Multiple passes on my cut path

[AndyZ]

Hi everyone, Brand new to this with a recently acquired PlasmaCAM 4X4 with Design Edge software. I have only made a couple cuts so far and have allot to learn with the programming aspect. Today I cut a simple design out but my torch made three passes around the same cut path before I shut it down. So far I am stumped as to why it would do this. Any ideas would be appreciated.

[weldguy]

What plasma cutter are you using?

What thickness of material were you cutting?

What was your amperage set to on the plasma cutter?

Was your ground clamp connected to the material you were cutting?

[adbuch]

Hi everyone, Brand new to this with a recently acquired PlasmaCAM 4X4 with Design Edge software. I have only made a couple cuts so far and have allot to learn with the programming aspect. Today I cut a simple design out but my torch made three passes around the same cut path before I shut it down. So far I am stumped as to why it would do this. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Andy - please post your pcm file with cut paths and we will have a look.
David

[adbuch]

By the way, if you have created multiple overlapping cut paths that might explain your situation. Here is an example where I have created two different cut paths for the same rectangular part. For clarity, I used different lead-in lengths and placed the paths on opposite sides of the drawing path - one inside and the other outside. If you select all and then cut, the torch will travel around the perimeter of the rectangle twice.

David

multiple overlapping cut paths.jpg

multiple overlapping cut paths.pcm

[Joe Jones]

Where are you located AndyZ ?

Joe

[acourtjester]

If you are using SheetCam you can turn on the show start points and see if you have multi layers of the same cut path (they may be piled up on each other, use the scroll wheel to zoom in on the start points to see multi points). As you will see multi start points like David is showing. You can move each start point to help separate them if they are there. You can also use the edit contour feature to switch cut paths to different layers again to separate them. Easy to remove is after separation with edit contours do not plan that layer in the g-code.

[AndyZ]

Joe Jones, I'm up in Wasilla Alaska

[adbuch]

If you are using SheetCam you can turn on the show start points and see if you have multi layers of the same cut path (they may be piled up on each other, use the scroll wheel to zoom in on the start points to see multi points). As you will see multi start points like David is showing. You can move each start point to help separate them if they are there. You can also use the edit contour feature to switch cut paths to different layers again to separate them. Easy to remove is after separation with edit contours do not plan that layer in the g-code.

Tom - he is using Design Edge and not SheetCam, but he can do something similar to isolate his cut paths. In my example above, I used different lead-ins at different locations to make it easy to see the separate cut paths. If they are overlapping with identical lead-ins, then it will be hard to see the individual cut paths. The easiest thing for him to do would be to delete all cut paths, and then create a single cut path for his drawing. If you use the Create Cut Path multiple times for the same drawing, then it will just stack them on top of each other.

David

[adbuch]

Andy - again - please post your pcm file with cut paths so we can have a look and try to help you.

To attach your file, click on "Attachments" at the bottom of the page, then "Add files" and select the file from you pc and then "Open".

David

[Joe Jones]

Joe Jones, I'm up in Wasilla Alaska

Ahh ... I have made four attempts to ride my Goldwing up to Alaska. The first time, my sister and my (now my brother in law) were involved in a terrible car accident. I was headed to CommieFornia to head north for the extended tour to Anchorage and back again. I diverted my route to Reno where I dealt with the chaos.

My second attempt the following year ... I got to Southern CommieFornia. I was joining a group riding to Alaska, when I got te call to rush to Chicago to put my aging uncle into an assisted living situation. The "few days" task lasted ten weeks, and there went my summer.

I tried one more time in 2019, and got to CommieFornia once again, when the whole covid zombie apocalypse began, and I was forbidden to cross the border into (Oh my God! Is that a HANDGUN!? It is Tho Thcary!) Canada because I would not take the jabs.

This year, I was making plans to ride up when a strong storm ripped my roof apart, making it difficult to leave. Then my brother-in-law dropped dead in mid-June while mowing a lawn, so I just returned from another trip to CommieFornia to deal with that mess. Now I have to get the roof replaced, and then deal with my sister, who has a brain injury from the accident and cannot live alone.

God threw an accident, a tornado, a pandemic and a family death into my plans. So I have concluded that God simply does not want me to ride my motorcycle to Alaska.

Joe

[AndyZ]

Joe, The fifth time might be the charm. I've driven it multiple times, but doing it on a bike would be a great trip.

Adbuch, The PC on my machine is without WiFi so I have not gotten around to putting it on a media and bringing it into the house yet. Question, will the software create multiple cut paths on the same object if you use the make cut path command multiple times?

