Search for a true 4 axis Cam

Hi 

I saw a video here : www.youtube.com/shorts/e60EBb8NXKA
It seems to have a 4 axis machine doing undercuts and true statue carving.
I have extended my LCNC 2.9 version recently with a rotary axis, so now I have X Y Z and A axis. Rotary is parallel to Y.

I am looking for some CAm software like the one used in the video to carve extended arms and horns as done in this video.

Which CAM am I looking at ? The comment in the short video says  powermill, alphacam, UG.

I tried desproto 7.1 and was able to create their venus model perfectly. But when I put a more complex design with statue having extended arms, the CAM seemd to not be able to do it or there was complex setup for the same.

Can someone suggest which CAM has builtin PP and support for linuxcnc for such carvings ?

Cheers
Ritu
 

I also use DeskProto, and it's impossible to configure it the way you want. One axis, either X or Y, is always static above the rotation axis, and in that case, you won't be able to create undercuts.

I recently created my own program that could move in both X and Y simultaneously, but so far I haven't succeeded (with a helper, of course). One cool thing I managed to achieve is variable milling density, depending on the slope of the milled slope, so that on flat sections, the milling isn't too dense, but on steep slopes, it's not too sparse. I haven't seen this in other programs, although I haven't seen everything. The program works well, but it won't create undercuts. Maybe someday I'll resume working on true four-axis machining.

At some point, we will see true simultaneous 4th (and 5th?) axis CAM that is affordable for amateur use. I use Fusion myself and it supports "3.5 axis" toolpaths ie indexed or wrapped 4th axis, not true simultaneous 4 axis. Fusion does actually support simultaneous 4th but for access you have to cough up for the ludicrously expensive "extensions".

I've seen a few of these 4 and even 5 axis desktop machines being marketed (Pocket NC, Infimaker, Makera etc), yet I've no idea how you would be expected to create toolpaths of your own. Does anyone know?

Looks as if Freecad is in the early stages of developing 4th axis. That may be our best hope in the medium term.

All those "affordable" 5-axis machines marketed seem to be kind of a scam. Machining extension for the mentioned CAM program costs (AI info unverified) 3200$ per year.
Rarely a real 5 axis machining is shown. My suspicion is that most of the few examples are show pieces which took a lot of effort to prepare.
For the Statue due to lack of CAM I would probably do some 2.5D setups and use the rotary axis as positioner rather than as a fourth axis.

Saw a new one today - takshakcam.com/product

Lots of tall promises - but an incredible price if they are telling the truth

"3-axis & 4-axis rotary - Full 3-axis milling plus a single rotary A-axis: indexed 3+1 and simultaneous 4-axis, including a collision-certified geodesic finish." From their website