Need Help - Improving Surface rough parallel tool path

[Drunken_Master]

Hello, I am hoping someone here can help with with a problem I am having. 

I am trying to cut a round wire groove into a piece that has already been cut to the desired shape in the EDM. I am using Surface Rough Parallel to rough the slot into the material and using Surface Finish Parallel to finish. I am having issues with the roughing cut cutting air over the radius as (hopefully) shown in the picture. Is there a way to minimize this? Maybe am I using the incorrect toolpath for what I want to do?

Please let me know if I need to clarify anything to help you help me. Thanks for your time!

[?Mark]

Gap settings, keep tool down?

[Drunken_Master]

I do not see a keep tool down check box in the Surface rough parallel toolpath parameters.  Here is another screen shot of my gap settings.  I think they are just the default settings.

 

 

[The Cathedral]

I think you need to use a different toolpath. Try Flowline.

[Rstewart]

That's a good application for STOCK MODEL, or STL and then use Surface high speed rest rough.  Then maybe flowline

[Jim at Gentex]

Yes, the Surface Rough toolpath is probably not ideal for what you are doing.

The toolpath is designed to incrementally step down so it sometimes will cut air.

 

You could try checking the 'Optimize Cut Order' and 'Plunge into previously cut area' in your Gap Settings, but I'm not sure that will do what you need.

 

You could also just do a rough pass with the Surface Finish toolpath and give it a positive 'Stock to leave on drive surfaces'  value, then run a second pass with that value set to zero.

 

There are many, many ways to get there.   

[?Mark]

Select gap distance and input large number, say 2 inch. See if it helps

[K2csq7]

There are certainly newer toolpaths, but you could break it up into multiple ops and use containment boundaries to focus on one area at a time.  

[Drunken_Master]

Thank you guys very much for your input!  I was unable to attain the desired results (with my minimum Mastercam experience) except with using the surface finish parallel toolpath with positive stock left on the drive.  I will keep messing around with the other suggestions to see if I can get them to work. 

 

thanks again!

[K2csq7]

If you can post the file here we may be able to take a look....

[Jayson Kramer]

due to your statment you have two option useing Trim tool path remove the excess cuts or use HST with a stock modle and left over to see were you have all ready cut.

[Drunken_Master]

Trim toolpath is awesome!  I have never even noticed that function before.    It just crashed my mastercam but I think I can make it work with that once I start it up again.  Here is the file anyways...

Wire Slot.MCX-7

[Müřlıń®]

This is the way i would cut it....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

Trim toolpath is awesome!  I have never even noticed that function before.    It just crashed my mastercam but I think I can make it work with that once I start it up again.  Here is the file anyways...

 

Trim toolpath is my last option ever to get a cut to do what I want.....

[Ocean Lacky™]

ok, could be wrong here, But...Doesn't the Surface Rough toolpaths 'assume' full stock? Since the part is already roughed out on an EDM, I would only use Finish paths to complete the job using multiple paths with reduced Stock to Leave as necessary.

[crazy^millman]

ok, could be wrong here, But...Doesn't the Surface Rough toolpaths 'assume' full stock? Since the part is already roughed out on an EDM, I would only use Finish paths to complete the job using multiple paths with reduced Stock to Leave as necessary.

 

Exactly why others were suggestion a completely different process. We just help a customer reduce run times on some manifolds by over 50% and the main toolpath for roughing the parts was this very toolpath.

[Drunken_Master]

Thanks again, everyone, for the help!