New Support Examples
I’ve got most of the new geometry support code working and it’s much better than before. First, the way that each position is selected is much more robust; you should no longer have any trouble placing them where you need them. You can also see that they have a new shape in the pictures below, they’re now elliptical. Each point on the ellipse is intersected with the model to ensure an accurate fit. This means that you should not have any gaps at the edges of the support if it meets a curved surface and, if you’ve got a thin walled part, you should never have the support break through to the interior. The elliptical shape keeps the perimeter of the support closer to its center which should reduce the likelihood of part of the support missing the geometry. The new code can handle a miss but it will always be better to avoid the problem in the first place. Purists may not like the new shape because it’s got a smaller cross section and, as a result, will be less strong. The new code I mentioned a few days ago about only machining one tool diameter away from the geometry in the future, as opposed to clearing the whole area as it does now, will keep the effective length of the supports shorter. I think this will more than offset the reduced cross section.
I just need to fix the dialogs to let you have better control over the Z placement and the new geometry support system can probably be called done. Unfortunately it isn’t something I want to release without the new code to only machine the minimum area around the model. I got the core algorithm for that working today so I just need to integrate it with the toolpath code for that to be ready as well.
Comments
5 Responses to “New Support Examples”
Robert, I like the direction that you are taking the supports. What I have been doing for supports is superimposing a tall thin support and a short wide support, to give a ” ” shape. This gives the stiffness without the bulk of a solid support. Easier to trim and file flush with the contours of the part. Will you still allow superimposing supports?
Best regards,
Randy
Oops, I forgot the blog software filters a lot of puncuation. The resulting support is a “plus sign” shape.
Randy
Yes, you will still be able to do that. It never occurred to me to try what you’ve been doing but it sounds like a good idea.
-Robert
I like the elliptical supports, it may help prevent dwell marks as the cutter runs across them.
I also like the left hand tool panel, didn’t think I would, but having the main features just one click away makes for a quicker setup in my case as I tend to try a lot of different settings to get thinks how I want them.
It’s looking good Robert
Glad you like it. It’s always difficult to make a big change like that when you’ve got a lot of people using the program that don’t necessarily want that type of change. I’m eager to get the rest of the left pane done, I think it’ll open a lot of possibilities that the current menu-driven UI doesn’t easily support.
-Robert