Along with advances in software, materials, tooling and machine technology comes new machining guidance intended to help shops properly utilize said technology to maximize productivity. Among them is a milling strategy Seco Tools Inc. calls optimized roughing.

The key to the strategy, according to Seco, is using the full flute length of an end mill during roughing. Applied properly, optimized roughing reportedly enables a shop to machine pockets three to four times faster than conventional methods while extending the life of its tools.

Achieving the best possible results with optimized roughing, however, requires shops to follow a few specific guidelines.

CTE Publisher Dennis Spaeth recently met with Jay Ball, Seco product manager, solid milling, to learn more about optimized roughing and highlight the major factors that govern success or failure with this milling strategy.

In the first of this four-part video series, Jay defines optimized roughing in more detail and addresses the importance of using good CAM software.

In part two, the series focuses on the need for proper setup and angle of engagement to achieve optimized roughing. As Jay notes in the video, shops that reduce the angle of engagement reap multiple benefits.

In the third installment, Jay stresses that shops must maintain constant chip load in order to achieve successful optimized roughing. Knowing your machine's capabilities is critical, he adds, explaining that "machines must have the proper RPM capabilities, proper look-ahead capabilities, with the right controller to get to some of these higher speeds and feeds."

The final installment of the video series turns the focus on when to employ optimized roughing.

Download the Seco white paper on optimized roughing here.