Eliminate ridges on edge of parts

[GlenP]

Hey Everyone, ever cut out parts and because of your step down get those small tooling marks that need to be sanded out!!! Here is my tip to help you reduce sanding time and make life easier. I created a new cutter and edited the diameter of the cutter to a over size amount e.g. (if using a .25" endmill I set diameter to .28) and use this tool to cut down to a final depth of around 90% of the thickness of the part to be cut stepping down as per usual, I guess you could call it my rough in toolpath. Because the software calculates the from the center of the cutter it cuts the part 0.03" oversize. Then I create another profile toolpath using my cutter with the diameter at the correct size (.25") and cut at full depth. No step down ridges or tool marks, no bit deflection and a nice clean cut. Hope my description was not confusing. I created a new tool in list of cutters instead of changing values to reduce error on my part and make things easier. Not sure if anyone has posted this before but thought I would add and maybe it will help someone reduce the sanding time on your parts, unless you like sanding!