Really nice. But… why is Snoopy holding a knife there? 
(Yeah, I know, that’s his tail.)
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Made my first cut today. Was going for yin yang but somehow wavy line down center became vertical when setting my paths so now it closer resembles Nintendo Switch logo 
.
I messed up dimensions on cad model so it didn’t cut completely through and pockets are pretty shallow, but also never considered tabs so it kinda worked out.
Wondering if lack of detail around inner edges and dropping curve were because I only have 1/4" bit?
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what size bit did you tell the CAM software that you have?
it could be that it was designed for a different size bit and what you are
seeing is the remainder when you are cutting with a smaller bit.
I’m very surprised that you don’t have cuts going along the perimeter of your
shapes to give you a clean edge. but ithout knowing what tools you used to
create it, it’s hard to guess (and the above is also only a guess on the final
cutting behavior, we would need to see the g-code to understand what the machine
was told to do)
David Lang
I currently only have a 1/4" bit so just told it to use that. This is all brand new to me so there’s most likely better ways than what I did. Looking at the model again, I see the part that didn’t get a path.
yinyang.nc (31.9 KB)
Well it cut exactly what you programmed it to cut, tho I know you didn’t mean to leave that wavy part out. Also when I’m looking at the gcode, it shows up in my program as the endmill diameter as being 1/2" instead of 1/4". Which kinda would explain the markings in your pockets. But I could be mistaken about that.
EDIT: Sorry I misread that 1/2" diameter, it’s late and I got the decimal on the wrong side haha overlook that part.
Lol ok, I was hoping you were right and that explained the lines 
I’d say it was a success overall since goal was to test machine and it functioned quite well 
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I agree! My first cut was the sled of course, and the first one, came out looking like a football haha I was no stranger to 3D printing, using gcode, but at one time I thought that was hard to do. Then it just became second nature. But with CNC, you literally have to tell the machine every single move to make. And WE have to do it all ourselves. We don’t have slicers in CNC, which in 3D printing make things so much easier, on a more automated level.
When you used freecad to generate your gcode, did you use the GBRL output? I looked again and I honestly don’t even see a tool defined in the code. I just see the compensated tool path line of code, and it’s 5.0, that’s where I thought you were using a 1/2" bit looking at it through sleepy eyes haha
I can give you one bit of advice, that has really worked for me. I liked MakerCam. It was easy enough to hit the ground running. But it was so buggy and unpredictable. I tried fusion, I tried freecad, I tried easel, pretty much all of the suggestions of cad/cam programs, I tried. What I did find worked well for me, is Estlcam. It’s $59, but you can try the full featured program for free to see if it’s the program for you. I can go from cad, to cam, to cut in no time with it. Maybe give that a try at some point and see what you think.
And I’ll say, overall, yes, it was a success, you have a CNC machine. And it cut exactly what you told it to. You’re there man!
Thanks for taking a look at that. I was honestly expecting a slicer so it was a bit overwhelming trying to figure out the path and job set up. Thought I had configured “default tool” to match the 1/4" bit I have but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Started searching last night for better programs because FreeCad feels dated so I’ll take a look at that Estlcam one you mentioned. 
Edit: Just tried to redo path and found my mistake with tooling. When I selected my tool from list (in FreeCad), I clicked “ok” rather than “create tool controller” so it didn’t get added to job.
Slicers I can manage:
[Same model ran through slicer and 3D printed]
Edited for clarity
NICELY DONE! Congrats on finding the solution! What is that cut out of?
Oops realize now that wasn’t very clear image without scale reference. That was my model ran through a slicer and 3D printed vs through cam and cut 
Edit: Didn’t realize there was a section of forum for first cuts (not sure if able to merge). Think I found my issue so going to try cutting again and post results there instead. 
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Doing some last minute Halloween decorations this weekend. Got it cut out today, will paint and put some kinda stand on it tomorrow.
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Looking good so far. Glad that z plunge was off the piece. 
Was that from finding zero or accidental slip?
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You weren’t supposed to notice that! 
I think it was a combination of a knot in the cheapo RTD and a router bit that had come slightly loose. It hit something that made the upcut bit pull itself into the plywood and out of the router. I slapped the stop button, cranked my spindle RPMs up to 13K, moved the pattern over 2 inches and started over again.
(I also added “Double check the bit is tight” to my pre-flight checklist after this little learning experience. )
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Lol that seems to be a maslow trademark. Have a nice hole and drag mark on my first piece from coupler slipping off router worm screw. Glad it happened at beginning of your cut
Yeah. The whole cut was about half a sheet of plywood, so I would have been unhappy if I wasted the entire thing.
Similar to @Sharpsburg_Woodworke, there is a Peanuts appreciation in our household. Unfortunately, with everything going on this time of year, I failed to take a pic of the final cutout and only have a partially cut pic.
Here’s the finished Snoopy takin’ it easy in the front yard.
And a link if someone wants the SVG/gcode: Easel link
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How well does the MDF stand up to the elements?
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