AutoCad drawn parts cut out on a Thermwood?

[dalewills]

Is it possible to design complex shaped parts in AutoCad, load the dxf file into E-Cabinets, peform cut thoughs, rebates, holes etc and then cut out the part on a Thermwood. If this is not possible, is this kind of program integration on the agenda for your blokes at Thermwood? Or even a drawing section to E-Cabinets where you can design complex shaped parts with more ease than what it currently take in E-Cabinets with the intention to machine them on a Thermwood?
Also, How about adding in the ability to add as many hinges as you like to a door?

Dale

[Nick M Singer]

Dale, it would be easier to design the complex part in ACad and just load the DXF into Rolling Nest and have the machine cut it

[Forrest Chapman]

Dale,

As Nick mentioned it is now pssible to do this at the controller.

Also as Jason has stated before, 5.2 adds as many hinges as you like by allowing you to place a max distance between them. We are currently beta testing and from my experience this function works well.

Forrest

[Nick M Singer]

Dale further to your query and dealing specifically with the hinge boring problem, we here in SA probably build in a similar fashion to you guys in OZ and also get some tall doors that need extra hinges. Even though Forrest mentioned this is being addressed in V5.2 there is a current workaround that is very effective. There is a thread for it somewhere but in a nutshell just create a hinge pattern with 2 hinge holes spaced about 500mm apart and apply that pattern when you need more holes in the door. If you need more info on this just call or wait a little longer till they release v5.2......finally!

[DanEpps]

Good tip Nick! I love it when folks come up with creative solutions like this.

You can create just about anything with eCabinets if you don't constrain your thinking to the conventional.

[dalewills]

I have read into loading dxf files from outside cad programs directly into the controller and was wondering what the difference is between dado cut and a pocket cut. Arn't they kinda the same?

Dale

[Pete Riddle]

Dale,

Technically, maybe they are. But the Control Nesting feature on the Supercontrol treats them differently. A Dado will only cut up one side and down the other with the tool specified in the layer name. A Pocket will refer to the "pocket tool setup" area of Control Nesting and use whatever tool is there to create a toolpath that will clear the entire area at the specified depth.

Hope this helps,

[dalewills]

Pete,
Thanks for your reply. While we are on the subject I have a couple of other questions in regards to this area. I refer to the sample dxf file that Thermwood supplies in the online control nesting manual. Do the pocket cuts, drill operations and the like, have to be linked to the outline cut (possibly polyline or grouped?). Once nested, how do these operations know to nest within the outline, hold their position and cut like they are drawn? This answer may answer my next question. Can you have multiple parts within a dxf file? Or do you have to have an a separate dxf file to each individual part?
Thanks for your time.

Here is the sample dxf file location. http://order.ecabinetsystems.com/updates/layers.dxf.

Cheers Dale

[Nick M Singer]

Hi Dale. In essence only one part per DXF. The operations you are talking about must be contained within the "outline" and will be cut as drawn. You could cut many parts using one DXF by drawing a large "outline" that represents your stock and then drawing the objects you are going to cut out of it using chaincompout etc.

[Pete Riddle]

Dale,

Nick is correct, but keep in mind Control Nesting is a NESTING program. As a rule, I recommend everyone create indivdual dxfs, layered and named correctly. Then let CN take care of nesting each of them within a specified sheet of material. This allows you to juggle piece quantities on the fly and meet whatever needs you have. CN has several settings that help accomodate most applications.

I hope this helps.