Dimensions for CNC machining

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Creating a drawing for a part that will be CNC milled.
Should all of my dimensions come from a baseline on the part, like an edge or is it ok to use Centerlines?



See yellow highlighted dimensions below for example. 1.775 is from the centerline of the part. Would it be better to dimension it from the edge of the material as shown with the red arrow? Same for the other yellow highlight, 0.100 X 4.



Thanks for any advice.



Example drawing










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    Creating a drawing for a part that will be CNC milled.
    Should all of my dimensions come from a baseline on the part, like an edge or is it ok to use Centerlines?



    See yellow highlighted dimensions below for example. 1.775 is from the centerline of the part. Would it be better to dimension it from the edge of the material as shown with the red arrow? Same for the other yellow highlight, 0.100 X 4.



    Thanks for any advice.



    Example drawing










    share|improve this question







    New contributor




    RickH is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.





















      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite









      up vote
      1
      down vote

      favorite











      Creating a drawing for a part that will be CNC milled.
      Should all of my dimensions come from a baseline on the part, like an edge or is it ok to use Centerlines?



      See yellow highlighted dimensions below for example. 1.775 is from the centerline of the part. Would it be better to dimension it from the edge of the material as shown with the red arrow? Same for the other yellow highlight, 0.100 X 4.



      Thanks for any advice.



      Example drawing










      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      RickH is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      Creating a drawing for a part that will be CNC milled.
      Should all of my dimensions come from a baseline on the part, like an edge or is it ok to use Centerlines?



      See yellow highlighted dimensions below for example. 1.775 is from the centerline of the part. Would it be better to dimension it from the edge of the material as shown with the red arrow? Same for the other yellow highlight, 0.100 X 4.



      Thanks for any advice.



      Example drawing







      mechanical-engineering






      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      RickH is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question







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      RickH is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









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      RickH

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          3 Answers
          3






          active

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          up vote
          1
          down vote













          When you are designing you use the dimensions that make sense for designing. So if the important dimension is from the centerline then measure from the centerline.



          However, it is generally better if you measure something you can easily verify. So in many cases you wouldn't measure to the centerline but rather to the mirror entity, a bit like prefering to measure diameter rather than radius. This has some consequences for the design though, which may or may not be what you need.*



          Be aware that your design may need to be flipped which may cause some tolerance issues. Or did you plan for the manufacturer to countersink manually? Also hard corner inner holes are a bit hard to make with the mill, so round the corners.



          * So measuring half the distance may in some cases double up distances your general tolerance. But that may or may not come to play check your relevant standard. Remember your document is also your acceptance criteria in cases where something goes wrong.






          share|improve this answer






















          • This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
            – Jonathan R Swift
            20 mins ago

















          up vote
          0
          down vote













          I think it's okay to refer to the centrelines, however if you refer to the centreline, and you refer the centreline to the edge, then it's not a good idea at all, because you pile on the tolerances, i mean if you draw the dimensions subsequently one after the other.






          share|improve this answer
















          • 1




            If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
            – alephzero
            1 hour ago

















          up vote
          0
          down vote













          It doesn't matter where you draw the dimension lines for humans to read. The software knows where everything is, otherwise it wouldn't be able to draw it on the computer screen.



          The CNC machine is actually going to move from one point to another following the order in which it machines the various features, and you shouldn't be concerned about that level of detail while you are designing and drawing the part. Whether the machine's software will work out the best (i.e. quickest) order automatically, or whether it will need a bit of human guidance to avoid trying to do impossible things, is something to think about after you have reached the final design, not before.






          share|improve this answer




















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            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes








            3 Answers
            3






            active

            oldest

            votes









            active

            oldest

            votes






            active

            oldest

            votes








            up vote
            1
            down vote













            When you are designing you use the dimensions that make sense for designing. So if the important dimension is from the centerline then measure from the centerline.



            However, it is generally better if you measure something you can easily verify. So in many cases you wouldn't measure to the centerline but rather to the mirror entity, a bit like prefering to measure diameter rather than radius. This has some consequences for the design though, which may or may not be what you need.*



            Be aware that your design may need to be flipped which may cause some tolerance issues. Or did you plan for the manufacturer to countersink manually? Also hard corner inner holes are a bit hard to make with the mill, so round the corners.



            * So measuring half the distance may in some cases double up distances your general tolerance. But that may or may not come to play check your relevant standard. Remember your document is also your acceptance criteria in cases where something goes wrong.






            share|improve this answer






















            • This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
              – Jonathan R Swift
              20 mins ago














            up vote
            1
            down vote













            When you are designing you use the dimensions that make sense for designing. So if the important dimension is from the centerline then measure from the centerline.



            However, it is generally better if you measure something you can easily verify. So in many cases you wouldn't measure to the centerline but rather to the mirror entity, a bit like prefering to measure diameter rather than radius. This has some consequences for the design though, which may or may not be what you need.*



            Be aware that your design may need to be flipped which may cause some tolerance issues. Or did you plan for the manufacturer to countersink manually? Also hard corner inner holes are a bit hard to make with the mill, so round the corners.



            * So measuring half the distance may in some cases double up distances your general tolerance. But that may or may not come to play check your relevant standard. Remember your document is also your acceptance criteria in cases where something goes wrong.






            share|improve this answer






















            • This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
              – Jonathan R Swift
              20 mins ago












            up vote
            1
            down vote










            up vote
            1
            down vote









            When you are designing you use the dimensions that make sense for designing. So if the important dimension is from the centerline then measure from the centerline.



