F REE F ORM D IGITAL presents Quickstart MDX-40 M P 4 to roland and ODELA LAYER A Supplement Training manual with practical examples Roland Copyright © Freeform Digital
Copyright © 2006 Freeform Digital This course is intended only to assist the reader in the use of the Modela Player 4 with Roland MDX40 Rapid Prototyping machine. Freeform Digital shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever arising from the use of any information or particulars, or any error or omission, in this course, or any incorrect use of MDX40 machine. All rights in this course are reserved.
Content Introduction Names and Functions of Screen Items........................................ 4 Toolbar buttons.................................................................................. 5 Controller buttons............................................................................. 6-7 Example 1 Material Mounting............................................................................. Tool Zeroing.........................................................................................
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 N ame s and Func t ion s of S cree n (1) Title Bar The file name and program name are displayed here. The window can be moved by dragging the title bar. (2) Menu Bar This runs the various commands for MODELA Player 4. (3) Toolbar The toolbar is provided with buttons for running MODELA Player 4 commands such as [Open] and [Save]. Moving the mouse pointer over a button displays a brief description of the button’s function.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Tool bar but ton s Open You can open either 3D data in IGES, DXF (3D), STL, or XVL format, or existing project files. You can also open project files in MODELA Player version 3 or later. Save This command saves the project with its present name. Wire Frame This command displays the object using only a gridwork of lines. Hide Lines This command creates a wire frame on the surface and deletes the hidden lines at the back of the surface.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Cont rolle r (1) Model - makes the settings for the size and orientation of the imported 3D model. (2) Material - chooses the composition of the workpiece. If the selection for the composition is not available, add it to the material library. (3) Number of Cutting Surfaces - sets the number of cutting surfaces on the workpiece. You can choose one, two, or four surfaces.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Cont rolle r but ton s (cont inue d) (8) Create Tool Path - creates a tool path for the selected process. If a path has already been created, it is created again. (9) Output Cutting Data - switches data output on or off. -- Output -- No output (10) Duplicate Process - duplicates a process and adds it as a new process. Only the settings are copied. (11) Delete Process - deletes the specified process. You cannot delete more than one process at the same time.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Mater ial Mount ing Step 1 Position protection base First thing to do on Roland MDX40 machine is to mount a base material on the work area -- the squarish orange board with 8 holes. The reason is to protect this working area and to reduce wear and tear on the machine over time. Find a firm and flat material such as hard wood to mount onto the working area. Take sometime to measure and centre the mounting material if necessary.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Tool Ze roing Step 3 Position sensor This is a necessary step for any cutting to begin with. Position the tool close to the material as shown. Place the sensor somewhere near the tool. Step 4 Choose unit of measurement Go to , and select to bring up the Roland MDX-40 Panel. This is where you can use this to control and move the tool using the X, Y or Z axis. First, select Millimeter as the unit of measurement.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 6 Example 1 Detect Z-axis Next, check on the Set the Z-axis origin using the sensor at the Reference-Point Settings section. Click on the Start Detection button. A Setup dialog box appears, instructing you to place your cutting tool just above the sensor. Click the Continue button. Step 7 Set Z origin The software will now start to set the Z-axis origin for you. The tool will move down and detects the sensor a few times.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 8 Example 1 Set Z origin (continued) Select Z origin from To drop-down list. Click the Move button. Click here Step 9 Set XY origin Set XY origin from the drop-down list at Reference-Point Settings section. Click on the green arrow shown above to move the tool until it touches the origin point.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Step 10 Set XY origin (continued) Then, click on the Set button next to the XY origin checked. Finally, we are done with setting the X, Y and Z axis of the cutting tool. Click on the Close button. W hat i s Model a Pl aye r 4? Modela Player 4 is a computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) program for cutting machines from Roland DG Corp.