dovetail cutting problem

Mark Hesketh · Post by **Mark Hesketh** » Mon, May 07 2007, 6:23AM

having a problem with cutting my dovetail drawers. when it does the outline pass on a drawer part with 2 male ends (single pass with the outline tool on the top and bottom edges of the part), the first pass which is supposed to leave a skin does NOT leave a skin, it cuts right through. i loose more parts to this than you can possibly imagine... or maybe you can... horrible way to start my monday morning.

any suggestions?

Pete Riddle · Post by **Pete Riddle** » Mon, May 07 2007, 7:47AM

Mark,

2 questions,

What version of CN are you running?

What is your \"Double Pass Size\" set to in CN settings?

Mark Hesketh · Post by **Mark Hesketh** » Mon, May 07 2007, 7:58AM

i am running CN V5.25, i was having troubles with 5.26, so i reverted to 5.25... but this problem has been there since the dovetails were introduced.
my double pass size is set to 450\"^2... nice and big...
my skin thickness is set to 0.05\"... and it does leave a skin on all other parts on the first outline pass, just not on the parts that have a male end on both ends

Ryan Hochgesang · Post by **Ryan Hochgesang** » Mon, May 07 2007, 9:06AM

Hi Mark,

It seems to me that you need to check the value listed within the SETTINGS of Control Nesting under the Button \"Blind DoveTail\" (Upper Right Hand Corner of dialogue). The third option (Material Thickness to run Outline Cut...) will determine if a skin is left for drawer parts. Please keep us informed of your progress so that we can ensure your up and running.

Mark Hesketh · Post by **Mark Hesketh** » Mon, May 07 2007, 9:25AM

ok, checked that value and it was thicker than the material we cut drawers from. I have now changed that to the thickness of our drawer material... that is what i should do, right? don't have any more drawers to cut for at least a few days, but will definately watch to see if this helps.

Thanks for checking into this for me

Ryan Hochgesang · Post by **Ryan Hochgesang** » Mon, May 07 2007, 9:38AM

That should do the trick Mark. If you have any issues, let us know and we'll take it from there.

Mark Taylor · Post by **Mark Taylor** » Thu, May 10 2007, 10:07PM

I've experienced the same problem with my dovetail drawer boxes...I changed the setting (which, if you read the description does not address the skin issue) and it did not change the cut.

Not only did the cutter cut through the side cuts in the first pass (it also ran a second time as if it had left a skin) the pattern for cutting the male dovetails changed. Always before the machine cut the dado for the male tails and then cut all the dovetails (through cut here) before running the rest of the pieces. This time part of the male dovetails cut as usual and about half of them didn't cut at all...then when the router made the inital outline pass is cut the male dovetails for the rest of the pieces (leaving a skin on the male dovetails).

Something is very wrong

Mark

Ryan Hochgesang · Post by **Ryan Hochgesang** » Fri, May 11 2007, 1:27PM

Mark,

I'm not sure I totally understand what your experiencing here, so if you can send (program@thermwood.com) us a copy of your Export file from Control nesting, along with the .esa file of the drawer box and the actual cnc code you ran when it did cut correctly, we'll just have to take a look.

Thanks!

Forrest Chapman · Post by **Forrest Chapman** » Mon, May 14 2007, 1:02PM

Mark T,

I'm having an issue similar to yours. This occured about 3 months ago as well after an update. I'm running 5.27 now. Whats really interesting is that I ran 3 sets of drawers with no problems. Then nested a set this morning out of different material and got the issue of cut thru to deep.

Give me a call,
Forrest
1-864-226-5256

Mark Hesketh · Post by **Mark Hesketh** » Tue, May 15 2007, 12:16PM

Mark T:

Sounds like you are having the same problem as I am having. It makes it much more likely that certain parts will get moved around and destroyed, and it also makes deeper cuts into the spacer board. I end up re-cutting a few of these parts in almost every batch of drawers.

Ryan Hochgesang · Post by **Ryan Hochgesang** » Tue, May 15 2007, 2:04PM

I've seen this time and time again, where the wasteboard thickness is incorrect or tool sensor switch is not setup correctly after a flycut operation. Or that the spoilboard has warpage etc.... Even once tool length sensor is setup correctly, you will typically have to tweak the daylight value of the dovetail profile tool to get good fit on drawers. Please look vary carfully at these things as well. If you still do not find resolution, you will need to submit files as I have suggested earlier in this posting.

(program@thermwood.com)

- Export file from Control nesting
- .esa file of the drawer box
- cnc code you ran when it did cut correctly

Mark Taylor · Post by **Mark Taylor** » Tue, May 15 2007, 2:38PM

Ryan it has nothing to do with the wasteboard settings, tool sensor switch or anything like that...all of the other parts cut perfectly correct except for pieces with two male dovetail ends. If the wasteboard or other setting were wrong, then the tools would cut through when roughing out the outline of other drawer box pieces as well...but it doesn't - it leaves a perfect skin as expected. It's only the outline cut (which is down the two sides of the part, the male dovetails have already be cut through) on the parts with (2) two sets of male dovetails (which are the backs of the slide-in drawer box).

Thanks
Mark

Ryan Hochgesang · Post by **Ryan Hochgesang** » Tue, May 15 2007, 3:53PM

Files for review.................