Messages

16

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: Errors in stl File - Mesh Correction Tool

« on: July 04, 2025, 05:56:04 am »

Thanks for all the comments.

Attached is a screenshot from FreeCad.
Featured are tapered oval spokes that I wanted to reproduce closely.

Is this a candidate for slicing ?
I will investigate silhouette and plane slice".

Duh, sorry about the terminology mix-up.
When I was writing I was thinking "reduced number of cutting paths".
Rendering times were reduced.

I run Linux, so some programs are not available.
But, I will check out Meshmixer, Meshlab and Netfabb.
Blender was used simply because that is all I had.

John.

17

CamBam help (General usage) / Errors in stl File - Mesh Correction Tool

« on: July 03, 2025, 02:06:39 am »

I am milling 5" miniature railway wheels in cast iron using an stl file generated by FreeCad.
The stl file opens and appears Ok in Blender.

The wheel has 8 spokes, so the MOPs are divided up into 8 separate stages of Pocketing and Waterline Finishing to a depth of 9.3 mm.
Using a polyline as a boundary and 5 mm carbide bull cutter, CB took 3.5 h to analyze and 2 h to write out.
The file is 750 kB and runs 36 minutes for an acceptable result.
 
First couple of  pockets went Ok.
Reduced the depth increment from 0.1 mm to 0.2 mm for the 3rd pocket to see the effect on code generation times and finish.
CB spent a couple of hours of analysis, 25 minutes of writing, for a trivial small Gcode file that  is very wrong.

Errors were reported during the process, incomplete polylines etc.

What recommendations can be mode for a stl file mesh correction tool ?

John

18

CamBam help (General usage) / Polylines - Draw and Edit - Changed

« on: June 29, 2025, 05:19:01 am »

I recently added the plug-in Numerical Transform.
It works wonderfully.

But, now drawing and editing of polylines seems different.

Can anyone confirm ?
It could be just my 80 yo self failing !
Perhaps I have always done it incorrectly, and got away with it.

Drawing a polyline now requires the centre button to terminate, I thought is was just the LMB + ESC.
And breaking at intersections no longer works.

I have started searching, but comments welcomed.
John

19

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: Transformation Rotate

« on: June 23, 2025, 10:18:20 am »

Thanks Dave for the suggestion of using the Plug-In for Move/Rotate, I will do that tomorrow.
My wheel is bespoke for a 5" gauge unique locomotive.

My original question is one of consistency.
The Plan view of the wheel is not consistent with the Side views.
The CamBam display appears incorrect.
Is it me ? or a Bug ?

I did some cuts and the mill produces the profile for the front of the wheel, as predicted by the Plan view.

I tried several different efforts using the Tabulated Transform to invert the wheel to get the Plan view with the flange uppermost.
I could not, but my understanding of this tool could be incorrect.
Close perusal of the UK and Fr manuals is planned for tomorrow (evening here is Sydney).

Back to the main question: is my install broken ? or does CamBam have a Bug ? that others know about and can offer advice ?

John.

20

CamBam help (General usage) / Transformation Rotate

« on: June 23, 2025, 05:51:08 am »

I am 3D milling an ordinary railway wheel, 8 spokes and a flange on what I call the back.
Source file is a stl generated by FreeCad and checked on Blender.
First MOPs are intended to be pockets, then Waterline Rough and Finish on the backside.

CamBam opens normally showing a plan view of the wheel.

The XZ and YZ views show the flange uppermost.
But the XY view appears to show the flange at the bottom (checked by slightly moving with ALT+LMB).

Have I got an option incorrectly set somewhere ?

21

CamBam help (General usage) / Scan along Polyline

« on: June 12, 2025, 08:40:32 am »

Can I nominate a polyline for the tool to follow with repeat stepdown to a 3D surface ?

This would be handy for finishing a Waterline Rough/Finish job with a small ball mill without wasting a lot of air cutting time.

Love CB, thanks to all for the efforts to answers way-out questions like mine.
John.

22

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: 3D Scrolling

« on: March 07, 2025, 23:58:15 pm »

Embarrassing !

Found the 3D scroll setting in the Tools Folder, Options selection, "Rotation Mode", and set it to "ALT+Left" - voila, it now works.

