Is it possible to mark drill locations without any kind of lead in? All I want is a dot/dimple. But can’t find a programming method in 360 that will do that. Every variation I try fails. Is it possible or am I wasting my time?
I have not seen a setting for a center mark in fusion 360 yet. But what you can do is make a microsized circle or line and ask fusion to cut “mark” that.
Here’s a link to the Autodesk forum site where a couple techniques are discussed.
I’m certain fusion 360 will add this function someday but it hasn’t yet.
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The problem is I don’t want the lead-in mark. I can make a small circle, etc but the programming fails unless you give it a lead-in. At least with several such marks involved. It won’t create G-code that’s just a straight pierce.
Try it. Make a path on something with zero lead, zero angle, etc. Generate a process and it’ll fail. At least it does for me.
Make sure you set your toolpath to center.
Erase all the lead in and lead out options.
Set your Pierce clearance to zero.
Then it will just do a quick tiny mark.
You’re probably trying to generate a tool path with a left side justification or a Pierce clearance, that’s why you’re having issues with this method.
It has to be a micro circle or a really short line. Currently you cannot develop a tool path from a point alone.
I’ve done this marking procedure many times. It definitely works.
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With SheetCam you can use a ‘drill operation’, it will leave just a ‘peck’ at the center of the hole. Search this forum for ‘pecking’.
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Pierce clearance is something that most users don’t understand and it doesn’t really make sense for plasma operations. I see people wondering why they still get lead ins after they turn off the lead in/out and they don’t understand that pierce clearance will still start outside the line. I suspect it’s a holdover from milling operations, where you want to start your tool off the path and ramp into it, so you don’t crash the tool. I don’t understand why they included it in the plasma operation.
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I always turn pierce clearance to zero no matter what. Whenever I’ve turned lead-ins off the software fails. I’m not even getting to the process itself, it just fails to generate code.
I’ll try setting it to the center of the line, that’s a good idea. Thanks.
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@ds690 that is not how I understand pierce clearance at all. My understanding of pierce clearance is the distance between nozzle and material, the space allowed for the initial molten metal to escape out and away from orifice before the torch descends to standard cut height clearance. Now, my experience has been with a pierce clearance that the pierce hole is wider than the standard cut kerf but I attributed this to pierce delay….plasma eroding the metal from being atop art for that time and a suboptimal cut height being that the pierce clearance is furthered away and the plasma stream is diverging due to that extra pierce height clearance. This is all simply my understanding and open to be informed if I am incorrect in this thinking. Could you help clarify this @mechanic416
What you are talking about is pierce height. Pierce clearance is a totally different setting that only exists in Fusion.
Ahhhhh. My mistake. Thank you for the clarification.