Debate: do you rough the toolpaths or dial them in first?

I was talking with a guy named Frank at a shop in Milwaukee last week. He insists on getting every feed and speed perfect before touching a machine, while I prefer to rough everything out and tweak on the fly. Which approach saves more time in the long run? I'd like to hear what other operators do when they're facing a tight deadline.

2 comments

2 Comments

grant.richard1mo ago

Does Frank ever miss a deadline while you're already making chips?

simonmoore1mo ago

Oh Frank is definitely the type to be STILL reading the manual while I'm halfway through setup and figuring out the sound of the cut. @grant.richard I bet Frank's never missed a deadline, but he's probably missed a few lunches staring at his CAM software wondering why the math doesn't work out on paper. The thing is, roughing first lets you SEE what the material's going to do before you commit to a perfect path. Frank can dial in his feeds and speeds for three hours while I'm making chips and burning through the roughing pass, then I just cleanup after. But hey, different strokes for different folks. I'd rather be making mistakes cheap and fast than expensive and slow.