FRC 2485 - CAM Standards CD Release 2022-2023.pdf (12.7 MB)
Team 2485 is excited to release our updated CAM Standards, which have guided our CNC machining process during the Charged Up Build Season! CNC machining has been a technique under constant development for our team, and this year, we’ve undergone major revamps in our process! While certainly viable, during the 2022 Rapid React season, our CNC machining was often slow, and didn’t utilize the full capacity of the machines. By implementing new machining ideas, and optimizing the input values through repeated testing, we’ve been able to greatly reduce our manufacturing time.
This year, the W.A.R. Lords are proud to announce that our full robot and all prototypes were machined in-house, largely on our CNC machines. For a perspective of this improvement, the belly pan for last year’s robot, often the largest part we machine, took a consecutive 6-8 hours of milling. By contrast, with our new machining techniques, this year’s belly pan took just 53 minutes! Yet, this machining is not only super fast but also incredibly safe and sustainable—we’ve used the same CNC router endmill for over 6 months without any issues!
The included CAM Standards are modeled around the HSMWorks Ultimate software, which seamlessly integrates with Solidworks, our team’s preferred computer-aided design tool. However, the principles shown can be applied to any CAM software, and can more broadly represent recommended machining practices for any team.
Our team operates on a Velox 48X52 table router with a Mach 3 control system for larger plate parts, and a Supra 10X54 Knee Mill by CnC Masters with an Acurite Millpower G2 control system for smaller plate work and any box tube. Thus, some of the values in these CAM standards, such as the 18,000 RPM speed for milling, are tailored to the capabilities of our in-house machines. We encourage teams to adapt these values to their own mills, implementing the efficient practices we’ve proposed and found success with! Especially for newer teams, who are still in the process of getting involved with the complexities of CNC machining, we hope our comprehensive guide can be a strong introduction to CAM and effective techniques.
As always, let us know if you have any questions, and we’d love to help out!