Originally Posted by
MGPL
Task
make a 9mm diameter hole all the way through 2mm of aluminum (seems simple)
material: 2mm thick Aluminum, probably 6061
drill bit: 3.175mm diameter, 37mm entire length, 18mm length for cutting area, flat at the end, 2 flutes, and supposedly made for metal (can't read the description, it's in chinese, probably HSS, (hope that's enough), feed per tooth not provided.
Settings in program
2D Area Clearance
Start Depth: 0
Finish Depth: 2.05
Allowance: 0
Final Tool Allowance: 0
Tolerance: 0.02
Tool: Stepover: 1.27mm; Stepdown: 3mm; Feed Rate: 17mm; Plunge Rate:4mm; Spindle:15000rpm
Tool clearance strategy: Offset / cut direction: Conventional / start point: inside
Independent Finish Depth: not used
Add Ramping Moves: not used
material: 2.05mm
i calculated the toolpath, saved it, and ran it in Mach3
the initial plunge went straight down into 2mm, lots of noise, lots of small bits of metal debris, and the chuck fell off, the bit got stuck and broke.
I got the basics of Artcam down, but the parameters are off I think.
I don't really understand stepover in contrast to feed rate nor, plunge rate in comparison to stepdown, allowance, tollerance. help me out, thanks.