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 E xample 1 - O bjec t i ve To cut out a guitar body without any shelling using Roland’s MDX40 machine. Li s t of I te m s to Prepare for u se 1. MDX-40 machine (Power up) 2. Example file guitar_no_shell.stl (downloadable from Tutorials page, Freeform Digital website) 3. 1 piece of chemical wood cut to size (L200 mm x W150 mm x H23.23 mm) 4.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 E xample 1 - Guit ar w it hout S hell ing Step 1 Select Machine Under the menu at the top, go to File > Select Machine... Select MDX-40 from the Model Name dropdown list in the Machine Selection dialog box that appears. Next, click on the Splindle Unit drop-down list, and choose Standard. Then, click OK.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 2 Example 1 Set Preferences To configure the unit of measurement for our work, go to File > Preferences... When the Preference dialog box pops up, check on mm for Unit on the left column, and select OK to close this box. Step 3 Open example file Rendering Locate and open up guitar_no_shell.stl from your folder on desktop.* Click on the Rendering button on the top menu to get the shading shown above.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 4 Example 1 Layout 3D model Located on the right side of the interface is a set of configuration options to prepare 3D models for cutting. First, click on the green man button labelled Model. A Model dialog box pops up, presenting you with 2 tags - Size and Orientation, and Origin. Under the Size and Orientation tag, you will see a set of options.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Clicking on the next tag - origin. This sets the origin point for the model. Click OK to close. Model rotated as shown. Step 5 Choose material and surface Next, click on Material drop-down list to select your material. Choose Chemical Wood (Soft). Copyright © Freeform Digital Click on No. of Cutting Surfaces. Select 1st surface to cut.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 6 Example 1 Forming model for cut Click on the next button Modeling Form. This makes the settings for the space around the model to provide approach paths for the tool. The Modeling Form dialog box displays 4 tags for you to edit your options. Under the Margin tag: Automatic - This automatically sets the margins around the model. Manual - Make the settings for the margins you want around the model.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 7 Example 1 Define Surfacing on model Continue next to click on the New Process icon. A New Process dialog box appears. This lets you choose the type of process. Surfacing This lightly cuts the surface of the workpiece to create a level surface. Roughing This cuts the workpiece to the approximate shape. Finishing This cuts the final shape of the model. Drilling This drills holes in the model and surrounding workpiece.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Step 10 Set area & depth for Surfacing In the next dialog, select Specific area to cut for Surface-level area. This allows you to define the area you want. Choose this when you want to perform surface leveling over an area broader than the modeling form or when you want to restrict the area. When you do this, the tool passes along the contours in the area. 2 Notice that 2 red squares will appear at 2 of the corners of the model selection.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 13 Example 1 Save Surfacing process In the Create Tool Path page, enter a name to save your tool path. The name appears in the Controller process list. Right Now - This creates the process together with the tool path. Tool-path creation may take some time. Later - This creates only the process, without creating the tool path.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Step 16 Choose cutting surface This Cutting Surface page lets you choose the surface to cut. Top / Bottom / Front / Back - lets you choose the cutting surface to select it. Note that when there is only one cutting surface, no selections other than the top surface are available. Click Next to continue. Step 17 Choose tool diameter Choose R1.5 ball mill tool from the drop-down list for the cutting. Click Next to continue.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Select Partial option. Notice that when we select the Partial option, all the settings have become available for editing. Also, 2 red squares appear in the Preview window. You can either click and drag the squares to move the dimensions or input values into the required fields for Cutting Area and Depth.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 The Preview screen window changes to a side view of the model. Drag the red line in the Preview window down all the way until it is at the bottom. We want to define the cutting to the end. Next, select back the All option. Select the Drag red pointer tool again (highlighted in red circle). Drag red pointer tool Click NEXT to continue.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 20 Example 1 Set cutting patameters At the Cutting Parameters page, the default configuration is displayed out in a list. The default setting depends on the diameter of the tool you have selected previously. You can change these parameters if you know how to tweak them to cut faster or slower depending on the results desired. Enter the values as shown on the right.