CAM for CNC code for cutting trispokedovetiles (3-spoke dovetailing tiles)

[Peter Dow]

and the path looks OK but if I use a cutter with a positive diameter then there will be gaps of cutter width between the tiles once assembled, so for a router to cut the tiles they would need to be arranged as densely on the material as possible but not in their assembled pattern.

- Nick

Yes that makes sense.

So to aid cutting with a milling router bit I should add a new code generator option for "densely arranged" as opposed to "as assembled".

I have read that with laser cutting, the kerf width can be of the order of 0.5mm or even narrower, is that right?

So it might it be the case that for some cutting methods, such as laser cutting, if the kerf width is narrow enough, the code as is, would allow the tiles to be cut in their assembled pattern?

Such interlocking tiles probably require to be slightly smaller than the mathematical shape to allow for tolerances because if the tiles are in any way too big, they definitely won't assemble wheres being slightly too small may be necessary?

On the other hand, if cutting very small tiles, then a laser cut kerf width would become relatively bigger and perhaps then the undersized tiles would not interlock together, being too loose, meaning that once again, a "densely arranged" cutting option would be needed?