them.

On heat, the big thing here is making sure you have the proper chop load.  This I bet eve is usually calculated from cutter rpm, feed rate, and number of cutting edges, shown as inchs of cut per tooth.  Or each tooth is taking .006 inch of cut, so on a four flute end mill it would be .024" cut per revolution, times rpm, would dictate feed rate.  Though I am not sure if you would work from that direction, or from feed rate to rpm divided by cutting edges.  I don't have that kind of experience yet.  Though I am still planning on getting a Sherline 2000 manual mill.

Time will tell.

You are right about backlash, especially on manual machines. I am very familiar with the act of shoving the machine in that direction, but what I would do more often in those cases is to partially engage the axis lock lever, just to keep the right amount of tension on the table and prevent backlash. The same holds true for conventional milling, although in that case the table wants to pull in the perpendicular direction. The key is to always overshoot your dimension and then back into it. That way you move the play over to the safe side. This can be a pain, say if you overshoot by .001", it's tempting to just spin it back that much. But if you do, the cutter will pull, the table will walk, and you will scrap your part.

[jbondeson]

Got the second channel routed last night. Test fit looked good so I went ahead and glued it down with some Gorilla Glue All Purpose (and lemme tell you they are not kidding about it being a skin irritant) and clamped the top of it to make sure the track stayed at the bottom of the channels.

The only remaining item for the track is to determine screws. Since I only have 3/8" of material underneath the track I need some really small screws. The smallest locally sourced screw I could find was a 3/8" #3 wood screw which would be cutting it pretty close, and in mdf that could mean splitting or pillowing of the bottom. Looking at engineering drawings of countersunk flat head screws it looks like the head depth is only 0.067" which really isn't a comfortable margin for me in mdf. So now I'm pretty much going to be left with ordering a $2 box of screws for $10... because, shipping.

So in the future if anyone needs a 1/4" #4 countersunk screw, just message me and i can put some in an envelope

Enough talk... PICTURES!

Overhead view of bed with track installed


Whole machine with track installed

[kurplop]

Looks great. Could you have used thicker MDF or were there clearance restrictions?

[jbondeson]

Looks great. Could you have used thicker MDF or were there clearance restrictions?

Unfortunately not without a whole lot of routing underneath.

I actually thought about using a single 3/4" sheet and routing out channels for the steel strapping and frame, but decided that it wouldn't improve the strength enough over simply screwing and gluing the 1/4" squares underneath -- I'll have to take a picture of my hacked up bottom. Long term I think the answer would be a solid aluminum base with hdpe over the top. I'm really not a fan of mdf as the base.

[Pdub]

Many moons ago I preordered the Shapeoko 3, a medium duty CNC that has a cutting area of ~16"x16". This badboy should be able to cut all the way up to mild steel so most keyboard projects should be within reach. Like all preorders this one took a while to get to me. Finally in July I received the goods! Then I just had to assemble the bugger. Unfortunately life (and a kitchen remodel) got in the way, but I finally got a chance to run it through the paces.

I'm going to document my adventures in CNCs here and will update as I go.

Step 1: Hello World

The first thing to do is to make sure that every axis is coopering, and the canonical way to do that with a Shapeoko is the Hello World with a pen. I present to you Shapeoko 3 #464's maiden voyage.

Show Image

Okay, so it wasn't technically the maiden voyage.  :rolleyes:

The first time I ran it I realized the Y-axis was reversed, so I had to rewire both the stepper motors. But after that I got what you see in all its geeky glory on E2 paper.

Step 2: Belt Stretch Calibration

Coming sooon...

Nice man! Pretty cool!

[sz42]

Earlier this year, I helped a friend get his Zen Toolworks CNC toy all working (the 7"x7" one;  grbl + pololu A4988 stepper drivers).  I was considering eventually getting my own CNC whatzit "some day" but I was really having trouble deciding what to get.

Now that I recently discovered all this keyboard fun, having a little extra build area is rather appealing.  Still, having a full CNC mill for cutting "big" stuff might also be kinda fun someday too (http://makezine.com/projects/cnc-mini-mill-conversion-kit-hardware/).