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Controller Process list Back at the Modela Player 4, you should have a Roughing1 setting in the Controller process list on the right of the interface. Step 22 Define Finishing on model By now, you should be familiar with the setting the process of cutting, as they are all the same. This time, we are defining a finishing cut to the 3D model. Clicking on the New Process icon again to open up the New Process Creation dialog box.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Step 24 Choose tool diameter Choose R1.5 ball mill tool from the drop-down list for the cutting. Click Next to continue. Step 25 Set area & depth for Finishing At the Cutting Area dialog box, select All option. Click Next to continue. Step 26 Set type of tool path Next, choose X for Scan Lines for the type of tool path to create. Click Next to continue.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 27 Example 1 Set cutting parameters As before, the Cutting Parameters page lets you define and customize the speed at which you can control your tooling. Shown here is the default setting for 1.5 radius ball mill. Click Next to continue. Input all values according to what is shown on the left. Click Next to continue. 15000 Step 28 Save Finishing process Save the configuration as Finishing1 and select to create tool path to Later.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 Controller Process list Step 29 Create tool path for Roughing Back at the Controller Process list, select Roughing1. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing. Create tool path Controller Process list Step 30 Create tool path for Finishing Select on Finishing1 in the Controller Process list. Click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for finishing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 31 Example 1 Setup for cutting position The next step will be laying out the 3D model for cutting. Click on the Cutting Position button at the right-hand bottom of the Modela Player 4 interface. Cutting Position A Cutting Position Setup dialog box pops up. There are 2 tags displayed; namely X and Y Directions, and Z Direction. These allow the user to define and position the cut accurately.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 3D Simulation Click on 3D Simulation button to preview as above. This will give you a good simple preview of the rough cut. Close the program without saving the file, as this is just a guide to previewing. Step 33 Output cutting to MDX-40 Cut Click on the Cut tool at the bottom of the interface. This will be the final command to issue, where the data from the 3D model is sent to the MDX40 machine for cutting. Click OK to cut.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 1 A dialog box will keep track of the progress of cutting for Roughing1 and Finishing1, through a progress bar. Click Continue to proceed with cutting. When the file has been completely sent to the queue, a message will display that the output has been done. Click OK. Photo showing Roughing process completed using chemical wood as an example. Photo showing Finishing process completed using chemical wood as an example.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Mater ial Mount ing & Tool Ze roing This is a procedure that was done in the previous example. We are repeating here for you as a reminder. But no explanations will be given; only photo illustrations. If you are in doubt about these steps, please refer to the previous example on tool zeroing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 5 Step 6 Step 7 Step 8 Step 9 Step 10 Copyright © Freeform Digital 34
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 11 Step 12 Step 13 Step 14 Step 15 Copyright © Freeform Digital 35
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 E xample 2 - O bjec t i ve To cut out a guitar body with shelling using Roland’s MDX40 machine. Li s t of I te m s to Prepare for u se 1. MDX-40 machine (Power up) 2. Example file guitar_shell.stl (downloadable from Tutorials page, Freeform Digital website) 3. 1 piece of chemical wood cut to size (L200 mm x W150 mm x H23.23 mm) 4. 1 piece of wooden block cut to size (L200 mm x W150 mm x H25 mm) - to be used for base support only 5. R1.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 E xample 2 - Guit ar w it h S hell ing Step 1 Open example file Open another example file to work on. Go to File > Open from the top menu. Navigate to your folder where a file named guitar_shell.stl is located. Click Open the file. You should have the view as shown on the right.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 4 Forming model for cut Next, click on Modeling Form icon. Click on Margin tag. Ensure Manual is selected. Enter O mm for all measurements. Modeling Form Continue next to Depth tag. Ensure Top/Bottom option is selected. Make sure that the blue and red lines are displayed according to what is shown on the right. If not, use the navigational tools below the Preview to position to what is shown.