That time my boss told me my feed rate was killing the finish, and he was dead right

I was running some 6061 aluminum parts on a Haas VF-2 last Tuesday, and the surface finish looked like garbage. I was cranking the feed up to like 45 IPM just trying to get parts out faster. My boss walked over, looked at the scuffed up edge on a chamfer, and goes 'You're running that like a drill press, not a mill.' He dropped the feed down to 28 IPM and bumped the spindle up to 6500 RPM. I rolled my eyes at first but that finish came out glass smooth. Made me realize I was so focused on speed I was ignoring the toolpath basics. Anyone else ever get called out on something that simple and felt dumb after?

3 comments

3 Comments

thomas.parker16d ago

My 45 IPM on a Haas is actually fine with a sharp 2-flute variable helix.

blakem3716d ago

I used to think "fine at 45 IPM" was just people settling for slow speeds. But I tried a variable helix 2-flute on my Haas recently. It changed my mind. The finish was way better than I expected and the tool life held up.

the_parker13d ago

Ha, yeah I used to be one of those guys who thought 45 IPM was slow too, but @thomas.parker's post flipped my mindset. Tried a similar setup on my machine and the finish was honestly way better than I ever got pushing higher feeds. It's funny how a sharp tool and good geometry can make "slow" speeds feel totally reasonable.