On This Page:
Geometry
Steps:
- Create your geometry in Rhino. The maximum size of anything that can be milled on the Roland MDX-40 is 4 tall (Z-axis)” x 12 wide (X-axis)” x 12 deep (Y-axis)”. Note that the maximum pocket, hole or channel depth is limited by the dimensions of the cutting tools. On the Roland MDX 40-A, the maximum length of a 1/4” bit is 1.7”, and the maximum length for a 1/8” bit is .9”, so be aware that you will not be able to cut features deeper than this on the Roland MDX 40-A unless you cut from more than one side.
Move to Origin. The coordinate plane of Rhino’s X,Y and Z axis correspond to the milling bed of the Roland MDX 40-A, where the point (0,0,0) is the center of the bed, the Z-axis points up, and X&Y are in the plane of the bed. Once you are satisfied with your geometry, move it so that the bottom surface of your part it is centered on the origin, as pictured above.
- Export as .stl SRP Player uses a file format called Stereolithography, which articulates solids and voids. It is best practice that the model is ‘closed’ when exporting as .stl. If you were exporting a cube, for example, it would have to have six sides that are all perfectly matched and touching without any gaps. A cube with 5-sides present and one side missing would b considered open. Select your geometry and type “Export” into the command line. You will be prompted with the following three windows.
Exporting as Stereolithography (.stl)
Under "save as type" select stereolithography (.stl)
Set this to .001, so that your geometry is more precise than the machine.
Use binary. If you get errors resulting from your geometry in SRP Player, try unchecking "Export open objects".