Ideas on finishing angle pockets fillets

[crazy^millman]

Okay so I got one I thought I would see what others would attempt. I am machining the part on a 4th axis Horizontal machine. I have the part sitting like it will be from the center of rotation. I got rid of the rest of the part since it is ITAR and only have the area in question shown. I wanted to machine the radius on the pocket using a 3/16 ball endmill. I have thrown just about every toolpath I can think at it and none gave me the results I wanted. I then old schooled it and offset the surface .09375 to give me the center line of my 3/16 ball endmill. I then went in and used create/curve/flowline with a .007 step over which should work for finishing the area I need. I then drew in the one area where the flowlines went the wrong way and know have full center lines at each .007 step. I then did a contour toolpath at tip in 3D, but told it -.09375 on the depth to get the correct contact with the endmill to surface. I tired Surface finish flowline, blend, contour and scallop and HST toolpaths and none gave me the results like I get using this way. This method I used of course take a lot more time so was hoping I am missing something here and someone who is willing to take a look and tell me what I am missing. The result of the 3D contour is what I want, but again what surface toolpath will give it? I even tried doing a 5 axis toolpath and the Multisurface 5 axis had the correct look for flowlines, but then did not get desired results either.

 

As always thanks to anyone willing to take the time and look at this. Any help, suggestion or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[mayday]

backplotting your path, I dont think you want this Ron

[mayday]

take a look

5TH AXIS RADIUS FINISH.MCX-7

[Guest]

Ron,

 

To my way of thinking, that is a perfect scenerio for Hybrid, get it all in 1 path

[MIL-TFP-41]

just a quick look...it seems that your 3d contour is violating the edge of the part. The radius actually curves up past 90 degrees on the bottom edge. I got a pretty good flowline result by creating a swept surface and then trimming said surface to a 90 deg quadrant on the radius. Still violates the bottom edge tho...

5TH AXIS RADIUS FINISH TEST.MCX-7

[crazy^millman]

Thanks for pointing that out and yes it does go past the part not as good as I thought.

 

I will review these different options you guys gave me and see what I come up with thanks.

[brandon b]

I m om my iphone so i cant sownload your file but Have you given the project toolpath a thought?

[crazy^millman]

Okay I looked at all the files and John that does cut some air having to start at the top edge, but I guess you just have to accept what you can get. I like it start at the top, but be nice if it start and the edge of the endmill and not the tip of the endmill. I could offset my chains and make what I did work, but need to move on to other pressing work and customer will just have to happy with that. Thanks I appreciate the help.

 

Brandon was posting the above and missed your reply yes I had, but at the angle was back to what would give me the results I was after the one edge is really not where it should be so it kind of makes it odd to even attempt at this angle.

[MrFish]

Okay I looked at all the files and John that does cut some air having to start at the top edge, but I guess you just have to accept what you can get. I like it start at the top, but be nice if it start and the edge of the endmill and not the tip of the endmill. I could offset my chains and make what I did work, but need to move on to other pressing work and customer will just have to happy with that. Thanks I appreciate the help.

 

Brandon was posting the above and missed your reply yes I had, but at the angle was back to what would give me the results I was after the one edge is really not where it should be so it kind of makes it odd to even attempt at this angle.

 

Ron use the hybrid toolpath that Jparis did but set the top face as a check surface and then set it to leave 0.0001" on the check surface and you will get the cutter starting at the edge.

[crazy^millman]

Mr Fish thanks. I will implement that.

[left coast lefty]

How about this?

5TH AXIS RADIUS FINISH SURFACE HS SCALLOP.MCX-7

[crazy^millman]

Left Coast that is about as same as the Hybrid John gave me to try. Like his the tool starts right on the edge of the top surface and then has to works its was down cutting air before the side of the endmill really starts taking a cut. Gets the parts cut, but not exactly what I was hoping to get like I got with my hack together method. Flowline cuts this part, but jumps all over the place. Thanks for taking a look at it.

[left coast lefty]

My pleasure!

[BenK]

I would do surface high speed scallop. I copied your water line tool path changed it to scallop with the following changes; Cut parameters page, change stepover to what ever you like, I used .003, select expand inside to out, tool containment compensate to inside with a -.01 offset. Steep/shallow page select use boundaries as drive curves than collapse. I would attach a file but I don't have a level 3 licence at home only HLE. Hope this helps.

[reidmachine]

Surface finish shallow, use edge curves created from the solid pocket edges for containment.

[BenK]

Here is the file.

[?Mark]

If you orient it the right way you can use pocket/contour combination ;-)

[crazy^millman]

Benk got the file and will review thanks.

 

Reid thanks will look at and see.

 

Mark thought I stripped enough out so you could not get that much of the part.

Either way I positioned it this way to not have to keller the slot. If I made it normal to that pocket then I have to surface machine the radius in the slot. I wanted to waterfall it through and be done with it. Coming back or trying to surface machine that area and then blend once there is nothing supporting it was something I was trying to avoid. A little bit of surfacing on the pocket here is good enough.

 

Thanks everyone for looking at the file I appreciate it.

[?Mark]

 

Mark thought I stripped enough out so you could not get that much of the part.

 

 

You did. We made this part here already, lol ;-)

[crazy^millman]

Kind of thought so.

[Chipmakr]

I created upper & lower rails and one across curve with create\curve\edge. Then I created a single surface with create\surface\swept. This provided a clean surface that flowline could drive cleanly. It did not like your undercut condition which was discussed earlier so it jumped in that area. You could rotate a few degrees to open up that access, or if your process objectives prohibit that additional rotation you could just use a lollipop cutter and it drives it cleanly as positioned.

 

[crazy^millman]

Dwain, thanks for posting that up.