High speed machining

The software that we use is at the leading edge in the development of High Speed Machining (HSM) strategies

This means that you, as a customer of ours, can benefit from programs that can give excellent results in the minimum of time, increasing your competitiveness and profitability.

A brief look at some of our HSM strategies:

•    Raceline Machining:  With this option, the roughing passes are progressively smoothed out as the toolpaths move further from the main form. The resulting paths minimise any sudden changes in direction and so allow faster machining, with less wear on the cutter and lower stress on the machine tool.
•    Trochoidal Machining: This avoids full-width cuts when machining by generating toolpaths that progressively shave material from the block in a circular motion.
•    Automatic Trochoidal Machining:  This combines offset roughing with trochoidal machining. This automatically avoids high-load cuts that could occur with conventional offset strategies, by switching to a trochoidal motion when the cutter encounters large amounts of material.
•    Rest Roughing: The rest toolpath will remove material left by a previous larger tool allowing only areas which require smaller cutters to be re machined, and so reducing milling times.
•    High Speed Finishing:  For smooth consistent cutting conditions required to ensure rapid stock removal and excellent surface finish. Three examples are 3D Offset and Constant Z finishing and the Optimised Constant Z.
•    Constant Z:  Lead in and out between Z levels eliminates 'witness marks'. Plus the option of the toolpath being a continuous spiral.
•    3D Offset Finishing: This type of finishing gives an excellent surface finish because the step-over is constant across all surfaces irrespective of whether they are steep walls or shallow contoured areas. Spiral offset finishing prevents ‘witness marks’ since the tool stays in constant contact with the model in one smooth spiralling shape.
•    Optimised Constant Z: Consistent tool loading and the fewest possible sudden changes in direction are needed for high-speed finishing. So this strategy uses 3D offset finishing on flatter areas and Z-level finishing on steeper areas.

  The trouble with high speed machines is that they get though the work super-fast and they get through programs super-fast also.
Why not get in touch to find out how we can help you make the most of your high speed investment by making sure that the programming is not the bottleneck in your workshop.

All our machining programs are supplied with our comprehensive and unique setting and data sheets.

Hard steel machining

Even conventional CNC milling machines are capable of cutting hardened steel. High speed machines are useful when using small cutters (<2mm) and of course have the advantage of greatly increased throughput but  conventional CNC machines are quite capable of machining hardened steel with the right tooling.

We work with many customers who use their conventional CNC machines for hard steel with excellent results. We could help you reduce costs by cutting out grinding work or electrodes.