[Joe Jones]

Question, will the software create multiple cut paths on the same object if you use the make cut path command multiple times?

Yes. Each time you create a cut path using DesignEdge, it will create a cut path at the kerf offset you entered into SETTINGS. You only need ONE cut path though, unless you are using a router or another tool that allows for more finesse.

Joe

[AndyZ]

Thanks Joe, That explains the multiple path issue. On several occasions I end up only being able to see the cut path that I have created and can no longer see the object it self. I don't believe that I have deleted it and think that my view has changed or something similar. This has stumped me several times where I need to close the file and not save changes so I can get back to where I was able to see the objects. Thought?

[Joe Jones]

On several occasions I end up only being able to see the cut path that I have created and can no longer see the object it self. I don't believe that I have deleted it and think that my view has changed or something similar. This has stumped me several times where I need to close the file and not save changes so I can get back to where I was able to see the objects. Thought?

When you get to that point, SAVE the file under another name such as "error-path.pcm" and upload it here so I can see what you are talking about.

F9 hides cut paths, and F10 hides open and closed paths. Are you turning them ON and OFF using the F9 and F10 keys?

If you group open and closed paths together with cut paths, it can get messy when you start trying to select only one part of a group.

I would like to see an example of this issue.

I went ahead and made a video of this file. It had multiple problems. Here is the corrected file which can be cut via the TILE method, or split into two separate 4x4 files that can be cut independently and then welded together at the tree trunk.

Joe

JJ-Tree Bears 4x8.pcm

.

[adbuch]

Question, will the software create multiple cut paths on the same object if you use the make cut path command multiple times?

Answer: Yes, as I mentioned earlier in this post. You only need to create the cut path once to avoid this problem.

David

both.jpg

cut paths only.jpg

drawing paths only.jpg

[AndyZ]

Here is a file (Attached) I am working on and I created cut paths for the bottom half of the 4x8 sheet but several of the figures have multiple cut paths and I only created cut paths once. I think I also cleaned up all of the intersections on the top half but not the bottom. Is this the cause of the cut path issue? and what is the best way to clean up the intersections? Top half took me several hours.

[adbuch]

bears and tree.jpg

Tree Bears 4x8 rev.1.pcm

bears and tree 1.jpg

[AndyZ]

Yes, Thanks Adbuch. Copy on the tiling. Did you see multiple cut paths on the bottom half of the drawings?

[adbuch]

Yes, Thanks Adbuch. Copy on the tiling. Did you see multiple cut paths on the bottom half of the drawings?

Andy - I will be back later and show you how I cleaned up your original pcm file.
David

bears and tree 2.jpg

bears and tree 3.jpg

[adbuch]

Andy - I forgot to ask - was your original intention to cut the tree/bear in two parts and then weld together, or were you planning to cut the tree/bear as a single piece by indexing the 4x8 sheet thru the table. If you were going to index, were you attempting to do this manually or do you have the particular Design Edge upgrade that allows for automatic indexing?

Thanks,
David

[AndyZ]

adbuch, I was planning on indexing manually if needed to be. I'm not sure which upgrade would be required to automatically index.

[Joe Jones]

Wow. this file is a hot mess of OOPSes! No problem. You will learn the software soon enough.

Did you draw this file, or trace it, or import it from some other vector art file library, or ???

You have single lines drawn as closed paths with no space between them, which is what caused the looped closed path to wrap around it. you have single cut paths on top of open paths, and other issues here that need to be corrected. You attempted to split the file into two 4x4 segments while still holding it together and in place. That CAN be done, but it is probably easier to just split the file into two 4x4 files that cut separately.

I do free online training for DesignEdge, if you fancy some guidance on using the software.

Joe

JJ-Tree Bears 4x8.pcm

https://youtu.be/A7FC9cxa9_g

[AndyZ]

Hwy Joe, Thanks. It was a Vetrics file I used on my CNC machine a few years back. Sounds like it has a few issues. In Vetrics you needed to split the file into the upper and lower half to cut a full 4x8 object. I see that isn't necessary in Design Edge, I think. I am interested in getting some online training.

[adbuch]

Hwy Joe, Thanks. It was a Vetrics file I used on my CNC machine a few years back. Sounds like it has a few issues. In Vetrics you needed to split the file into the upper and lower half to cut a full 4x8 object. I see that isn't necessary in Design Edge, I think. I am interested in getting some online training.

Andy - stay tuned to find out how to edit/repair your file.
David

[Joe Jones]