I'm still "levelling up" before I make my first keyboard and will likely try to mill some copper clad FR4 proto boards on the tiny little Zen Toolworks over the coming weeks.  Even if I manage to convince my buddy to purchase the 7"x12" upgrade kit (http://www.zentoolworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=16&products_id=115) I'm still going to have to do it in 2 or 3 passes though since the working area really isn't big enough.

So... I'll be very *very* keen to follow your progress on your Shapeoko3...  Lookin' good! 

[CPTBadAss]

All this in depth detailed discussion about milling makes me happy <3

[mrbishop]

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

[jbondeson]

Been hard at work in the garage this week building a table for the machine. Should have been a one day affair, but my garage is still not setup fully yet so it took a bunch of nights to get every thing just right on the table.

Will be calibrating hopefully this weekend! 

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

Yep, the S3 is designed for the Dewalt DWP611, which is also a 1.25hp router. I was using it on my table to cut some 1/2" deep dados in 2x6s and damn that sucker can make short work of the cuts when you have the right bit in there.

[mrbishop]

Been hard at work in the garage this week building a table for the machine. Should have been a one day affair, but my garage is still not setup fully yet so it took a bunch of nights to get every thing just right on the table.

Will be calibrating hopefully this weekend! 

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

Yep, the S3 is designed for the Dewalt DWP611, which is also a 1.25hp router. I was using it on my table to cut some 1/2" deep dados in 2x6s and damn that sucker can make short work of the cuts when you have the right bit in there.

I know exactly what you mean I'm blasting through aluminum and anything else I've thrown at mine. Can't wait to start milling my keyboard switch plate.

[Oobly]

Been hard at work in the garage this week building a table for the machine. Should have been a one day affair, but my garage is still not setup fully yet so it took a bunch of nights to get every thing just right on the table.

Will be calibrating hopefully this weekend! 

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

Yep, the S3 is designed for the Dewalt DWP611, which is also a 1.25hp router. I was using it on my table to cut some 1/2" deep dados in 2x6s and damn that sucker can make short work of the cuts when you have the right bit in there.

I'm so jelly! Feeling inspired to get going on my project again.

[jbondeson]

I'm so jelly! Feeling inspired to get going on my project again.

Yeeeessssss... Do it!

We need to fulfill our CNC quota or CPT'll resume the beatings!

[CPTBadAss]

How do you have time to post jbondeson? Shouldn't you be monitoring your spindle speeds?

[jbondeson]

How do you have time to post jbondeson? Shouldn't you be monitoring your spindle speeds?

No sir.  Sorry sir... never happen again!

*jbondeson scurries away*

 

[sz42]

Been hard at work in the garage this week building a table for the machine. Should have been a one day affair, but my garage is still not setup fully yet so it took a bunch of nights to get every thing just right on the table.

Will be calibrating hopefully this weekend! 

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

Yep, the S3 is designed for the Dewalt DWP611, which is also a 1.25hp router. I was using it on my table to cut some 1/2" deep dados in 2x6s and damn that sucker can make short work of the cuts when you have the right bit in there.

Heheh, niiice.  We were toying with the idea of trying to mount a bigger gizmo like the DWP611 on the Zen Toolworks carver;  It just has the stock one on there now (http://www.zentoolworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=16&products_id=135).

Good luck on your calibrating fun this weekend! 

This weekend, I'm planning to send off my *first* keyboard plate design to a laser cutting place just a few miles from my house.  Then, I'll be modifying the plate DXF file to produce a drilling template for a prototype switch matrix PCB much like the "HHFox" one (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/hhfox-aka-diy-pcb-t6905.html).  My plan is to drill the holes on the ZTW CNC rather than do them by hand.

[mrbishop]

Been hard at work in the garage this week building a table for the machine. Should have been a one day affair, but my garage is still not setup fully yet so it took a bunch of nights to get every thing just right on the table.

Will be calibrating hopefully this weekend! 

