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I'd like to bring more order into keeping track of machining strategies.

I thought of just keeping a spreadsheet with process, tool, tool number, feeds and speeds, depth of cut, width of cut, any offset information that's important, etc. All information I'll need next time when I program something similar. I know that eventually I'll be too in the "zone" when I'm toolpathing and forget to update the spreadsheet.

There's got to be a better way. Any suggestions for keeping track of this information?

I kept logbooks throughout my machining career - one with the day to day stuff (like a diary), and one with all the technical stuff - tool numbers, tooling lists, setup notes, program number, etc. Even a decade after I've retired they are both interesting reading, and excellent references if need be.

I thank an old timer who set me on that path in the first weeks of my employment in the first machine shop i ever worked at (way back in the Stone Age). So what I am saying us - get in the habit of writing it down and organizing it as a document. It trains your mind to consider the whole project from end to end.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

There aren't too many different parts in guitar building, so I just look in my CAM files if I'm feeling a little forgetful. Normally I have a 'best' example of each part type that I'll refer to for strategies.

The stuff to really figure out is what you can pull off on corners, inside and outside. On wood, it's what you can pull off on an outside corner which is trying to split the grain- that's going to be your limiting point every time. For finishing passes, you can keep example pieces. I found enough defects in materials that I very soon had belly bridges and fretboards done at different machining parameters to compare on finish.

Keep notes until your standard practices are optimized and committed to memory, and use G-Wizard for anything you don't do commonly. Any time I'm dealing with tool steel or stainless, my intuition goes out the door and I go straight to past parts and G-Wizard.

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Bob Garrish
Former Canonized Purveyor of Fine CNC Luthier Services

I just subscribed to G-wizard today. Looking forward to using it.

How did you handle the revisions? That's what trips me up. I'm currently re-drawing every part on every model we make and there are thousands of files to sort through, delete or archive.

With the what I am using I can save a MOP into a file and load it later on a different model and just select new geometry and boundary.



Neck pockets/outer profile were very difficult for me for this reason

Is that in VisualMill? I didn't know you could do that.

VisualMill has a feature called knowledge base where you can save off entire machining strategies. I use this a lot and it comes in very handy.

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http://www.birkonium.com CNC Products for Luthiers
http://banduramaker.blogspot.com

I just made notations in all applicable spots with as much info as possible.
I suppose you could say it was a cross-referencing nightmare, but my bosses found out my notebooks were more accurate than their shop records.

_________________
"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I just looked that up. It's only available in the Pro version.

I model in Rhino and use BCv25 for cam.

We personally use the knowledge base in Rhinocam and keep items filed in various sud-directories ...... but ...... I think that any database program could be used to store this kind of information. Microsoft Access is very powerful data base and works with all the Microsoft product. There are a number of other data base programs that could be used as well. With a computerized database you could also store actual jpg-pdf- or any other kind of graphics files you needed along with any data. If you worked it right you could sort and search by a number of criteria.

Blessings,

Kevin

I was wrong, knowledge bases are available in all versions of 2012. I upgraded today and LOVE it. Almost every complaint I had with VisualMill has been fixed in the new version.