From the course: Learning RhinoCAM

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CNC mill basics

CNC mill basics

In order to make an effective tool path, there are a couple of things we need to know about the physical setup of our CNC mill. The first of those things is the cutting envelope. So x and y will be usually pretty well documented by the manufacturer's materials, and that just has to do with how far across and how far back can I actually touch this tool down. You'll see that the bed of a CNC is usually a bit larger than its envelope. Because often the mechanical structure is set up in such a way that the tool can't travel all the way to very edge of the mill. So this mill here that I've mocked up, looks a lot like the one that I use in my shop. And its x-y cutting envelope is about 48 inches in x, and 96 inches in y. Now the z envelope is a little bit more complicated. Because there's, again, that hard mechanical limit of how high the spindle can travel, but then we also have to figure in the length of the bit. And the length of the bit will effectively take away from the overall z…

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