Not sure if this has been talked about, but thought it worth mentioning. I have been a little frustrated at all the long traversing while cutting fold lines and inside cuts all over the sheet.

Simple fix that I recently discovered is this. Once all you Phlatedges are in place select the entire part, and group all these features. You need only do this on parts that have internal and fold or centrline cuts. When you output the .cnc file the phlat script will cut the fold, centerline, and inside cuts, then the perimeter of the part before moving on to the next part in the file.

Cut times are shorter now.

Ken

 

That's how you are supposed to do it, group each part to determine cut order. Or are you saying something different?

 

I do not think that I am saying anything different. Just that I just learned this. Are you saying that this is standard practice? If so, I have somehow missed that lesson. Consequently, can group cutting order be predetermined? if so, how?

Ken

 

Kwok, I think Ken is saying he groups cuts within a part. For example if you have a part with a variety of inside, centerline and fold cuts then you can group each cut separately in the order that you want them to be cut. If you don't do this and just group the whole part then the order of the cuts within that group is pretty random and can lead to lots of extra travelling between cuts.

Si.

 

:?: How do you select individual cuts to group them in a specific order? Do you need to make each cut a component, first? :?:
I tried to do that with my butterflies but wasn't able to just select the cuts, only the complete part.

 

Dennis,
You have no doubt noticed that the Phlatscript will cut center and fold lines first, then inside, and after that the outside cuts. I especially find this useful on fuselage side where I may have all of those features in one part. Select all the features after you have added the Phlat Edges and group them. The Phlatscript will cut all the features in each group before moving to another group or any ungrouped parts. This a great way of getting better quality parts as well. Just in case the foam gets bumped or slips for what ever reason.

Ken

 

dz1sfb,

Some people, here, are speculating you are talking about sub-groups. But I still get the distinct impression, that previously you never grouped anything. Can you confirm that?

I think we all learned about this in videos that Mark made early on. And that's the way, the phlatscript was written to specify cut order of the parts. For example, if you start at 1hr 58min of this recent "X-41 Deltastorm" video, you will see Mark doing it: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1456027

-Kwok

 

Kwok,

You are correct. I was not grouping previously.

Thanks,
Ken