Quote:
Originally Posted by btslaser
I saw that thread, lots of good information about plunging and ramping but I'm still wondering about using the side of the cutter to clear out a pocket/contour. The CAM program defaults to a huge side cut in the Adaptive Clearing mode and I was hesitant to load the cutter up too much for fear of breaking the bit. Haven't seen any calculators for this.
|
If you're using a half inch end mill, and you're going slowly, you should have a problem going with a pretty big side cut if you do it in steps (try 0.1" each step). If you want to go faster, look into getting a three/four flute bit for roughing. To echo what Cory said, make sure you clear the chips away. We've hooked an air line onto the machine before to blow them away, but it makes a huge mess.
I'd also recommend doing a finish pass. I know in MasterCAM there's an option to leave a small amount of material (I think we used 0.050) on your rough cut, the when you go for the finish pass you are removing only 0.05" so you'll get a great surface finish.
Finally, if you're looking for a calculator for these sorts of things, try g-wizard.