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 5 Example 2 Define Roughing on model Create a Roughing process through the New Process icon highlighted in red. Click Next to continue. Step 6 Choose cutting surface For cutting surface, select the Top surface by clicking on the radio button. Click Next. Step 7 Choose tool diameter As usual, choose R1.5 ball mill for the cutting tool. Click Next. Step 8 Set area & depth for Roughing 115.89 93.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 9 Set type of tool path Select Contour Lines for the type of tool path to create. Ensure Up cut is choosen at the drop-down list. Click Next. Step 10 Set cutting parameters Coming to the cutting parameters, we need to change some values other than the given defaults. Change the values to what is shown. 15000 2 Click Next. Step 11 Save Roughing process Save Roughing process as Roughing1, and create the tool path later.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 12 Example 2 Define Finishing on model Start another process - Finishing this time. By now, you should realise that the process creation for cutting 3D models is the same as before. Click New Process icon on the right. In the dialog box that appears, select Finishing and click NEXT. Step 13 Choose cutting surface For cutting surface, select Top surface to be cut. Click NEXT. Step 14 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 Ball mill for the cutting tool.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 16 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Scan Lines. From the drop-down, select X. Click NEXT. Step 17 Set cutting parameters At the cutting parameters page, we see that this is the default settings. Let’s tweak by changing some of the values. 15000 Change the values as shown on the left. Click NEXT. Step 18 Save Finishing process Save the process as Finishing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 19 Example 2 Create tool path for Roughing Controller Process list Back at the Controller Process list, select Roughing1. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing. Create tool path Step 20 Create tool path for Finishing Controller Process list Select on Finishing1 in the Controller Process list. Click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for finishing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 21 Setup Cutting Position Cutting Position Cutting board Example 2 Next, click on the Cutting Position icon. When the Cutting postion Setup dialog box came up, enter 15 mm respectively for X and Y under Model Position. We are creating a frame of 15 mm from the origin point of the cutting board. Click OK to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 23 Send output to machine A dialog box will keep track of the progress of cutting for Roughing1, through a progress bar. Click Continue to proceed with cutting. When the file has been completely sent to the queue, a message will display that the output has been done. Click OK. Photo showing Roughing process completed using chemical wood as an example. Photo showing Finishing process completed using chemical wood as an example.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 24 Define Drilling on model Create a new process called Drilling by clicking on the New process icon on the right of the interface. Click Next. Then in the next interface, select Top for the cutting surface. New Process Click Next. Step 25 Choose tool diameter Select 3mm Drill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 26 Set hole location & Depth At setting the Hole location and Depth dialog box, click on New button.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 27 Example 2 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the right, overwriting the defaults. Click NEXT. Step 28 Save Drilling process Save the process as Drilling1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close. Step 29 Duplicate Drilling hole 1 2 Duplicate process 1 Select process 3 Select Duplicate 4 Rename 115.89 5 Click on + sign 6 Double-click 1 place(s) Follow the steps outlined above.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 30 Duplicate Drilling holes 2 & 3 1 Select process 2 Duplicate process 115.89 101.74 3 Select Duplicate 4 Rename Duplicate and Click on + sign. Double-click 1 place(s) Follow the steps outlined above. Repeat the previous step of duplicating drilling holes. After having completed all steps, click OK to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 32 Example 2 Turn off Roughing and Finishing processes Cutting/No Cutting 1 Select Roughing1 Cutting/No Cutting 2 Select Cutting/No Cutting icon to turn off Roughing1 3 Select Finishing1 Cutting process turn off Cut 6 Click on the Cut button to begin drilling process 4 Select Cutting/No Cutting icon to turn off Finishing1 5 Cutting for Drilling process enabled while Roughing1 and Finishing1 are disabled Now, we are going to drill 4 holes aroun
