Shape manager retard

[DanEpps]

Sometimes the Profile section of the Part Editor seems to defy all logic. I don't know how many times I have scratched my head until it was bloody trying to figure out how to do something in it. It is somewhat paradoxical, being extremely simplistic while at the same time being one of the most complex sections of eCabinets. It is my favorite part of eCabinets and, at the same time, my most hated part.

Once you think you have a choke-hold on it, something throws you yet another curve.

When you are looking at the tool (where you set the plunge, offset, etc), the yellow area represents the part to be profiled. The top edge relates to the top side of the part as you look at it from the end. The blue area to the left and the area above the yellow section is "air."

PE5.jpg (39.87 KiB) Viewed 1133 times

Left offset moves the bit away from the part to the left, right offset moves the bit into the part to the right. Negative plunge moves the bit deeper into the part and positive plunge makes a shallower cut.

You can either make the tool so the cutting tip is centered at 0,0 and control the precise location using plunge and offsets or you can make the tool so that it has the correct plunge and offset without adjustment. The latter is what I did in my example.

When you make the tool geometry outside eCabinets, make sure you use ONLY arcs and lines--NO SPLINES! Then just open the DXF file in Shape Manager and create your tool. You may have to extend/trim line intersections.