I am trying to pocket this one hole on my part, and estlcam keeps turning it into some sort of helical drill due to it being a perfectly circular pocket. The problem with this is that the tool for some reason helical plunges really aggressive on that one pocket only with the same settings as the other pockets. I am suprised I didn’t break an endmill, my machine actually managed to survive the deep plunge. It went 6.4mm deep in a few seconds, dang. I don’t get it…how do I stop it? I kept clicking things and nothing popped up to remove this.
Also for the pockets surrounding the circle, I would like to have the thin interior slots start at a lower level, otherwise they cut air until they reach the depth. The start level setting isn’t letting me put negative values even though it says you can…why D:<
Ok that’s my rant/pleading for answers for today friends.
I don’t know what’s going on with the plunge. I’ve used the starting level before though. You put in a positive amount. The trick is to subtract the starting level from the depth. So if your pocket is 5mm deep and you want the slots to be a total of 8mm deep, then you put in 3mm for their depth.
Okay thanks jeffe about the start level, got that working good. The plunge part is still weird. Maybe I will record it in action because it is pretty nail biting. Seeing a 1/8 bit plunging into aluminum at that speed reminds me of one of those, “What the hell did I just gcode” moments. Can’t get around it.
Also a little note that may seem obvious to others, if you want higher tolerances with aluminum, set your finish tool to less than your actual bit diameter. This offsets the deflection in the machine and forces pockets to be of correct size. I have cut SO much aluminum lately and I can confirm that your outer dimensions will be over sized, pockets will be undersized. It’s just the way it works. Climb milling pushes the bit away from the material.