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 33 Example 2 Drill hole alignments Since we have finishing with the first side of the 3D model, we shall now proceed to do a flipping over to continue cutting on the other side. We have to drill some holes on the frame of the model to enable us to align properly the cutting of both sides. Position the tool to drill at the sides as shown. You just need to drill up to the depth given - 11 mm.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 34 Example 2 Arrow marking Use a marker to draw an arrow as shown. This is to indicate the direction at which the model is taken out, so that we will remember its position. It will aid us in turning over the model in the correct direction later. Now, use any solvent like alcohol to remove the model from the wood base support. Step 35 Set sensor and hole drilling Drill the subsequent holes accordingly. Position sensor on top of the wood piece.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 All of the 4 holes drilled as shown on the wood support. This enable us to align and lock the chemical wood firmly onto the wood support later. Place pin guides (comes with the MDX-40 package) onto the 4 holes as shown. Length of pin guides is 20 mm and 3mm in diameter. Step 36 Pin guides Positioning & aligning material Double-sided tape used Place the cut surface of the model by flipping over according to what is shown.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Align and fix the material firmly in place together now. Photo showing material correctly positioned in place. Step 37 Tool Zeroing As usual, do the tool zeroing procedure as shown.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 38 Flip over model Example 2 click on Bottom surface To continue cutting the model, we need to flip over to the other side. This is done by clicking on the Bottom surface tag as shown on the right. When done, the screen preview will refresh and the change is seen from the right. Step 39 Define Roughing on model New Process Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Roughing and click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 41 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 42 Set cutting area & depth 115.89 93.74 Select Partial option to allow manual inputs of values. Change preview by ensuring that the Cutting Area is as follows: Lower left X /Y = O mm and Upper right X = 115.91 mm and Y = 93.76 mm. Drag red pointer tool 115.89 93.74 drag red line Change preview by clicking on Change Depth icon.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 115.89 93.74 Example 2 Click on the Zoom tool to enlarge preview of the model. 115.89 93.74 drag red line Click and drag the red line upwards to the somewhere in the midde of the model. To be precise, enter End Height = -15 mm instead. 115.89 Click on the Fit to screen icon to return back to full screen preview. 93.74 Click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 43 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Contour Lines. From the drop-down, select Up Cut. Click NEXT. Step 44 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the bottom left, overwriting the defaults (shown on the right). Click NEXT. 15000 2 Step 45 Save Roughing process Save the process as Roughing2 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Step 46 Define Finishing on model Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Finishing and click NEXT. Step 47 Select cutting surface When it comes to selecting the cutting surface, choose the Bottom (-Z) and click NEXT. Step 48 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 49 Set depth Click and drag the red line upwards to the somewhere in the midde of the model.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 50 Example 2 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Scan Lines. From the drop-down, select X. Click NEXT. Step 51 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the bottom right, overwriting the defaults (shown on the left). Click NEXT. 15000 Step 52 Save Finishing process Save the process as Finishing2 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 53 Example 2 Create tool path for Roughing Controller Process list Back at the Controller Process list, select Roughing2. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing. Create tool path Controller Process list Step 54 Create tool path for Finishing Back at the Controller Process list, select Finishing2. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 55 Example 2 Output cutting to MDX-40 Cutting Position Click on the Cutting position icon as shown. We need to set the cutting positions of our model. In the Cutting position Setup dialog box, set a frame of 15 mm for X and Y, under the Model Position section at the top right side. Click OK to close. Preview your 3D model before cutting by clicking on Preview Cutting button. This triggers the Virtual Modela utility program.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 2 Photo showing Roughing2 process completed using chemical wood as an example. Photo showing Finishing2 process completed using chemical wood as an example.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Mater ial Mount ing & Tool Ze roing Step 1 Material mounting In the next example, we are using the rotary axis unit to cut our material. As such, we need to mount the Rotary Axis Unit onto Roland’s MDX-40. Mount a piece of chemical wood onto the rotary axis unit as shown. For instructions on how to complete the mounting, please refer to your Roland’s MDX -40 user manual. Photo showing material correctly mounted.