I had another go at my loco wheel today.
I downloaded a free 30 day trial of MeshCam last night and was quite impressed of how easy it was to get some output from it.
I used the same stl model which was used to generate the code from Aspire.
MeshCam generated two files for me - roughing & finishing.
The Aspire generated code took 19 minutes to finish the wheel. The MeshCam files a total of 80 minutes! (44 for roughing and 36 for finishing.)
The finished item looks much better!
![:thumbup:](https://madmodder.net/Smileys/default/happy0034.gif)
The rim would be good enough to run on (if it wasn't made of MDF) and the roots and rads on all the spokes are finished properly. (There is a mystery pyramid shaped lump on one of the spokes that wasn't cleaned up (on the spoke at about 7:30 near the hub).
![:scratch:](https://madmodder.net/Smileys/default/icon_scratch.gif)
)
First picture is of the wheel after roughing:
![](http://listerengine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10017/TenderWheelRoughedMeshcam.jpg)
Next is after finishing:
![](http://listerengine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10017/TenderWheelFinishedMeshcam.jpg)
Finished Meshcam wheel:
![](http://listerengine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10017/TenderWheelMeshcam.jpg)
Finished Aspire wheel - note the lack of full radii on the section of the spokes and odd terminations of the fillets on both ends of the spokes:
![](http://listerengine.com/coppermine/albums/userpics/10017/WheelMDF.jpg)
I tried to video some of the process (turn the volume down - it's very noisy with the CNC and vacuum cleaner running and I don't know how to edit it!):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/16648905@N04/7048228979/in/photostreamI'm sure I could dramatically reduce the cutting time by roughing the spokes with Cut2d and finishing with MeshCam after adjusting some of the settings. I think it would still take too long to cut out of steel.
![:(](https://madmodder.net/Smileys/default/sad.gif)
Next thing to try is one without the radii on the spokes - I think it's these that take most of the time and the wheel may look OK without them.
Phil.