Ukraine Train
Cast Iron
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2014
- Location
- Ohio
I'm getting more into 3D contouring and want to find out what the best practices are. I'm getting ready to do the die in the pictures below. I'm planning to rough it out in .080" deep steps with a 1.25" APKT inserted end mill then finish with a 3/8" inserted ball nose with .008" stepover. My initial questions are: is .080" too much of a step for the finish tool to work through? Or is the light stepover going to prevent any unwanted deflection? Also, what would the ideal tool path for the finisher look like? I've done parts like this where I just zigzagged across the whole thing, but I have other options like spiraling out from the center, following the profile, etc.
Roughing step:
Finishing step with zigzag:
Roughing step:
Finishing step with zigzag: