Hey, Quick question. How do I make tabs to keep the material in place while cutting?
Thanks!
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Abundance does not currently have a way to make tabs. I have pretty much entirely stopped using tabs to hold parts in place. I’ve found that I haven’t had any issues with skipping them and it saves so much time on sanding 
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With a vertical frame, using tabs is almost mandatory.
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Yeah, that is a good point. I think the solution there is to make it so that the cut always finishes at the top of the part letting it drop away from the bit.
There is an option when generating gcode to sort the parts by how close they are to any side of the sheet, but I’m still working on making it pick the entry point for where to start cutting.
G-code generation in Abundance is still very much beta, but its the top priority
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Javier Betancourt wrote:
With a vertical frame, using tabs is almost mandatory.
small parts also benefit from tabs a lot.
an alternate thing you can do is to adjust your cut depth so you leave just a
fraction of a mm not cut through. then you can take a flush trim bit and clean
that up (or sand it off after cutting through the thin material with a knife)
David Lang
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At some point, I forgot to put the tabs on a small piece, and it got caught between the dust cover and the sled. When the machine moved to the next piece and lowered the Z-axis, it messed up a large, important piece.
Letting the cut finish on top only works for square or very symmetrical pieces. I personally make very asymmetrical cuts and I’m more concerned with arranging the pieces to maximize material usage.
I work with plywood, and I don’t know if it’s a local problem, but the sheets aren’t the same thickness across the entire area, giving me a margin of error of 0.5mm. Cutting intricate pieces with a knife is a very tedious task. I tested this by trying to remove the marks left by the tabs.
I haven’t tried Abundance yet, but I consider tabs necessary in my setup.
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I was recently cutting some whiteboard MDF that was only .115 inches thick. The suction from the vacuum actually moved the material and messed up my cut.
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Bar wrote:
Yeah, that is a good point. I think the solution there is to make it so that the cut always finishes at the top of the part letting it drop away from the bit.
that doesn’t always work in practice, and small parts get moved more.
David Lang
At the shop I work at we always leave 1/16” of material across the entire piece and use a flush trim router to cut it out with. The 1/16” is enough to negate any material thickness issues.
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That sounds good, but I still need to use a flush trim router to clean up the cut. I like using 1/8" bits for my Maslow; it moves very smoothly, and I suppose that using less force helps the components last longer. However, I can’t find a 1/8" flush trim router, and I’d like to try it.
Javier Betancourt wrote:
That sounds good, but I still need to use a flush trim router to clean up the
cut. I like using 1/8" bits for my Maslow; it moves very smoothly, and I
suppose that using less force helps the components last longer. However, I
can’t find a 1/8" flush trim router, and I’d like to try it.
found one in just a couple min of looking, this one isn’t cheap
https://www.amazon.com/Whiteside-Router-Bits-RFTD1600-Diameter/dp/B0012JJZLS/
at 1/8" they don’t have a bearing, just a smooth portion of the bit
David Lang
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Hey, thank you so much. I hadn’t seen this option; there are still search limitations when switching between languages.
Although this option doesn’t appeal to me much since I have to flip the sheet and cut blindly… but it gives me an idea I hadn’t considered. I think I can use the Maslow 1/8" router bits ( 1/8th Inch Two Flute Router Bit – Maslow CNC ) using the smooth top as a guide, at least on 15mm and 18mm sheets. These bits only have a cutting edge for 10mm and a machining area of ​​14.3mm, then continue smooth with a 1/8" diameter.
Javier Betancourt wrote:
Although this option doesn’t appeal to me much since I have to flip the sheet
and cut blindly… but it gives me an idea I hadn’t considered. I think I can
use the Maslow 1/8" router bits (
1/8th Inch Two Flute Router Bit – Maslow CNC ) using
the smooth top as a guide, at least on 15mm and 18mm sheets. These bits only
have a cutting edge for 10mm and a machining area of ​​14.3mm, then continue
smooth with a 1/8" diameter.
yep, that will work.
Daivd Lang
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