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Stepover & Stepdown

Stepover - How far on the x and y axis the tool moves over in each successive pass.

Stepdown - How far down the tool moves over on the z axis in each successive pass.

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Types of Endmilling

Profile

Profiling is taking material away from the sides, specifically on the peripheral of the part.

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Pocket

Pocketing is taking away material in a profile, but on the inside of a part. There are three main ways the endmill gets to the inside of the part: helical ramping, linear ramping, and predrilling.

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Predrilling - Drill the size of (or larger than) the endmill drills to the bottom of the pocket, endmill lowers down into the hole and then cuts sideways into the rest of the pocket

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Slot

Slotting is when an endmill takes away material at full thickness. This loads the tool much more than other operations and requires more gentle toolpaths.

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Contour

Contouring creates 3D shapes. It is usually done with a radiused endmill (either bullnose or ball end), as this technique can be rough on the sharp edges of a flat endmill.

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Holemaking

Drill

Drilling involves sending a drill straight down into the part to create a hole. There are a few different types of drills that are used for different purposes: twist drills, spot drills, and center drills. Starting a hole by spotting with a spot drill or center drill helps to keep the long drill from walking when entering, resulting in a more accurate hole location and less tool wear.

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Twist Drill - The typical drill bit that cuts a hole.

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Center Drill - A very stubby drill bit used to start a hole. Designed to create a hole good for a live center on a lathe. Usually cheaper than spot drills.

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Reamer

Reaming expands a hole made by a drill to a precise diameter (below 0.001”).

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Thread

Threadmilling is a way of creating threads in a hole or externally on a boss without having to use a tap or die by hand. The threadmill will spiral in the shape of the threading, taking a little but away in each successive pass. This can be used for large threads that are annoying to tap or for threads that need to be extremely concentric.

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