Machining Strategy Question

[richardsalzman]

I recently machined the part below.  To bore out the large hole in the center, I used a 2D adaptive and removed all the material from the center of the part.  This took some time.  I will be making this part again and was wondering if I can use a 2D contour and just run along the perimeter (see below).  This part is held in a vise and the center would drop down.  Do I have to worry about the endmill jamming the center as it falls out?

Lastly, is there a way to calculate the maximum step down.  I do not see this on my speeds & feeds calculator.

Best... Richard

[a.laasW8M6T · Accepted solution]

There's no guarantees it wont jam when the center falls out, but you can create tabs, use some stock to leave(radial)

 and then knock the center out with a hammer

Then come back and finish with another 2d contour

Another strategy could be to machine almost all the way through, leaving maybe 0.1-0.2mm and again knock out with a hammer, this is a little more risky.

as for max ramping stepdown I often use FSwizard on my phone to determine this

also make sure you have the lead-out disabled as it will lead out into the center slug rather than just retracting straight up

[richardsalzman]

Thanks Andrew.  I use GWizard for speeds and feeds and could not find what I need.  I was thinking about using your strategy of machining almost all the way through, then flipping the part over and using a chamfer mill to remove the balance.  Thanks again for all your help!