3D Slot and 3D Chamfer

[NOTW Programmer]

Any ideas on how to tackle this part, all I have to do is a .375D slot .09Deep and a 60Deg Chamfer around its edge (x50). Any suggestions, I have used a simple contout with Comp off, and created the center line at height to drive it, then swept a surface using the upper and lower rail to run a flowline path on the chamfer. Any suggestions, wanna use the best path available. Thx !

[Rotary Ninja]

I think I would attack this one just like you did. Comp set to off and drive the center, maybe two depth cuts taking a few thousandths at finish depth. This would depend on the material and how good the finish needs to be. Then a flowline or a contour surface finish pass starting from the bottom up making a few laps around.

[NOTW Programmer]

Problem im having is the entry plunge, material is SS304 and im worried that the tool would clog up and fail. Wondering if there is a way to ramp the entry with a contour and comp set to off.

[Rotary Ninja]

Yeah, on the lead-in. Give it a perpendicular entry and set the ramp height to .100"

[NOTW Programmer]

Yeah, on the lead-in. Give it a perpendicular entry and set the ramp height to .100"

[Rotary Ninja]

Oh, yeah that won't work. Will look when I get back to work. If nothing else do a point toolpath creating 3 points with one raised up .100" or so and away from the end enough to create a ramp move.

[uncle_dolan]

Problem im having is the entry plunge, material is SS304 and im worried that the tool would clog up and fail. Wondering if there is a way to ramp the entry with a contour and comp set to off.

 

Have you tried just doing a contour(ramp)??? This will follow your geomtery with compensation set to off, and get it to do a pass at final depth

[uncle_dolan]

see picture

[Rotary Ninja]

Yeah, that will work, but will ramp the full length of the contour making two passes.

[uncle_dolan]

Yeah, that will work, but will ramp the full length of the contour making two passes.

 

Is this more what you were thinking?

 

This just has the ramp set steeper and no finsh pass at full depth

[Rotary Ninja]

The ramp needs to go the opposite direction into the corner. I really wish I was sitting at my PC at work LOL.

[uncle_dolan]

Gotcha! Sorry Im a little slow! Yeah I would say without drawing your engage line and doing a 3d contour, the first ramp method (doing the 2 passes) would be the closest method i know how to.

[uncle_dolan]

but more like this

[Rotary Ninja]

Try this... I am trying to work from memory here... Contour toolpath, compensation turned off. On the lead-in/out page try a tangent entry. Set the distance or length or whatever it is to -.375". Set the ramp to .100". Zero's everywhere else. See if that works. Turn the exit side off.

[uncle_dolan]

Bingo!

[uncle_dolan]

All values are metric obviously

[Rotary Ninja]

That's it. I have never tried a negative value. That'll come in handy.

[uncle_dolan]

Yeah me neither! great trick to know!

[Rotary Ninja]

I play with the settings all the time to see what I get. Here, try this one...

 

Draw an L shaped contour. Create a contour path around it. Do a tangent lead in and out with like a 45 deg sweep or whatever. Turn depth cuts on and set to .250". Keep tool down is unchecked. On the linking page Set the clearance to 2.00". Check "use clearance only at start and end" and enable the retract plane. Set retract to incremental with a value of 0.00. Same settings for feed plane - incremental and 0.00. Top of stock to absolute and 0.00. Depth to absolute and -2.00". Your tool will make a pass, stay down, and rapid back for the next pass. I had a part this took like 15 minutes out of the cycle time.

[NOTW Programmer]

Bingo!

Thats nice but the ramp angle is around 26deg, im afraid the tool will build up and fail. I used a Surface Finish Shallow and used direction to do a 5deg ramp 1.1" long; I used the slot's edges as a boundary and it worked like a charm. Will be trying to figure a shallower ramp with contour which should be 1.1"length and .096" height. Thx for the Help guys !

[NOTW Programmer]

Here is the Contour with the same effect, I like this better since it can do a finish depth cut. How can I do a finish pass with the surface toolpaths, do I have to make a separate toolpath for Finish ?

[Rotary Ninja]

Just change the -.375" length setting to -1.250" or whatever you want.

[NOTW Programmer]

Check out what happens when I try to do a Xform ToolPath Rotate, the STL vefiry goes nuts and there is an unknow to me error when I try to post. Talk about bad code, there are double -- on the coordinates.

[Rotary Ninja]

With any surface finish path you can just choose to leave a few thousandths on the drive surfaces and use that as a semi-finish pass. Then copy that toolpath down, set stock left on drive surfaces to zero and then you will have your finish pass.

 

On your XForm rotate are you rotating about the right axis?

[mig]

You can make 2d operation (2d contour ) then toolpath surface- project this operation