Making a mirrored toolpath

There are two ways to do a mirrored copy of a toolpath in MadCAM. Either you make a copy of the toolpath and rotate/move the copy into the new position, OR you do a mirror command and then Group repair. When doing a mirror of the toolpath MadCAM looses the reference to the start point for the new path, but that's an easy fix with the Group Repair command. To see the the new path in the simulator you have to reselect all the parts.

This clip is available in HD. Maximize the video screen and increase the resolution and you'll have a crisp clear view. As usual, I run this demo in a virtual environment and it makes the simulator acting a bit odd. Try it for real!

Three alternatives, same model

These are a couple of examples (a Rhino file from cnczone.com discussion) to cut a small diamond style model. I have no idea what type of material this is going to be made of, so these strategies might be bad. If it's any type of soft material, from alu to sponge, this would be fine. In alu there should be a roughing path of course.

I'm doing the edge surfaces with 3D milling, and restrict the area with different kind of regions. Not needed, but it makes the milling time so much shorter.

This clip is available in HD. Maximize the video screen and increase the resolution and you'll have a crisp clear view. As usual, I run this demo in a virtual environment and it makes the simulator acting a bit odd. Try it for real!

AND, there's a fourth way to do it, which also us a prefered way if you would like to use all steps in 3D-surfacing. Z-levels, by Joakim himself (MadCAM).