If you do a lot of roughing, what's your preference? Adaptive style with larger step-downs and small step-overs, or more traditional large stepovers and smaller step down?
When do you choose one over the other?
Roughing - Traditional or Adaptive?
Roughing - Traditional or Adaptive?
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mike miller
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Re: Roughing - Traditional or Adaptive?
Assuming you're referring to solid carbide endmills and not facemills? (With facemills the answer is obvious.)
I always liked to do both at once if possible. For example, with a 1/2" x 1" LOC 4-flute endmill in low-carbon steel I would cut up to 1" deep and with a .350" stepover at .003 ipt. I've never seen a trochoidal toolpath move material faster than that. Anything above 30 hrc I switch to HEM/adaptive with light stepover and extremely high feeds.
Granted, you have to have a premium endmill to do it, but it is fun!
I always liked to do both at once if possible. For example, with a 1/2" x 1" LOC 4-flute endmill in low-carbon steel I would cut up to 1" deep and with a .350" stepover at .003 ipt. I've never seen a trochoidal toolpath move material faster than that. Anything above 30 hrc I switch to HEM/adaptive with light stepover and extremely high feeds.
Granted, you have to have a premium endmill to do it, but it is fun!
He that finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for [Christ's] sake will find it. Matt. 10:39
Re: Roughing - Traditional or Adaptive?
I don't think there's a "Right" answer here and would depend entirely on things like how much material you have to remove, where the material is, tool you're using, material you're cutting, machine you're using and on and on.
The goal is to remove as much material as you can in the shortest amount of time so you adjust the path to accomplish that. If you're using a traditional roughing tool the largest problem I always had with small step down approach is tool life. You're only every using a small portion of the bottom of the tool. That wears out and the rest of the tool is never touched. Of course that's pretty easily fixed if you're decent with a cut off week and have a tool grinder holder with a surface grinder.
Also, never forget about not roughing at all. If you are taking a chunk out of a plate I have regularly made a path that just ramps down and cuts the profile out leaving a small amount attached at the bottom. Then step over a bit and go all the way through. As long as you're holding the outside chunk down solidly it won't jump into the tool and snap it off and you save a TON of time roughing. Again you can only do that in certain circumstances. Did this all the time profiling parts out of aluminum plates.