This is a first cut, only slightly tested, of a script I intend to use to help cut simple contours on electric guitar/bass bodies without resorting to external tools, alternate file formats, and 3D surfaces all the time. My goal is to produce a whole instrument using only CamBam.

This is based on ideas in 10bulls' Sloped Lines script as well as EddyCurrent's Text on Polyline among others.
Fair warning: I use the term "scan lines" a lot here because part of this effort reminded me of interlaced video scan lines. What's a better term? Cut lines?
To Use:
Select 2 or 3 open polylines in order of:
1) curve you want the slope to follow
2) single segment "vector" polyline defining the direction and length of the slope you want to build
3) OPTIONAL bounding curve where you want the slope to end
Set "Behavior" to one of:
ConstantAngle | - | sloped surface will have a constant angle but may have variable Z at the scan line endpoints if a boundary curve is selected |
ConstantHeight | - | sloped surface will have a constant Z at the end of each scan line but the slope angle may actually too extreme to cut if a boundary curve is too close to the curve being followed |
set "Orientation" to one of:
Parallel | - | orient generated scan lines parallel to the vector |
Perpendicular | - | orient generated scan lines perpendicular to the curve being followed |
Like the sloped lines script this is based on, the machine operation should be an engrave operation with 0 depth and optimization set to none.
When the slope of the vector polyline is negative (second point is lower in Z than the first point) the scan lines are generated FROM the curve being followed. If the vector has a positive slope the direction is reversed and the scan lines are generated TO MEET the curve being followed. This should be useful for cutting FROM a convex curve when the scan lines would spread out beyond the selected step over or even the bit diameter
The script attempts to compensate for bit diameter and does some rudimentary roughing optimization by skipping every other scan line except on the final pass. (this is the interlacing part)
I used an earlier version of the script to cut the belly contour (
http://www.cambam.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=5153.0;attach=13887) on a micro-bass project I've been prototyping for the last month or so.
I'll be cutting another prototype of the micro-bass this weekend and will use the script on both the arm bevel and belly contour but I wanted to get some feedback on suggestions or possible pitfalls.
Attached is a test CB file and a few pics of the generated scan lines.
D