I recently bought an Altmill and Vortex rotary to go along with it. I use fusion at work, and find the machine simulation really handy, especially if you do any low clearance machining on a rotary. While setting it up I didnât see much info on 3+1 or full 4 axis machining with the Vortex, or whether or not the standard fusion grbl post would handle an a-axis or machine sim. I just ran a test part and it handles both. I didnât have to modify the post to get 4th axis functionality and the machine simulation worked pretty well out of the box. I had to do a little rearranging of sub-assemblies, but otherwise the files were as-provided from Sienciâs Onshape files. Overall, super stoked with everything so far!
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Congratulations on winning the lottery 
Is that using the manufacturing extension?
This was done on the subscription version of fusion without the manufacturing extension. To do simultaneous 4-axis machining youâd need the manufacturing extension, but you can do quite a lot with a 3+1 approach.
I find fusion to be good value for what you get. As you pointed out, the file management system is awful, but at this point Iâve just resigned myself to dealing with it.
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This is very interesting! I was under the impression that any kind of Vortex work was a no-go without the extension. I will have to look into the â3+1â thing.
Yeah, after doing a lot of wiggling trying to get away from Fusion, I too have realized that there isnât really any choice. It unfortunately is what it is 
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Would it be possible to maybe post a link or two to anything that shows how you do 3+1 machining? For example, how would I make a baseball bat? How would I engrave text on the bat?
Added: I think I just donât understand the 3+1 concept. I did some digging and it seems that in 3+1 machining you in effect âtiltâ the stock but the machining is still done as a plain 3 axis job? Looking at your picture, it looks like nothing requires the A axis to turn at the same time as X and Z is moving. The short movie bit you posted doesnât make it clear to me what is happening.
This pretty much nails it. In this case the rotary is used as a positioner while the machining approach is the same as your normal 3-axis xyz job. This doesnât seem like a big deal, but it can be a huge time saver!
I think itâs tempting to think of a rotary as a tool to make lathe parts on a mill. But I would argue that it is more a tool to reduce setups (ideally to 1) of more traditional mill parts. You can use it like a lathe by utilizing the âwrap toolpathâ feature in fusion, though I have little experience with that. Almost all of the 4th axis machining I do is on tombstones and the wrap feature has little use if your part is not centered. (This is not on an altmill)
If you have a solid handle on 3-axis setups and strategies, then itâs a pretty small jump to using a rotary for 3+1 machining. In fusion youâll notice there is a âmulti-axisâ tab when you are editing a toolpath. If you select the tool orientation box then you can just re-orient the wcs and machine from a new position. Donât change the wcs origin.
For your setup you will want the wcs origin to be centered on the axis of rotation of the rotary. You have some freedom where it is along the x-axis. Your part does not necessarily need to be centered on this axis.
The bat and engraving example should be possible using the wrap feature in the multi-axis tab. I canât check now but might take a quick look when I get the chance.
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Thanks for explaining. I think I will stick all that information in the back of my brain should I ever get a Vortex. I suspect though, if I do get a Vortex, I am probably better off with Vectric Pro.