I am trying to mill out a rectangular slot with SW CAM. I would like to be able to save some movement/operation time by using a Rough Mill to finish the slot. I did not think that that was possible but wanted to see what others thought.
I have a rough mill followed by a contour mill to get the slot done, but when the system goes from rough to contour there is wasted movement where it ends the rough raises up, goes back toward the center of the slot and then goes into finishing. I want to take out that wasted movement. Any ideas?
Bode,
If you want to finish with the roughing passes. you can set your x,y and z stock to leave to zero and it will finish to size.
If you want to reduce the steps between roughing and finishing, you can check your leadin/out settings or try playing with the rest machining options in the operating parameters as it should truncate the moves based on available material.
Check your entry settings. For a rectangular pocket, it should be set to none.
You can also check or change your start settings and adjust the leadin/out type. If you have a perpendicular setting with a long lead-in, it could cause what you are describing above.
Mike