            However, it is generally better if you measure something you can easily verify. So in many cases you wouldn't measure to the centerline but rather to the mirror entity, a bit like prefering to measure diameter rather than radius. This has some consequences for the design though, which may or may not be what you need.*



            Be aware that your design may need to be flipped which may cause some tolerance issues. Or did you plan for the manufacturer to countersink manually? Also hard corner inner holes are a bit hard to make with the mill, so round the corners.



            * So measuring half the distance may in some cases double up distances your general tolerance. But that may or may not come to play check your relevant standard. Remember your document is also your acceptance criteria in cases where something goes wrong.






            share|improve this answer














            When you are designing you use the dimensions that make sense for designing. So if the important dimension is from the centerline then measure from the centerline.



            However, it is generally better if you measure something you can easily verify. So in many cases you wouldn't measure to the centerline but rather to the mirror entity, a bit like prefering to measure diameter rather than radius. This has some consequences for the design though, which may or may not be what you need.*



            Be aware that your design may need to be flipped which may cause some tolerance issues. Or did you plan for the manufacturer to countersink manually? Also hard corner inner holes are a bit hard to make with the mill, so round the corners.



            * So measuring half the distance may in some cases double up distances your general tolerance. But that may or may not come to play check your relevant standard. Remember your document is also your acceptance criteria in cases where something goes wrong.







            share|improve this answer














            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer








            edited 32 mins ago

























            answered 39 mins ago









            joojaa

            2,0321520




            2,0321520











            • This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
              – Jonathan R Swift
              20 mins ago
















            • This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
              – Jonathan R Swift
              20 mins ago















            This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
            – Jonathan R Swift
            20 mins ago




            This is almost exactly what I would have written. This drawing is for a human, and should 1) be readable and 2) be useful for verifying that the computer made the part to spec. It should show any key functional inspection dimensions and their tolerances.
            – Jonathan R Swift
            20 mins ago










            up vote
            0
            down vote













            I think it's okay to refer to the centrelines, however if you refer to the centreline, and you refer the centreline to the edge, then it's not a good idea at all, because you pile on the tolerances, i mean if you draw the dimensions subsequently one after the other.






            share|improve this answer
















            • 1




              If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
              – alephzero
              1 hour ago














            up vote
            0
            down vote













            I think it's okay to refer to the centrelines, however if you refer to the centreline, and you refer the centreline to the edge, then it's not a good idea at all, because you pile on the tolerances, i mean if you draw the dimensions subsequently one after the other.






            share|improve this answer
















            • 1




              If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
              – alephzero
              1 hour ago












            up vote
            0
            down vote










            up vote
            0
            down vote









            I think it's okay to refer to the centrelines, however if you refer to the centreline, and you refer the centreline to the edge, then it's not a good idea at all, because you pile on the tolerances, i mean if you draw the dimensions subsequently one after the other.






            share|improve this answer












            I think it's okay to refer to the centrelines, however if you refer to the centreline, and you refer the centreline to the edge, then it's not a good idea at all, because you pile on the tolerances, i mean if you draw the dimensions subsequently one after the other.







            share|improve this answer












            share|improve this answer



            share|improve this answer










            answered 2 hours ago









            Sam Farjamirad

            594215




            594215







            • 1




              If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
              – alephzero
              1 hour ago












            • 1




              If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
              – alephzero
              1 hour ago







            1




            1




            If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
            – alephzero
            1 hour ago




            If you refer the edge to the centerline (not the other way round) there are no tolerances to stack up. For some components (e.g. axisymmetric parts) the centerline is the "obvious" datum to work from.
            – alephzero
            1 hour ago










            up vote
            0
            down vote













            It doesn't matter where you draw the dimension lines for humans to read. The software knows where everything is, otherwise it wouldn't be able to draw it on the computer screen.



            The CNC machine is actually going to move from one point to another following the order in which it machines the various features, and you shouldn't be concerned about that level of detail while you are designing and drawing the part. Whether the machine's software will work out the best (i.e. quickest) order automatically, or whether it will need a bit of human guidance to avoid trying to do impossible things, is something to think about after you have reached the final design, not before.






            share|improve this answer
























              up vote
              0
              down vote













              It doesn't matter where you draw the dimension lines for humans to read. The software knows where everything is, otherwise it wouldn't be able to draw it on the computer screen.



              The CNC machine is actually going to move from one point to another following the order in which it machines the various features, and you shouldn't be concerned about that level of detail while you are designing and drawing the part. Whether the machine's software will work out the best (i.e. quickest) order automatically, or whether it will need a bit of human guidance to avoid trying to do impossible things, is something to think about after you have reached the final design, not before.






              share|improve this answer






















                up vote
                0
                down vote










                up vote
                0
                down vote









                It doesn't matter where you draw the dimension lines for humans to read. The software knows where everything is, otherwise it wouldn't be able to draw it on the computer screen.



                The CNC machine is actually going to move from one point to another following the order in which it machines the various features, and you shouldn't be concerned about that level of detail while you are designing and drawing the part. Whether the machine's software will work out the best (i.e. quickest) order automatically, or whether it will need a bit of human guidance to avoid trying to do impossible things, is something to think about after you have reached the final design, not before.






                share|improve this answer












                It doesn't matter where you draw the dimension lines for humans to read. The software knows where everything is, otherwise it wouldn't be able to draw it on the computer screen.



                The CNC machine is actually going to move from one point to another following the order in which it machines the various features, and you shouldn't be concerned about that level of detail while you are designing and drawing the part. Whether the machine's software will work out the best (i.e. quickest) order automatically, or whether it will need a bit of human guidance to avoid trying to do impossible things, is something to think about after you have reached the final design, not before.







                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered 1 hour ago









                alephzero

                6,4911520




                6,4911520




















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