For this project, I had to create the following widget in inventor, then cut it out of foam using the CNC mill:
It was a relatively simple process once I figured out the scale of the drawing, though later on I had to change the height of the widget in order for the cutting process to work properly.
Using Inventor
Having had several Inventor-based projects now, I was able to quickly create the widget with the use of the rectangle tool, the filet tool, and extrusion. I started off with an extruded box, then extruded a second box (the long portion of the widget) from the surface. I then drew a square on the top surface of the upper section and cut it from the extrusion, as well as doing the same for the second hole on the lower portion. After that, I was able to use the filet tool to round off all of the edges to create the rounded shapes.
As I stated before, I later had to change the extrusion height so I could cut it; this left me with this as a final product:
Using Fusion 360
Once I finished making the widget in Inventor, just like with my maze, I transferred it into Autodesk Fusion 360. From there, I set the widget up to be cut on the mill; I got the simulation to run properly and got the G code. Having now done this once before now, the process was quite a bit easier, though I had a few issues getting the toolpaths to cut out the holes as they were supposed to. However, in the end I only had to set one option to zero to fix the problem; pretty simple.
cutting
The cutting process for my widget went way more smoothly than the maze; once I loaded my file in, taped my foam piece down, and aligned the bit to begin cutting, the only thing left to do was hit start. Within 10 minutes, my piece was finished. Other than a little bit of roughness along a few edges, the piece turned out exactly how it was supposed to.
The most difficult part of the whole process was just detaching the tape from the cutting surface of the mill.
Summary
Over the course of this project, reinforced my understanding of Fusion 360; this project basically just required more of the same that the last had. I needed to import a file from Inventor into Fusion, had to add toolpaths for the mill to cut along, make sure that the CAM is set up properly by testing it with a simulation, and get the G code. However, this project gave me more experience with the different CAM settings, as this project was way more 3-dimensional than the maze and required a slightly different setup. It was arguably more successful than the maze project, as I had far fewer technical difficulties this time around.