Still 3d. I think everyone understood what you want to do. Fusion 360 can handle what you want. You’ll just need to model your flower in Fusion (not the ideal program for modeling a flower, but doable) or find/modify a file designed by someone else.
1 Like
Fusion 360 is worth learning if you can invest the effort. It’s both a powerful modeler and CAM tool. It does get easier as you go and the concepts become more intuitive as you get used to them. A big plus is its still rapidly improving, getting better and easier all the time. It also has the power to make almost anything - you can even do sheet metal parts. If you just can’t wrap your head around the way it works there are easier CAD options and I’ll add another vote for meshcam to make your 3D models into gcode - is quick, simple and does a fantastic job.
I run Fusion 360 for so much in my shop and the robotics team that I work with. I have both a 3D printer and the X-Carve, with a larger manual milling machine that I will be converting to CNC sometime in the future. Lars Christensen’s YouTube channel is a great resource, as are the now thousands of videos that the AutoDesk Fusion 360 team makes for using the software.
What makes Fusion 360 CAM hard to use is the options that it has. The software can support Haas milling centers and a host of production grade milling and turning centers, all with power and options that far exceed what the X-Carves can do. After 2 years of using both Fusion, the X-Carve, and Easel I pick what jobs I am going to use Fusion to design and create the code, and what jobs to use Easel. There are many projects where Easel is the better tool - if the geometry is simple and does not require extensive detail. If it is a sign or a flat object - and dimensional tolerances are unimportant, I use Easel. However, if I am doing anything that required three-dimensional facing or where surface features and holes need to be on the mark, I go to Fusion.
I have created some complex and fluid 3D shapes with designs in Fusion and carved on the X-Carve. Here are some examples of Platters that I designed from a single initial design and then modified for individual articles. I used a 1/4" bullnose bit made for high-speed wood cutting. For each side, there were multiple operations - the first few using adaptive roughing and then with 3D finishing with small stepovers. You have to define the tool, rotation speed and the feed rates for the tool in Fusion - thinking as you would for metal machining. Wood bits do not give you feeds and speeds as metal tooling will, but you can get close through approximation based on the hardness of the wood and the tool geometry.
This photo shows you the three-dimensional contours cut in the initial adaptive cuts. This is the first operation - as the program is removing lots of material quickly. You have to watch your speeds - as the X-Carve is a little weak in the X axis and there can be significant shuddering in movement if you are moving too fast. I attempted to upload the video that shows the shuddering movement, but the forum system will not upload it.
This photo is the last pass for the side with a .05 stepover and the 1/4" ballnose. Again, you can see how the cutters work in making the 3D contours.