4 ms·

Although you can make most shapes with a CNC machining center, there are definitely optimal shapes and non-optimal shapes. Seemingly simple things like the rati

Although you can make most shapes with a CNC machining center, there are definitely optimal shapes and non-optimal shapes. Seemingly simple things like the ratio between inside corner radius and depth of a pocket can drive the cost up. (eg. a small pocket radius forces the machine to use a smaller/weaker cutter, at depths the tool deflects/chatters and becomes less accurate). It's basically the core of design for manufacturability/lean design thought process. 3D printing avoids a lot of those concerns, but for most metal things I still think it's more trouble than it's worth.

shabble 14y ago
I know modern CNC toolpath generators can be pretty complicated beasts, but I'm not sure to what extent they can use the sorts of constraints or tradeoffs you mention to optimise their flow. The optimiser for a deposit-then-machine type workflow sounds even more interesting (and difficult). Is it worth printing those extra structures you're going to need to remove later? Maybe, if it means you can do some finicky machining operations in a different order later...