Originally Posted by
zaebis
With my little benchtop CNC mill I have to be patient while separating my part from its stock. So I was thinking if I could drill a bunch of holes (drilling cycles with drillbits) to remove chunks of material before zipping through with endmill.......
.....am I on a right track to reduce the cutting cycle?
You might reduce the time, although that is questionable, you will also probably degrade the appearance. As the milling cutter goes through the drill holes the deflection varies so you finish up with humps and hollows matching the hole locations. This means you may have to take a finishing pass to get things smooth and if you have removed the part from the stock that is going to be difficult.
An open mind is a virtue...so long as all the common sense has not leaked out.