[MitchB]

A few issues in Re-machining:

1. If I select a previous cutter which is a flat end mill, the previous cutter Radius is populated as if it is a ball end mill. So if I select a 0.250 flat end mill, Radius is populated with 0.125 instead of 0.

2.Overlap doesn't have a sensible default value.

3. When I select a cutter, previous cutter dimensions default values change to values which are not standard cutter sizes. Maybe previous cutter dimensions shouldn't even be changed when I change the current cutter.

4. When I remachined a part with an area which the previous cutter couldn't reach, it is not cut by the new smaller cutter which is able to reach the area.

[MitchB]

#4 may be a result of my not understanding how re-machining works.

For example, all the re-machining operations except re-roughing ask for the previous cutter. I don't understand why re-roughing doesn't need to know the previous cutter. And the results I get from re-roughing don't make sense to me - it looks like there are cuts in areas which shouldn't have them.

Maybe I have the wrong model of the machining sequence to use. What I have in mind is:
1. Roughing, and then z-level, planar and pencil finishing with a large cutter.
2. With a smaller cutter re-machining z-level, planar and pencil.

Am I thinking about this in the wrong way?

[MitchB]

Now I understand that re-roughing is based on the visible layers. With that information, I see two issues:

1. If a layer was machined with a flat end mill, re-roughing mistakenly assumes that is was a ball end mill.
2. Re-roughing with a smaller cutter does not cut a channel which the larger tool couldn't cut in the previous operations (which are visible).

[machinehop5]

...might help if, we knew what Cad/Cam system you're using.

[MitchB]

madCAM 6