Trochoidal CAM

[cropwell]

I have just updated my Estlcam to version 8. It looks a very useful CAM facility. Version 7 was a little sparse on features, but for less than £40, it seemed good.

My understanding of the advantage of trochoidal paths was that it puts less force on the cutter, while making swarf at an optimal rate. The DOC can be more, so pocketing is done in fewer passes, hence faster metal removal rates = shorter job time.

The Estlcam video really looks as though the DOC is conservative and the cutter movement too fast in compensation. I would fully expect JAZZ to know his machine and the material he is cutting to set it up to best effect. Although the vid where the cutter snaps and someone says 'Oh F***' wouldn't be shown would it

Cheers,

Rob

[routercnc]

I went through most of the tutorial videos for Estlcam this afternoon and I am very impressed. Trochoidal toolpaths, thread milling, 3D milling, cutting open vectors, . . .So much so that I've downloaded the demo software which is fully functional for a limited period.

It seems to offer much more than Vectric Cut2d for a quarter of the price. Only drawback is does not show a picture of the final cut part, just the toolpaths.