rob
Let us know your progress please
What add in have you found that will do nesting of the parts?
I have tried a few but still lots of work to get the prts flat on a sheet to cut
Also creating tabs for interlovking parts can be done bit lots of work
Post some pics when you van i am very interested and spent lots of time on this
Dave

Originally Posted by qy8flyer

rob
Let us know your progress please
What add in have you found that will do nesting of the parts?
I have tried a few but still lots of work to get the prts flat on a sheet to cut
Also creating tabs for interlovking parts can be done bit lots of work
Post some pics when you van i am very interested and spent lots of time on this
Dave

Both devWing Cam 2 and devFus Cam 3 apply automatic nesting and bridging, and other optional features like labelling, part splitting for smaller cnc machine and so on.

Originally Posted by qy8flyer

rob
Let us know your progress please
What add in have you found that will do nesting of the parts?
I have tried a few but still lots of work to get the prts flat on a sheet to cut
Also creating tabs for interlovking parts can be done bit lots of work
Post some pics when you van i am very interested and spent lots of time on this
Dave

Hey Dave,

I was using the "Nester" add-in in Fusion 360 but started to manually use the Joint function (which I think is what Nester is essentially doing via a macro). Under "Assemble" you'll find Joint, and you'll want to create a Planar joint. This will allow you to select two components and have them aligned on the same plane. You can then move the part along the plane to lay your your parts as you wish. You'll want to select your parts to be cut, then the "stock" that you're using. I prefer to create a component to represent whatever material I'm putting on my Shapeoko.

Where I was running into a problem was that I couldn't move the part once I joined it with my sheet stock. I finally figured that out too. Some of the demos I saw on Nester suggested creating your sheet stock that you'd be milling as a separate drawing file, then copying it into the drawing that you'd be using for your CAM work. You'll want to make your sheet stock fixed, so that the part can move separately (else they move together). To fix your stock you'll want to "Ground" it. The problem I found was that I couldn't ground an imported component for some reason. However, if I created the stock right in the drawing then I could ground it, do the planar joint with my parts, then move them as I wish. Works nicely

In hindsight I might try Nester again since I've figured out my grounding issue. The only other problem I see using Nester is that since you select a bunch o f parts to move at one time, it's sometimes hard to figure out how many will actually fit on your stock. If you have too many or too few then you end up undoing the command then trying a different number of components. If you just go with the simple planar joint they you just do them one at a time.

Here's the link to NESTER:
https://github.com/tapnair/NESTER

And here's a demo on using it:

Fusion 360: Nester (5 min 27 sec)

Good luck, and I'll try to post some pics this weekend.

Rob

Thanks rob
I have used nester and there is another add that will lay the parts flat
I think they use the same concept of the joint/ assy feature
I have also done it manually like you are doing
Problem is how do you make changes?
I found that if you copy a component and move it to a flat position for cutting it will reflect changes.
All these methods work but its so much easier in devwing products
I was intereted if you had a better way
Keep us posted i am very anxious to see your progress
Dave

Also one ot theadvantqges to going cnc is to take advantage of interlocking components like rib and spar
So we can build more percise with biult in jig and fixturing

Can we model these features in f360? Yes but you have to specify each peice of geometey for the male and female parts etc
And yes if you spent the time you could paramertize it but its time consuming
For wood airplane parts there is a better way
This is all done automatically in devx

Here are some screen shots to show how the nesting/cut file process works in /defus

great slideshow mark, you should be getting some commission check from durone!

Thanks Dave
I'm glad these programs are available, I don't have a CAD background like you and a lot others on this forum have and without Devwing/Devfus it would be very difficult for me to get the results I'm getting
I definitely would encourage anyone to download the demo's and give them a try

Originally Posted by qy8flyer

Also one ot theadvantqges to going cnc is to take advantage of interlocking components like rib and spar
So we can build more percise with biult in jig and fixturing

Can we model these features in f360? Yes but you have to specify each peice of geometey for the male and female parts etc
And yes if you spent the time you could paramertize it but its time consuming
For wood airplane parts there is a better way
This is all done automatically in devx

Just FYI - with Fusion you don't have to model the male and female parts of interconnecting joints. You just need to model one side and use the Combine (Cut) command from the Assembly menu and Fusion will automatically make the mating cuts.

Don't get me wrong - devCAD looks sweet, and I will probably check it out. However I do like trying to master Fusion 360 (or at least get a lot better at it). Plus Fusion 360 is free for makers and small business owners. At least we have options!

Rob

Is there a secret to getting the Devfus setup 3 program to run. I am able to download the program, but it won't execute.

I thought this would allow me to evaluate the programs suitability for my needs. I thought this was the "Demo" version before I purchased the complete version or is there another "Demo" version?

Thanks


Charlie

Originally Posted by cpc625

Is there a secret to getting the Devfus setup 3 program to run. I am able to download the program, but it won't execute.

I thought this would allow me to evaluate the programs suitability for my needs. I thought this was the "Demo" version before I purchased the complete version or is there another "Demo" version?

Thanks


Charlie

Probably your antivirus blocks it, insert it in the antivirus safe list

Could not find the safe list in Norton, so still unable to download.

Charlie

Hobby 1 - Model Airplanes
Hobby 2 - CNC machine
Hobby 3 - CAD techniques
Hobby 4 - CAM / Toolpathing strategy
Hobby 5 - Cutting tools / speeds / feeds
Hobby 6 - Hold down strategies
Hobby 7 - Dust collection
Hobby 8 - 3D printing
Hobby 9 - Material choice / temperatures / speeds
Hobby 10 - Airplanes again? I need a break from making stuff.

Originally Posted by cpc625

Could not find the safe list in Norton, so still unable to download.

Charlie

Try to disconnect the pc from the web and to stop all the features odf the antivirus. If in this way devFus works, you know the cause of the problem

@Charlie,
did you get the program to install? can you post some screenshots maybe we can help.
I have installed the demo a few times over the years and haven't had an issue ,
dave