Now "I think" I tried that previously without success.
But, my Lubuntu installation has had numerous upgrades since the OP, so that may be the difference.

Keep well,
John.

23

Installation Help / Tool Library - Not Generated

« on: February 22, 2025, 03:03:48 am »

Ubuntu 24.04.
Had problems with CamBam 1.0 rc3 over the last several months, with both the problems described below.

Removed every vestige of CB and did a fresh install, with check of Mono.NET at 6.-- something.
Install did not report any errors or problems.

There is no Tools.xml to be found in my system.

The previous deleted Tools.xml is still available in the Trash.
But this xml file would not open into spreadsheet form, only text edit form.

Additionally, the various dialog boxes do not show the text name of the button.

What to do ?

24

Installation Help / Dialog Box Button Text Disappeared

« on: December 27, 2024, 21:49:37 pm »

CamBam Version 1 on Ubuntu 24.04 and Lubuntu 24.04.

The attached image shows the dialog box when I select "Open".
The text entries on the buttons are missing.

Other dialog boxes show the same problem.

This probably a fault with the windows driver in Linux.
Previous versions of Cambam on previous releases of Linux did not have the problem

Just asking here to see if others have any advice.

25

CamBam help (General usage) / 3D Scrolling

« on: November 23, 2024, 08:11:22 am »

I have an office laptop with Lubuntu and a workshop desktop with Ubuntu.

Cambam documentation states 3D scrolling uses ALT+LMB (Alternate button on keyboard plus depression of left mouse button, then move mouse).

This works fine on Ubuntu, but not on Lubuntu.

Anyone else with a similar problem, and their solution (if any) ?

Keep well,
John.

26

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: FreeCad stl file not opening correctly

« on: February 28, 2024, 06:01:19 am »

Dave, thanks for the response, just what I was hoping might be the case.

The wheel is about 100 mm diameter.
I used the 'export as' option in FreeCad.
The existence of a Mesh Workbench had escaped me so far, but that will be rectified.

Lots of leads there, so it might be some time before I report success.

Thanks, John.

27

CamBam help (General usage) / FreeCad stl file not opening correctly

« on: February 27, 2024, 06:27:54 am »

I have generated a stl file using FreeCad that does not open correctly in CB.
Tried it in Blender with a different (incorrect) result.

I need pointing at a discussion on what aspects of stl files that cause problems.

I suspect a different model-build method in FreeCad will be the solution.

My stl file is 33 Mb, so not attached at the moment.
A picture of the model is attached.
John.

28

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: 3D Milling - Getting Started

« on: December 30, 2023, 08:43:01 am »

Thanks to all the responses, I have learned a lot.
All the links will be exhaustively studied to improve my learning.

To add a point to the discussion, attached is a screen drop of a part wheel design in FreeCad, about 136 mm diameter.
The final design will add cranks, balance weights, etc.
The target is an electric locomotive on 5" gauge.

From the discussions, I am now thinking of attempting a sector-shaped boundary box encompassing a pocket.
Expect polar transformations for the multiple pockets to be done after Gcode generation.
The MOP would be drills, then end mills of decreasing size, then a ball mill, on a cast iron lathe profiled disk.

Then reverse the wheel to do the backside.

Keep well,
John

29

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: 3D Milling - Getting Started

« on: December 28, 2023, 21:30:55 pm »

Thanks Kelly for the help so far,

Please note that this part is a test piece, it will be returned to the stock bin once the lessons have been learned.

The short sloped areas are there, and I want to learn how to machine them with a tool in the z-axis.
My assumption is that Waterline Rough would be the selected MOP.
I expect to be finishing with a ball nose with small depth increments.

My quest is how to convince CB to machine a selected surface without machining any other surface on the part.

I will continue investigating the various available options.
Keep well,
John.

30

CamBam help (General usage) / Re: 3D Milling - Getting Started

« on: December 27, 2023, 06:39:45 am »

Kelly,
Thanks for trying to help, but I am a tad slow.
I have read the referenced document, and tried to understand it, but the fog is still thick.

I have attached a simple file which is my test case.
It is slightly more complex than obvious at first sight, the curve is tangent to two short sloping (0.5 degrees) flat surfaces.

All I want to do is learn how to select surfaces for machining, in this case the curve, or either of the flat surfaces.
End mill in z-axis.

Keep well,
John.