Large Chamfer on Aluminum Plate

[brrian (Brian Mears)]

See below - I have to cut a 3/8" x 3/8" chamfer around an aluminum plate. I’m looking for suggestions on how to go about this.

One idea is to use a flat end mill & ‘stair step’ down to take most of the material away, then clean it up on a finish path with a 90 degree v-bit. Ideally that would be with a large enough bit to clean up the chamfer in one pass, but that would require a 3/4" bit diameter?

Or, I might also be able to rig something up at the front of the machine to hang the part over the front & orient it at 45 degrees so I can cut each side with a flat end mill. I flipped my gantry plates so I have less travel at the front than stock, but I think it would still be enough.

I’m using an XXL + HDZ if that matters. Any ideas or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!

[WillAdams (William Adams (Carbide 3D))]

Stair step to remove the bulk of the material, then a V carving pass to clean it would be my choice — the fixture would be vulnerable to slight shifts which would lead to difficult to diagnose/fix errors.

[mikep]

The stair step will work well to clear the majority of the materi. The vbit will be fine, and a large bit isn’t required, just do so with a couple step downs - the software will take care of lining then up properly.