TIL running a 3D contour finish with a smaller stepover saved me 2 hours on a mold job

I had this aluminum mold with a tricky curved surface and normally I run a 0.020 stepover on the finish pass. Tried 0.015 on a whim and the surface came out SO much cleaner I didn't need to hand polish it afterward. Saved me about 2 hours of manual work. Has anyone else found that dialing the stepover back pays off on complex shapes?

2 comments

2 Comments

wright.kevin23d ago

Try dropping to 0.01 on complex curves next time, really smooths out the tool marks.

aaron70823d ago

Nah man, that's way too slow. I'd rather deal with a few tool marks than watch my machine crawl through a whole program. Time is money.