7 Software Reasons for Bad Surface Finishes

Most of the time, machinist’s focus on the hardware aspects when they think about surface finish: –  Do I have the right feeds and speeds? –  Is my setup and machine rigid enough? –  Is there too much runout on the spindle? This is definitely the right place to start, but it’s not the end of the story. A great many factors affecting surface finish are tied up in the CAD/CAM software used to create the part program. For example, the part in the photo on the right exhibits a faceted surface finish. This is definitely a software issue (although there are certain servo mis-tuning situations that can lead to that sort of thing). Let’s take a look at some of these critical software issues that affect surface finish:

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Chip Thinning and Why You Should Cut More Aggressively

Just launched my this month’s video with Cutting Tool Engineering for my “CNC Chef” column (a playful reference to the CNCCookbook). In the first video, I covered the subject of tool rubbing.

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Using Multiple Spindle Options

It’s fairly common to find machines that have multiple spindle options available. I don’t mean that you can specify multiple options, but that there are actual multiple options delivered with the machine.A very simple example would be multiple pulley ratios. More exotic would be sub-spindles, for example a high-speed auxiliary spindle or speeder on a mill.

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Amazingly Simple Automatic Part Engraver on a PCNC 440

I love automation – there’s just something about watching a robot making parts you’re going to sell. A machinist friend of mine (Hi Peter T.!) refers to his bank of older CNC lathes as his money printing presses. They sit there with their bar pullers grinding out parts for him to sell all day long and about all he has to do is change bars and inserts from time to time.

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Keep Your Tools Safe with a New Tool Check-In Procedure

I like new toys as well as the next guy, so I try to take reasonable care of them. Toward that end, I’ve adopted a standardized “check-in” procedure for my shop.

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7 of the Biggest Feeds and Speeds Mistakes CNCers Make

These are things I hear over and over again talking to CNC’ers. There are some better ways and some better answers that can really improve your feeds and speeds practices, if you’re open to them. Fixing your feeds and speeds is one of the easiest productivity hacks you’ll ever make.

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