Feed rate for Vertical move down to my work

[tracy.hille]

I'm confussed about how to set different vertical feed rates.

See attached picture.

I want a quick feed rate for the spindle to come down to my work but then I want a slow feed rate as the tool contact the work.

I can't seem to get both.

If I set my Vertical Feed rate slow for entering the work it takes forever for the tool to come down to the work.

I'm missing something....

[Steinwerks]

Hopefully this helps:

From Clearance to Top heights is Feed-in, as well as the entry at the toolpath depth.

You can see this Toolpath breakdown by expanding the toolpath using the arrow on the left side of the name, right-clicking on the toolpath size, and selecting View Toolpath from the dropdown.

[tracy.hille]

Thanks for the reply  but I am still not getting it.

Isn't there a place where I tell Fusion the speed to rapid down to the Clearance height and a separate place where I tell it the speed to cut into stock?

I looked for some document that better explains what all the speeds and Feed Variables mean in the tool library but couldn't find it.

I wish Fusion did a better job of color coding the "Heights" tab. In the view they use different colors to show the different planes but they don't represent those colors in the dialog box. To me, this is a big missed opportunity to make something very clear...

[Steinwerks]

Which post processor are you using? I suspect that is setting your "rapid" speeds for you. Otherwise all your feedrates (with a couple exceptions for specific toolpaths) are set in the Tool tab:

[tracy.hille]

I have a Tormach.

Post is:  Tormach.cps for Pathpilot

So there isn't anyplace a user can set the rapid tool speeds?

I got it to go faster by increasing my "Vertical Plunge Feedrate" but then this was the speed at which the .031" cutter hit the part - broke bit 😞

[Steinwerks]

Without seeing your part there's not much more insight I can provide. After checking the generic Tormach - Pathpilot post processor there isn't a feed option, it will move at full rapids (which I believe is only 120 IPM on those machines anyway). If you can export your design as a .F3D file I can help more directly.

[tracy.hille · Accepted solution]

I found the issue with the slow feed rate down to the work.

In CAM, on the Heights Tab, I had the Clearance Height set to "Model Top" by error.

This changed the G01 Rapid Position at the begining of the G-Code to a G01 (linear interpolation) and brought the Z down to the work at the Vertical Feed rate.

I changed the Clearance Height to "Retract Height" and all is good....

Thanks for all your help.