Cutting "Cut" time

[kubotaman]

Let's say we make a cut file in Aspire that is a dish. The roughing cutter has a depth cut of .2 inch. The total depth to cut is .7. Therefore it will do 4 passes to cut to the total depth. After the first pass it will travel three more times in the same path that you cut the first time. Is there, short of editing the cut file, a way for the file to skip the previous places that have already been cut? It sure would cut down on cutting time. Just a thought. Thanks!!! :p

[myxpykalix]

not sure about this pgm and i'm not sure i understand your example.

Lets take your example- The first cut starts at 0,0 or surface of material, goes .2 deep and cut the shape of the bowl.

When that cutting is done, it goes back to 0,0 plunges down a depth of .4 and makes the second pass cutting into the material immediately a depth of .2

When that cutting is done, it goes back to 0,0 plunges down a depth of .6 and makes the third pass cutting into the material immediately a depth of .2

When that cutting is done, it goes back to 0,0 plunges down a depth of .7 and makes the fourth pass cutting into the material immediately a depth of .1

For a total of .7 cutting depth. For each pass it is cutting material from the immediatel plunge.

It sounds to me like you are describing a cut path that for every pass it starts at 0, 0 (meterial surface height) that is now gone, and is air cutting each pass until it reaches the uncut depth, is that correct?

If that is what is happening then clearly that is not correct.
Are you making this as one toolpath? You are not making this as multiple toolpaths only cutting .2 for each seperate toolpath?

maybe a little more detail or pictures would help....

[butch]

Couple of things.
If your tool path is taking .2 per pass, the software calculates only the portion of the dish that is left, it doesn't start cutting at the edge. If you need to prove this is true or not, open the file in edit mode and look at the second path start and stop X,Y points.

If you are talking about making a cut, then going back say with another bit, and you are doing an air cut, then you can make that change by setting the 'Start Depth'.

The software usually does a good job of calculating the tool path.
Hope that was what you are asking.

Butch