I highly reccomend a 1.25hp router motor for the spindle. i have designed and am having made spindle mounts the fit the Makita 701C which is the same router i'm using on my X-Carve

Yep, the S3 is designed for the Dewalt DWP611, which is also a 1.25hp router. I was using it on my table to cut some 1/2" deep dados in 2x6s and damn that sucker can make short work of the cuts when you have the right bit in there.

Heheh, niiice.  We were toying with the idea of trying to mount a bigger gizmo like the DWP611 on the Zen Toolworks carver;  It just has the stock one on there now (http://www.zentoolworks.com/product_info.php?cPath=16&products_id=135).

Good luck on your calibrating fun this weekend! 

This weekend, I'm planning to send off my *first* keyboard plate design to a laser cutting place just a few miles from my house.  Then, I'll be modifying the plate DXF file to produce a drilling template for a prototype switch matrix PCB much like the "HHFox" one (http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/hhfox-aka-diy-pcb-t6905.html).  My plan is to drill the holes on the ZTW CNC rather than do them by hand.

I had that same style 24v motor on my XCarve.... the router makes it like a hole new machine!

[jbondeson]

I'll update the OP tomorrow morning, but fresh off this evening's victory I had to share: I successfully cut a case tonight!



There were some hiccups (mostly with Fusion 360 CAM) but I'm considering this a success.

Immediately after final cuts:


I forgot to swap out the wasteboard with a trammed piece of mdf... Oops.

[Steezus]

Very Nice! It'll be interesting seeing what cases you'll be able to make in the future once you fine tune everything.

[mrbishop]

I use fusion as well if you need any help let know

[jbondeson]

Updated the OP with my progress so far.  Next up will be milling the backside of the case and the USB cutout. I definitely need to get longer endmills though as when contouring the outside you can see the depth stop on the bit left some red on the edge of the case. I knew I would be pushing it.

I also need to tone down my feed rate a little until I fix some of the flex from the router mount. I was cooking along at 1200mm/min (~47ipm) with the adaptive clearing for the center area and it was chattering on the backside.

Very Nice! It'll be interesting seeing what cases you'll be able to make in the future once you fine tune everything.

I'll be sure to keep this updated on progress as I roll through harder woods and into aluminum 

I use fusion as well if you need any help let know

Will do, right now I'm just fighting with my expectations vs. what it wants to do. I have some backside holes that Fusion wants to do all the cuts and finish the drill holes for. I just need to look at the simulation a little more closely to see what it's doing and see if I can get it to do full depth cuts from the top.

[mrbishop]

Updated the OP with my progress so far.  Next up will be milling the backside of the case and the USB cutout. I definitely need to get longer endmills though as when contouring the outside you can see the depth stop on the bit left some red on the edge of the case. I knew I would be pushing it.

I also need to tone down my feed rate a little until I fix some of the flex from the router mount. I was cooking along at 1200mm/min (~47ipm) with the adaptive clearing for the center area and it was chattering on the backside.

Very Nice! It'll be interesting seeing what cases you'll be able to make in the future once you fine tune everything.

I'll be sure to keep this updated on progress as I roll through harder woods and into aluminum 

I use fusion as well if you need any help let know

Will do, right now I'm just fighting with my expectations vs. what it wants to do. I have some backside holes that Fusion wants to do all the cuts and finish the drill holes for. I just need to look at the simulation a little more closely to see what it's doing and see if I can get it to do full depth cuts from the top.

you can make fusion do what you want but it can be tricky. ive learned alot about fusion of the last 9 months. its what i'm using for all my machining and CAM stuffs. glad to give you a hand if you want. You can share the model with me and i can see if i can help with optimized tool paths and such PM me.

[CPTBadAss]

Looking good man!

[jbondeson]

Looking good man!

I tried to get a video, but I was deathly afraid of having messed up something with the paths and having it crash into the table (or one of the work holding pieces) so I had one hand on power and the other was manning the shop vac.  All I got was 30 seconds of vomit inducing adaptive clearing video   

I'm moving into its new home in the garage so I won't have to be so anal about vacuuming the whole time. Next time I will not fail you and will provide non-vomit-inducing video. 

[sz42]

Wow!  Niiiice!