Hey all, I have been searching high and low for some decent CURRENT information on using Fusion with the full Manufacturing extension license that would apply to our machines. I have a Pro4896 with the rotary axis, Centroid boards, and the manufacturing extension on Fusion. Most of what I’m finding for Fusion is either for 5 axis machines for metal, which doesn’t work for this machine or for “hacks” to make the free license work on ours (X axis wrapping) - Are there any channels that show workflow for non-symmetrical true 4th axis workflows in wood that are also not 6+ years old on outdated versions and hardware?
Even here the discussions I’ve found are 4+ years old, and tend to be making the free version work in indexing mode or wrapping paths.
Maybe I’m missing the right processor… right now I am using “EX Rotary mounted along X” by Avid CNC.
AFAIK, the free version of Fusion doesn’t support the rotary at all - hence the wrap scripts. The paid version of Fusion supports 3+1 milling, where it can position the rotary axis for an operation, but keep it fixed through the operation (I’ve used this to do some 3D carvings on the rotary but the results are iffy). Only the manufacturing extensions support coordinated 4 axis motion. These all use the same postprocessor, so I assume Avid’s post supports them.
Searching for “fusion rotary contour” on youtube gives some videos that are only 2 years old but not avid-specific.
I’m about to commit to the manufacturing extensions myself, for a job that needs them, but my machine runs linuxcnc so my experience will be of limited value to most here. I’m assuming (hoping) that there’s a free trial period after which I can rent it by the day.
A carved spindle. I tried doing multiple 3+1 carvings but between tool deflection and spindle deflection, the parts didn’t align, and left seams all over it. I’m hoping that the true rotary options will work better. Unwrapping it won’t work because there are details that wouldn’t survive the transformation. I’d say more but it’s not my design to share.
I cut gun stocks. I use machinist screw jacks under the material to support the material when being cut. It makes for manual index via the MDI between tool paths that require the 4th axis to move. Not ideal but it works.
I remember you saying that, but I’m getting these right up to the chuck and tailstock. I suspect it’s the gantry that’s my problem. I thought “I could just move everything over a little” but I put a lot of effort into making sure the YZ zeros lined up with the center of rotation, so that’s not a good solution.
Plus, there are a lot of rotary moves in the final post. I’d rather these run unattended.
Lastly, it’s an excuse to play with better software
Yeah, but I got an S1000 touch probe to test with, centered it with a test indicator, and I’m careful to rotate the chuck so I’m always touching the same spot… I have a double check that involves milling a small dowel in a predictable way that I can try too, I suppose, but the probe should be reliable.
Like I said, it happens along the whole length, so I’m more likely to suspect it’s the gantry twisting. The edges are about 0.012” so that’s 0.006” per side (assuming one pass is high there and the other is low), which is nearly within spec for an Avid machine. It might be because it’s a 1/4” round nose bit being used on it’s side (ish) as I tend to have problems with that combination anyway. Maybe I just need a new bit. Who knows which fix is the “right” fix? But I’m game to try all of them for fun
Ok, so I ran the carving job with the manufacturing extensions, using Rotary Parallel in a spiral mode, climb cutting, etc. The results were AMAZING compared to 3+1 carving. I suspect that having a consistent tool pressure canceled out any flex problems, and since the bit was always on top, small errors in centering the WCS didn’t matter.
So far I’m still in the 14 day free trial but the text did say I could pay as I go with cloud credits. Also, the way the extensions worked matched all the videos I had seen.
I used deskproto 8 on my mach 3 machine. It got the job done, but there were lots of nasty words spoken. The user interface and I didn’t get along all to well. I tried the Fusion trial and it always crashed before it managed to generate any code. The Fusion UI was a little better, but since it didn’t work I never pursued it. I am just getting my new avid machine up and running. I will be using Deskproto 8 and complaining about it .
This is a part I cut a lot on my rotary. The second photo is the toolpaths from Fusion. The cut paths (Geodesic and Blend) are only available with the manufacturing extension, but man they cut so nice. There is almost no sanding and the parts come out beautiful. Even within Fusion it takes some trial and error to find the right combination of toolpaths. It hurts to chuck down $30 every time I want new toolpaths, but Fusion does such a good job I can’t imagine trying to do it any other way. The other nice feature with Fusion is the ability to offset the toolpath slightly so the ball-end mill cuts further out on the flutes rather than the bottom of the bit.
