Thanks for the replies everyone. Rekd, I'll try various coated cutters. 99% of my previous machining is slow manual stuff and I have never needed the speed which makes coatings cost-advantageous.
Hu, I agree with you on the ramp to depth. This small run used a simple .DXF to G code conversion, which isn't sophisticated. The first cut was a straight plunge to 0.015" with a 4-flute mill, lots of nasty squall. That one plunge probably dulled that cutter instantly. After the first test cut, I edited the code so that the cutter plunged in air and approached the work on a horizontal plane. This worked better.
I think the answer might be as Rekd suggests, smaller Z steps and faster feed. By doing both, the cycle time shouldn't increase excessively. My whole machinist mindset is still geared to slow manual work with HSS, big feeds, slow speeds.
Funny, when I upgraded from a 3-1 mill machine to a BP clone, it took me a couple years to really understand how aggressively I could machine with the better mill. I was taking these goofy, wee cuts with the BP because I had been "burned" too many times with the 3-1 machine when I attempted to hurry things along.
Again, guys, thanks for all the expert advice. And I gotta ask again, can anyone recommend "speed/feed" software for this type of HS setup? Previously it was all an educated guess on my slow manual machines. I realize now that there is quite a bit of science behind optimizing an operation with a small, HS cutter.  |