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 3 Example 3 Detect Z origin Under Preference-Point Settings, set the origin to Z Origin. Then, click on Start Detection button. In the Setup dialog box, select Continue after ensuring a cutting tool has been installed on the splindle. The sensor is correctly placed. Step 4 Set XY origin Next, we have to set the XY origin of the tool. Bring up the Roland MDX40 Panel now.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Select XY Origin from the drop-down list as shown. Click Move button.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 5 Detect origin Use the XY co-ordinate arrows to move the tool along the X -axis. XY co-ordinate After ensuring there is enough length allowance for cutting the material (photos shown below), set the origin to XY Origin under Preference-Point Settings. Then click on the Set button. Click Close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 E xample 3 - O bjec t i ve To cut out a handphone using Roland’s MDX40 rotary axis unit. Li s t of I te m s to Prepare for u se 1. MDX-40 machine (Power up) 2. MDX-40 Rotary Axis Unit (mounted) 3. Example file phone.stl (downloadable from Tutorials page, Freeform Digital website) 4. 1 piece of chemical wood cut to size (L135 mm x W80 mm x H24.06 mm) 5. R1.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 E xample 3 - Phone Step 1 Open example file Open a new file to work on. Go to File > Open from the top menu. Navigate to your folder where a file named phone.stl is located. Click Open the file. Render your 3D model. You should have the view as shown on the right. Step 2 Select Machine Go to File > Select Machine. Since we are going to cut a gear using the rotary axis option, we need to go to change an option.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Modeling Form Step 4 Forming model for cut For Material, select Chemical Wood (Soft) from the drop-down list. Click Modeling Form icon to bring up the Modeling Form dialog box. Enter X = O mm on both X margins and Y = 5 mm. Click OK to continue. Click on Depth tag. Enter a value of 24.82 mm in the Depth field. Click OK to continue. We shall skip the Slope and Cutting Area tags as there are no changes needed.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 7 Example 3 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 8 Set cutting area & depth Select Partial option to allow manual input of values. Change preview by clicking on Change Depth icon. Enter Start Height = 12.03 mm and End Height = -3 mm. Click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 9 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Contour Lines. From the drop-down, select Up Cut. Click NEXT. Step 10 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the right, overwriting the defaults. 15000 2 Click NEXT. Step 11 Save Roughing process Save the process as Roughing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 12 Define Finishing on model Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Index cutting and Finishing Click NEXT. Step 13 Define angle of cut Specify an angle of O degrees. If it is aleady at O degrees, continue by clicking NEXT. Step 14 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 15 Set cutting area & depth Select Partial option to allow manual inputs of values. Change preview by clicking on Change Depth icon. Enter Start Height = 12.03 mm and End Height = -3 mm. Click NEXT. Step 16 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Scan Lines. From the drop-down, select X. Click NEXT. Step 17 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the right, overwriting the defaults.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 18 Example 3 Save Finishing process Save the process as Finishing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close. Step 19 Define Roughing on model Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Indexed cutting and Roughing. Click NEXT. Step 20 Define angle of cut Specify an angle of 180 degrees. Click NEXT. Step 21 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 22 Example 3 Set cutting area & depth Select Partial option to allow manual inputs of values. Change preview by clicking on Change Depth icon. Enter Start Height = 12.03 mm and End Height = -1 mm. Click NEXT. Step 23 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Contour Lines. From the drop-down, select Up Cut. Click NEXT. Step 24 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the left, overwriting the defaults.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 26 Define Finishing on model Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Index cutting and Finishing. Click NEXT. Step 27 Define angle of cut Specify an angle of 180 degrees. Click NEXT. Step 28 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 29 Set cutting area & depth Select Partial option to allow manual input of values. Change preview by clicking on Change Depth icon.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 30 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Scan Lines. From the drop-down, select X. Click NEXT. Step 31 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the right, overwriting the defaults. 15000 Step 32 Save Roughing process Save the process as Roughing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Controller Process list Step 33 Create tool path for Roughing Back at the Controller Process list, select Roughing1. