"slicing" for corner milling - Is that the correct name ?

Milacron

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• Jun 8, 2011

• #1

I did a search and couldn't find much here on the CAM patterns for corners...but maybe I wasn't using the right terms. See video below...

CAM Programming Tip: Rest Milling Corners - Slicing |

What say ye ?

 

J

Joe788

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• Jun 8, 2011

• #2

I've never seen it called "slicing" before. It's been around for a while. Surfcam Truemill and the Cimco HSM Performance Pack for Mastercam for many years, with Volumill and Mastercam Dynamic milling more recently. It works amazingly well.

 

C

chipload007

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Georgia

• Jun 9, 2011

• #3

This technique is called trochoidal milling. A trochoid is defined as "the motion of a Hurricane". Joe788 is correct. The different CAM companies have different names for it. The industry refers to it as trochoidal milling though.

 

Captdave

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Atlanta, GA

• Jun 9, 2011

• #4

I mill a lot of lobes and long deep slots using trochoidal milling and man it will fly. Looks like a bunch of half circles and since the tool doesn't retract there's very little wasted motion. 1/2 3 flt aluminum specific cutter 2.0" LOC 10,000 RPM 1.8 DOC 20% step over 125IPM will cut a 1.0" wide slot 2" long in 15-20 seconds including finish pass.

First time I used it it scared the crap out of me. I never thought an end mill would ever be capable of cutting that fast.

 

J

Joe788

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• Jun 9, 2011

• #5

chipload007 said:

This technique is called trochoidal milling. A trochoid is defined as "the motion of a Hurricane". Joe788 is correct. The different CAM companies have different names for it. The industry refers to it as trochoidal milling though.

Click to expand...

Typical trochoidal milling is quite a bit different than the constant engagement type path they are describing. Old fashioned "let's do some circles" trochoidal milling is usually pretty terrible compared to what's out there now.

 

Milacron

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• Jun 9, 2011

• #6

chipload007 said:

This technique is called trochoidal milling.

Click to expand...

Are you sure ? Sandvick has another video on trochoidal milling specifically.

CAM Programming Tip: Trochoidal Milling |

 

C

chipload007

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Georgia

• Jun 9, 2011

• #7

Actually what is shown is a hybrid type of trochoidal milling. Some CAM packages have the ability to analyze a pocket and determine when to use trochoidal milling and when to use more traditional types of tool paths. It is really a combination of the two.

 

cmailco

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Aug 22, 2010

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Dallas, TX

• Jun 9, 2011

• #8

I believe NX6 terms it "slicing" but a lot of CAM companies use a similar technique for rest milling corners. Some better than others.

It's a real tool saver in tougher materials.

 

B

BobWarfield

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Mar 4, 2006

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Northern California

• Jun 9, 2011

• #9

Lots of terms flying around. What's shown is often refered to as "corner peeling" as it peels the corner like an onion. I don't know that there is any one term for it though as it seems more like an end result than the technique to get the result.

I say that because lots of different ways to get corner peeling going. Constant engagement HSM paths do it automatically. Trochoidal paths can do it. You could even write a macro to do it--not a hard path to hand code.

Cheers,

BW
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