Tool path for pocket has lots of retracts

[SGoldthwaite]

Here is a screen cast of my simuilation show two pockets being milled.  The first one is done rather inefficiently because the tool keep retacting up and starting over from the same side.  the second pocket is better where the tool starts in the middle and follows a path in bigger and bigger rectangles.  Is tehre anything I can do to make the first pocket toolpath similar to the second.

Here's the screencast: https://screencast.autodesk.com/main/details/d01ba743-02a9-4c13-afe1-be451e1e0a48

Here's my model: http://a360.co/1Jzj6FF

[keqingsong]

Thanks for reaching out! I'll have someone on the CAM team look at your process and a CAM expert will get back to you asap.

[bob_holland]

SGoldthwaite,

Until one of our CAM specialists can chime in and correct me if I am wrong, I think the key is to set your Horizontal to cut both ways:

Please check this and let us know if that is not the issue.

[jeff.walters]

What’s happening is that you have one “pocket with 3 sides open and one with one side open. The system is walking its way in from the outside on the left pocket climb milling. If you want it to cut like the second pocket you can create a sketch of the 3 sides and define it the same way and you will get the same results.

[bob_holland]

SGoldthwaite,

I had a chance to look at you model and it looks like all you need to do is set you 2D Pocket to cut both ways:

Please try this.

Thank you.

[jeff.walters]

Cutting both ways may work but you will be combining climb and conventional cutting. In wood it may be ok but in metal not a good choice for a deep pocket.

[SGoldthwaite]

I'm milling wood on my Shapeoko.  For this it isn't really a big deal and I'm only doing a couple pieces, so I don't really care about efficiency.  But I'm new to Fusion and CAM, so I'm trying to learn how all this works so I can better understand it.

[SGoldthwaite]

I'm milling wood on my Shapeoko.  For this project the tool path isn't really a big deal and I'm only doing a couple pieces, so I don't really care about efficiency.  But I'm new to Fusion and CAM, so I'm trying to learn how all this works so I can better understand and control the tool path.

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I just wanted to note that I've tried climb cutting a couple times on the Shapeoko and didn't have a lot of luck: I get lots of chatter and poor surface finish even at very low feeds (I think I tried down to about 15-20 ipm).  The machine flexes a fair bit.  

Don't let that stop you from trying though.

I've described elsewhere here how I use adaptive on this machine.

-c