An old timer in Detroit showed me a toolpath trick that cut my cycle time by 40% on a tough job

He saw me struggling with a complex aluminum part at the shop and just walked over, tapped the screen, changed one feed rate, and said 'try that instead of fighting the machine,' and I still use that same move every time I run 6061.

5 comments

5 Comments

kellyallen11d ago

Makes you wonder @faith27 if that old timer was really showing you a toolpath or just testing if you were paying attention.

river_thompson11d ago

Not to nitpick but that ramp angle change from 3 to 1.5 would actually make the cycle time longer, not cut it by 30%. Slower feed means more time in the cut. Lou probably saw the 30% drop from something else he changed along with it, or maybe he was just happy the tool stopped breaking.

kelly_rivera11d ago

My buddy Lou had this old timer at a shop in Cleveland do basically the same thing. Lou was fighting with this 304 stainless bracket, just burning up endmills left and right. Guy walks over, reaches past him, changes the ramp angle from 3 degrees to 1.5 and says "your tool is trying to cut too much at once, let it breathe." Lou said it cut cycle time by like 30% and he hasn't changed it since. Sometimes it's the simple stuff that's been sitting right in front of you the whole time.

craig.parker11d agoTop Commenter

Man, that's exactly the kind of thing @kelly_rivera is talking about. That ramp angle change is genius when you think about it, because most guys just set it at a default and forget it. It's like the old fella knew that stainless needs to be eased into, not forced. And that 40% time cut Lou saw? That's the kind of thing where you'd think you need new tooling or a whole new program, but really you just need to let the machine work smarter. These little tweaks are the bread and butter of guys who've been doing it since before CNC was a household word, and they just eyeball it like it's nothing.

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faith2711d ago

For real though, it's always the little things that make the biggest difference. Makes you wonder how many other simple fixes are hiding right in plain sight.