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing. Create tool path Controller Process list Step 34 Create tool path for Finishing Select on Finishing1 in the Controller Process list. Click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for finishing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 35 Example 3 Create tool path for Roughing Controller Process list Create tool path Repeat the same procedure for Roughing2 and Finishing2 processes as well. At the Controller Process list, select Roughing2. Then click on Create tool path icon to generate a path for roughing. Step 36 Create tool path for Finishing Controller Process list Create tool path Select on Finishing2 in the Controller Process list.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Step 37 Set Tool-up height On selecting the Cutting Position icon, the Tool-up Height dialog box appears. A safe height value will be displayed here. Cutting Position Accept the given value and click OK to close. Step 38 Output cutting to MDX-40 Cut Click on the Cut tool at the bottom of the interface. This will be the final command to issue, where the data from the 3D model is sent to the MDX40 machine for cutting. Click OK to cut.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 3 Photos showing completion of Roughing and Finishing processes for the front part of the phone model. Photos showing completion of Roughing and Finishing processes for the back part of the phone model.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 Mater ial Mount ing & Tool For detailed instructions as to how we do the mounting the unit and the material, please refer to Roland’s manual that comes with the package.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 E xample 4 - O bjec t i ve To cut out a cylindrical worm using Roland’s MDX40 rotary axis unit. Li s t of I te m s to Prepare for u se 1. MDX-40 machine (Power up) 2. MDX-40 Rotary Axis Unit (mounted) 3. Example file rotary_worm.stl (downloadable from Tutorials page, Freeform Digital website) 4. 1 piece of cylindrical wax material cut to size (L135 mm x Diameter 25 mm) 5. R1.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 E xample 4 - Wor m Step 1 Open example file Open a rotary_worm.stl from your folder on the desktop. This time, we are going to use the rotary axis to cut this 3D model. There are some subtle changes to the dialog settings that we will be using. Render the model to get the view on the right. Step 2 Select Machine Go to File > Select Machine. Since we are going to cut a gear using the rotary axis option, we need to go to change an option.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 3 Example 4 Set Model Origin Rotary Axis icon display Model In the Size and Orientation dialog box, redit values for Z from 27.31 to 25 mm. We need to scale down the height of the imported model. Click the Origin tag next. Click on Model icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose the Origin tag. Enter Y = -1.2 mm , Z = 0 mm and check on Left edge.* Click OK to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 Step 5 Set Depth for model In the Depth tag, the Preview - displays the cutting-depth locations. It lets you check the depths to which the model is cut. To change the depth, drag the red line up or down. You can also rotate, move, or zoom the view, or fit it to the screen. Selection tool Depth - the cutting depth from the circle circumscribed around the model. Negative values cannot be entered. This determines the approach limit for the tool.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 Click on the Enlarge/Reduce view tool to enable 1:1 preview of the model. Enlarge/Reduce view tool Once done, let’s continue by clicking on the rest of the tags. Step 6 Let’s skip on the Slope tag as there is nothing to be changed. At the Cutting Area tag, accept the defaults. Click OK to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 7 Example 4 Define Roughing on model Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Cylindrical cutting and Roughing and click NEXT. New Process Step 8 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 9 Set cutting area & depth Select All option for setting area and depth. Accept the default settings and click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 10 Example 4 Set type of tool path Axial - is the distance at the circumference circumscribed about the model. For creating type of tool path, choose Unidirectional. From the drop-down, select Axial. Click NEXT. Step 11 Set cutting parameters 15000 Enter the values as shown on the left, overwriting the defaults. Click NEXT. Step 12 Save Roughing process Save the process as Roughing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 Step 13 Define Finishing on model New Process Click on New Process icon to bring up this dialog box. Choose Cylindrical cutting and Finishing and click NEXT. Step 14 Choose tool diameter Select R1.5 ball mill from the tool drop-down list. Click NEXT. Step 15 Set cutting area & depth Select All option for setting area and depth. Accept the default settings and click NEXT.