Toolpath help

[chall]

hi everyone,

 

This is my first post so just thought i would introduce my self. I work for a medical company in the uk and have been there bout 5 years now and started off as an apprentice. iv been using mastercam for the full time scale i have been there, but it seems no formal training has ever been used with regards to mc. currently im the only one using mcx as the others still use mc8 (not keen on change). all the skills i know is what i have picked up myself so may not be the right way so go easy on me. right to the point, i am machining a pocket in a component but im un able to achieve a good surface finish. im unsure of with path would be best. im roughing the pocket with a parellel with a 4mm ball nose i then need to finish the pocket and then put a .5mm rad at the bottom. i have uploaded the file on the ftp in mcx files and its called mat_newPOCKET SURFACES.MCX those surfaces are cut straight off the model and the blue surfaces need to be check. also can any one explain how to use a surface blend and flow line toolpaths? i have never used them and seem useful. sorry for the essay

 

mat

[Ron Branch @ Verisurf]

Do a search on those 2 toolpaths a lot has been covered over the years on them.

 

Welcome to the forum.

[pip]

Welcome to the forum.

Realy all does depend on the material.

Have you looked at a scallop tool path.

1mm ball nose cutter and scallop the surface with a 0.1 stepover would cut it relatively well.

What sort of surface finish do you need?

What material?

What spindle speed do you have?

We could possibly give you a bit more help with this info.

I have looked at your file but I cant put my file back on the server.

[#Rekd™]

Chall,

 

I don't have my sim with me at home to look at the file.

 

Always use 2d toolpaths when ever possible. I like to work from surfaces as opposed to working from a solid.

 

John

[pip]

Another factor, would be, what machine are you makeing this on.

I have placed a file on the server as a Z2G file for you to look at, as I said we need to know a lot more to give you the best result.

[chall]

sorry for the lack of info ppl. Currently im finishing it with a scallop with a 1mm ball, 16500 rpm step over 0.05 feed 850. M/C been used in a DMU 50 evolution (5 axis) its been cut out of stainless.the scallop path does not look right when its generating it seems to miss one of the vertical faces, is this because there is no draft on that face? this is a prototype at the min so there are no actual surface finish requirements as yet, i will be machining the first one next week but have concerns about this area. thanks for the help as well everyone. i'v only been a member a few days and already learned alot.

[pip]

If the scallop path misses a face or 2, try turning filter option on, 1 to 1.

[chall]

filter is on 1 to 1. iv just copied it across to another file, reapplied the path and its worked fine, but with the same settings in the old file it miss a surface.

[MIL-TFP-41]

quote:

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currently im the only one using mcx as the others still use mc8 (not keen on change)

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quote:

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M/C been used in a DMU 50 evolution (5 axis)

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That is a sweet machine....and all the others are using mc8????

 

I can't remember....but does MC8 even have the "basic" 5axis simultaneous toolpaths??? No WCS in V8 from what I remember....

 

Do yourself a favor....get a few books...spend some time after hours studying...with you using a modern tool (MCX) you will be dominating the programming dept in no time.

[chall]

our department consists of 4 engineers 3 of which use cad/cam. (me and two others) they both are over 50 and slightly old school and dont like change im 22 and love anything new, so im pushing forward in this area quickly and trying to utilise all the resources to there full potential. we dont use it for full sim 5 axis as we dont have a post (YET ). we use full 5 axis on our high speed in the tool room, but they use visi. could you recommend any books?

[MIL-TFP-41]

There are many resources out there...in my (granted limited with book learning) experience the books you can order from e-mastercam are very easy to follow. I am sure that there are also many other excellent sources....including on-line classes. Your employer...if they have any sort of a clue...should buy these books/classes for you. It honestly boggles my mind to be using a very advanced machine with 10 year old software.