So I’ll fully admit that this might be a total user issue as I’m just getting back to the software after letting things sit for a while due to life getting in the way, but I’m seeing strange toolpathing on a rest machining operation.
I am pocketing out a bunch of hexagons from a 1/2" thick piece of material, first with a 1/4" bit and then ideally using an 1/8" rest machine operation, but when I run the gcode generation it produces an enormously long toolpath (over 1400 minutes). Upon closer inspection I see the ramping starting at least 1/2" above the material surface and it seems to be generating multiple cut paths. I double checked my tool config and the retract height and they all seem correct. Anyone else seen something like this before? I thought I’d come out ahead by doing the 1/4" clear followed by the rest machine, but it looks like a full contour toolpath would be way faster IF this isn’t some weird glitch. I’d attach the file, but the resulting toolpath is like 25MB.
The visualization was of just the rest machine operation, normally the center would already be removed. Here’s a shot of the single hex being rest machined, you can see the 6 individual corners being removed. Why it’s doing it this way remains a mystery, but after thinking on this all morning, I think a contour path vs rest machine would be the faster toolpath as it would just do a continual motion instead of 6 separate clearings per hole.
