Showerthought: I used to baby every new toolpath with a single block and feed hold, but after a crash on a 4140 part last year, I now run a full air cut with the spindle off first.

Has anyone else found a better way to verify a program before hitting cycle start on a complex job?

3 comments

3 Comments

400 dollar piece of 17-4 that I air cut with the spindle off last week. @brianfox I swear I trust the graphics about as far as I can throw my old Bridgeport, which is not far at all. Had a part where the graphics looked perfect but the machine decided to rapid into a vise jaw on the actual run. Now I do a full dry run, spindle off, single block, feed override at zero, the whole paranoid dance. Makes me feel like a rookie every time but beats scrapping a $400 hunk of metal.

emma_hayes801mo ago

Yeah, air cuts are the bare minimum. I always check the graphics on the control first too.

-1

brianfox1mo ago

What specific graphics on the control are you looking for first?