[matttay]

Hi, this is an informational study only. This product will never see the light of day, but I am attempting to calibrate an understanding with a consultant. So you would be the consultant to cross-check the consultant

I need someone with a big guns ($$$) CAM program to take a look at the attached and generate an time optimized toolpath.

Assume you start with a long solid bar of extruded aluminum 30 mm wide, 5.35 mm thick at the thickest point, and the shape of the cross section shown in BB (slightly inflated rectangle). You can pick the type of aluminum.

Assume a fixture already exists, and that it holds the initial part which is 160 mm in length.

CNC is required to hog out the front opening (19.4x57.36mm) to a depth of 3.29 mm, switch to a 2mm tall T-slot cutting bit and undercut the front opening by 3 mm all around, flip the part over, cut out the battery opening to a depth of 2.68 mm, and then chamfer the 4 outer corners of the part (radius 3mm) while simultaneously cutting the part to length.

There are 3 of the above operations that will be visible in the final product, and that is the front opening, the back battery door opening and the outer chamfer. So speeds/feeds should be set accordingly for those operations. There will be a manual process following CNC to clean up the part, but the CNC finish on visible areas should be clean and indistinguishable from the rest of the surface after anodizing.

The #1 goal here is to minimize machine time while maintaining finish quality in the noted areas above.

Deliverables would be:

1) Generated toolpath with speeds and feeds set to assume a big and expensive CNC machine and consideration for finishes noted above. This toolpath won't actually be used. It's for reference only. But I'd like to be able to run it in Mach3 to watch.
2) A short description of each operation, time required, bit used, speed/feed, concerns, estimate of tool life, estimate of tool cost. Custom bit for undercut is OK.

Please PM a quote and note your CAM package, CNC machine, and expected cost and time frame. Your experience to me is key here, so if you are just starting out, or not intimately familiar with machining aluminum quickly, or you have a home-type machine, then you have about as much experience as I do and thus your opinion isn't really what I'm after.

Thanks