Machining

Once your toolpaths have been saved then you transfer them over to the CNC either via a network, thumb drive or portable disk. At this stage you will need to adjust various settings and positions on your CNC to match the job setup you specified in the Design/Machining software. This will involve setting up your material in the right orientation, and making sure it will be secure while you’re cutting it. Then you need to load the correct tool and tell the machine where the X, Y and Z reference position is for the tool tip, typically this location represents the zero position for each axis.

Once the machine is setup correctly, the toolpath can be loaded and then executed from the CNC’s control software. The machine will feed the co-ordinates of the toolpath to the machine to continually move its position and create the cuts you setup in your toolpaths. Running a toolpath may take less than a minute or potentially many hours depending on what type of operation it is. Once it is complete, you can run additional toolpaths and if required change the tool and reset the Z zero datum position for the new tool. Once you have run all your toolpaths you can remove the material from the machine.