Divide Curve with Stepdown

[benlawson]

Hi Johannes,

First off, I wanted to say that I've really enjoyed using PRC!  We've been using it with our Agilus and have found it very helpful in programming the robot.  We recently were routing surfaces, and I have a suggestion for the divide curve with stepdown component.  It's really helpful to have this component, but I noticed that the way it works right now, each toolpath and its stepdowns are finished before moving to the next toolpath.  It would be more helpful to have each stepdown completed before moving down to the next stepdown, rather than grouping by toolpath, so the collet of the router head doesn't hit the stock.  I've attached a grasshopper file that reorganizes the output of the component into the order I'm talking about.  It would be great if this were an option in the component, as well as an option to zig-zag the toolpaths so the router could keep its head down, saving more time.  Just something I noticed that could be a good add on to the component.

Thanks!

Ben

[Johannes @ Robots in Architecture]

Hello Ben,

Thank you for the suggestion! These kinds of utility components are always a bit tricky as we have to find a balance between many options and easy-to-use...
In this case you would also have to decide on some kind of safety distance, and then the question is whether you set the distance by absolute or relative values etc.
I'll see what I can do regarding the stepdown and how to implement the option!

In the meantime I've attached a Grasshopper script how you could also achieve that!

Best,
Johannes @ Robots in Architecture