How do I rabbit around an opening after a cutout?

[Steve Unruh]

I'm designing a rather complicated machine case in e-cabinets that has cutouts in 3/4 plywood that are cutout, but then need to be rabbited about one quarter inch deep and one half inch wide, completely around the cutout to insert quarter inch clear acrylic so one can see inside the machine. Drawing this in the part editor always ends up completely pocketing the 1/4 inset over the whole cut out. How do I set it up to only rabbit 1/4" deep 1/2" wide around the perimeter of the opening? I'm sure its just a simple thing I'm missing somewhere, but if someone could steer me in the right directions I would appreciate it.

Steve

[Leo Graywacz]

make your initial hole and then using the same technique make a hole 1/2" larger in the same area and only cut it 1/4" deep instead of all the way through.

What shape is the cutout?

[Daniel Odom]

You can use the profile edge tool in the part editor by creating or importing a flat tool in shape manager, set the comp outside the hole and profile modeler will cut it on the machine if it's set up with a the right bit.

[Steve Unruh]

Leo, I've tried that; that was the way I originally drew the cutouts and it works after a fashion. there are 3 rectangular openings that are approximately 8 X 14 two that are 12 X 14 and one that is 14 X 16 inches. It takes a long time to pocked that top quarter inch. I'm going to be cutting 10 units at a time and each use about (2) 4 X 8 sheets. These are nested, or course with flip ops. I've never used the profile modeler - will it work in situations like this and during a nest? as Daniel was suggesting?

Steve

[Steve Unruh]

I think its better to post the file so you can see what I'm working with. The front of the machine is the back and the back is the front. Take it to the editor and you'll see what I mean.

Steve

[Sean O' Hare]

Steve,
offset the shallow cut out by a fraction, .1mm so that the software sees them as 2 separate cuts.

[Steve Unruh]

Thanks for the response - but they do operate as two separate cuts - the first is a cut through for the initial opening and then the tool comes back later and makes the full pocket cut, starting at the the center of what is the cutout and pocketing all the way to the outside, over the cut-through.

[Scott Marshburn]

[quote="Steve Unruh"]Leo, I've tried that; that was the way I originally drew the cutouts and it works after a fashion. there are 3 rectangular openings that are approximately 8 X 14 two that are 12 X 14 and one that is 14 X 16 inches. It takes a long time to pocked that top quarter inch. I'm going to be cutting 10 units at a time and each use about (2) 4 X 8 sheets. These are nested, or course with flip ops. I've never used the profile modeler - will it work in situations like this and during a nest? as Daniel was suggesting?

Steve
The profiles for the rabbit will nest in control nesting. You would have to set up a tool in The Default tool group in profile modler smaller than the rabbit i.e. 1/4" wide rabbit would need a tool set up in profile modler that has a dia.less than 1/4".If you want the corners squared up then a 1/8" or smaller tool set up as well would go back and clean up the corners.

[Kerry Fullington]

Steve,

http://www.thermwood.com/forums/viewtop ... =12786HERE is a link to a thread where I was having the same problem.
I used the method of cutting out the center and then profiling the rabbet in the part editor with another pass using an 1/8" tool to clean the corners.

I talked to Thermwood about this and you will have to either do it the way I did or the way Sean suggests by moving over a tiny bit which tricks Control Nesting into thinking they are two separate cuts.
Control Nesting won't do two pocket cuts at two different depths when the pockets have a common boundary.

[Steve Unruh]

Thanks to all of you that responded. With this information I think I'll work it out..........

steve