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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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Helical Ramping - Endmill cuts downwards by ramping in a tight circle, once it gets to the desired depth it will cut sideways into the rest of the pocket
Linear Ramping - Endmill cuts downwards by ramping in a straight line or curve following the pocket’s profile, once it gets to the desired depth it will cut sideways into the rest of the pocket
Predrilling - Drill
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a hole slightly larger than
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the endmill
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to the bottom of the pocket, then the endmill lowers down into the hole and then cuts sideways into the rest of the pocket
Slot
Slotting is when an endmill takes away material at full thickness. This loads the tool much more than other operations and requires slower and more gentle toolpaths.
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