When I said it was a whole day slicing Agent Chevalier, I should clarify. The actual slicing in STL Slicer was only a couple of hours.
The rest of the time was spent on file conversion, and part orientation. Hex doesn't import .STL, so that means I have to import, then save each piece out. I had to bring the pieces into Hexagon so I could orientate them on the XY. This takes a while :(
You can orient the pieces in Aspire for further slicing, but as the parts export from STL Slicer in the orientation they were created, it can be a bit of guesswork. A little off here and there, could lead to disastrous results on the final model.
Then it was just a matter of bringing them all into Aspire for layer slicing and machining!
In order to keep the hand finishing to a minimum after cutting, I strategically sectioned off each angle change in the model for toolpathing. This would let the cutter travel in the optimum direction for the final finish toolpaths. Then I combined all the separate toolpaths into one cut large cut file.
In order to keep the material waste to a minimum, I cut the second layer of the pieces as blocks, then glued them where they were required. Using our Techno, I cut the blocks to there final profile shape, then ran the second layer 3d toolpaths on just those areas. This kept the waste to a minimum.
The process was repeated for every piece of spy guy that was thicker than the 2" HDU we were using.
It took a total of 10 hours to machine all the parts for 2 guys.
This also included running our LC3024 for any of the smaller parts that would fit on it.
With the exception of the hands. I left these until last, as they were the most troubling to deal with.......
8)
JWO
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