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 Step 16 Set type of tool path For creating type of tool path, choose Scan Lines. From the drop-down, select Circumferential. Click NEXT. Step 17 Set cutting parameters Enter the values as shown on the left, overwriting the defaults. Click NEXT. 15000 Step 18 Save Finishing process Save the process as Finishing1 and create tool path later. Click Finish to close.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 19 Example 4 Create tool path for Roughing Controller Process list Back at the Controller Process list, select Roughing1. Then click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for roughing. Create tool path Step 20 Controller Process list Create tool path for Finishing Select on Finishing1 in the Controller Process list. Click on Create tool path icon below to generate a path for finishing.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Step 21 Example 4 Set Tool-up height On selecting the Cutting Position icon, the Tool-up Height dialog box appears. A safe height value will be displayed here. You can either enter a value higher than the value given here and accept the defaults. If you try entering a lower value than that, it will prompt you an error message. You shall be required to re-enter a correct value again.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Example 4 When everything is done, a message will inform you that the output is done. Click OK. Photo showing Roughing process completed. Photo showing Finishing process completed.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Appendix Appendix A (detailed explanations) Basic Concepts What’s a Modeling Form? The space provided around a model for the approach of the tool is called the modeling form. In order to cut an entire model, it is necessary to provide, outside the boundary box, a space that is wider than the blade diameter. Also, slopes are made around the margin to eliminate perpendicular walls whose height the tool cannot reach.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Appendix Projects and Libraries What’s a Project? The format in which MODELA Player 4 saves data is called a “project file.” The contents of a project file are as follows: Model data Process design Tool-path data User libraries specified in this file Opening a project file re-creates the values that have been saved, including the target cutting machine. What’s a Library? A database file that is used in cutting a model are called “library.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 A Appendix Depth tab Overlap - shows the range in which cutting overlaps an opposing surface. The overlapping range is cut from both surfaces. This is calculated from the cutting depths of the top and bottom (or front and back) surfaces. When the amount of overlap is zero, uncut areas may remain. Preview window Bottom (Back) depth - the cutting depth for the bottom (back) surface. This determines the maximum cutting depth for the corresponding surface.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 C Appendix New Process Creation - Cutting Area Cutting Area - This sets the cutting area in the X and Y directions. When All is selected, the tool passes along the inner sides of the contour radii in the area. When Partial is selected, the tool passes along the contours in the area. Note that the tool is restricted from passing beyond the margins. Depth This sets the upper and lower edges (the ceiling and floor) of the cutting depth.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 D Appendix New Process Creation - Path Type Scan Lines This creates a tool path parallel to the specified axis. The path is created in such a way that the outbound movement and return movement lie along the axis. Unidirectional This creates a tool path parallel to the specified axis. The path is created in such a way that either only the outbound movement or only the return movement lie along the axis.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Appendix Up Cut With this cutting method, the direction of tool rotation is identical to the direction of tool movement (transfer). Down Cut With this cutting method, the direction of tool rotation is opposite to the direction of tool movement (transfer). Optimized Pitch This reduces the cutting-in amount for areas that have a gentle slope, thereby reducing uncut areas.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 E Appendix Cutting Position Setup Preview This displays the cutting position of the model in the X and Y directions. Model Position This specifies the cutting position of the model in the X and Y directions. You enter the distances between the cuttingmachine origin point and the model origin point. Note that the values you enter are limited by the cutting machine’s minimum unit of movement.
Quickstart to Roland MDX-40 and Modela Player 4 Appendix Appendix B (detailed explanations) Basic Concepts A Set Model Origin Preview This displays the center of rotation of the model. This lets you set the approximate center of rotation by dragging . When this is , you can set only the Z-axis location for the center of rotation. Dragging the model moves it. This enables you to zoom in by clicking the model. You can specify an area to enlarge by dragging. Right-click to zoom out.
