9.4 Polygonal Pocket Milling


Polygonal pocket milling means a repeatedly down cutting to designated depth in a polygonal area.



Geometry



X CenterX

The distance from the origin of workpiece to the center of the polygon in X direction.

Y CenterY

The distance from the origin of workpiece to the center of the polygon in Y direction.

Z StartZ

The distance from the origin of workpiece to the upper surface of removed area in Z direction.

N N-sided

Number of sides. Range from 3 to 8.

C Circle

In

The reference circle is the incircle of this polygon, which means the reference circle is tangent to all sides of this polygon.

Circum

The reference circle is the circumcircle of this polygon, which means the reference circle passes through all vertices of this polygon.

R Radius

Radius of reference circle.

D Depth

Depth of removal.

A Rotate

A counterclockwise rotation around the center with designated angle.

Note 1:

One vertex is on the positive direction of X axis while the rotating angle is 0.

Note 2:

The left graph below shows the Incircle of a polygon, and the right one shows Circumcircle. Here comes the equations when an N-sided polygon defined by In/Circumcircle with radius R.

  • Incircle: Distance between vertex and the center is "R/cos(π/N)". Distance between two neighbor vertices is "2 × R × tan (π/N)".
  • Circumcircle: Distance between vertex and the center is "R". Distance between two neighbor vertices is "2 × R × sin (π/N)".



Manufacture



ToolNumber

Order of desired tool in tool table.

SpindleRPM

Rotating speed of spindle.

SpindleDir

CW

Spindle rotates in CW.

CCW

Spindle rotates in CCW.

H ZUpper

Z axis would halt at this position which is related to StartZ before and after cutting.

C CutDir

CW

Direction of cutting route is CW.

CCW

Direction of cutting route is CCW.

K StepWidth

Width per cut. Must less than the diameter of selected tool. Set in percentage of tool diameter.

Q StepDepth

Depth per cut. Must less than or equal to Depth of geometry.

W FineWidth

Width of fine cut. Set to 0 if none. Must less than or equal to StepWidth and tool radius.

D FineDepth

Depth of fine cut. Set to 0 if none. Must less than or equal to StepDepth.

F Feedrate

Feedrate of XY moving. (mm/min)

S ZDirFeed

Feedrate of Z moving. (mm/min)

E FineFeed

Feedrate of fine cut. (mm/min)

Note:

In this process, "K StepWidth" is defined as the step in distance on the vertex-to-vertex direction in order to avoid cutting residues. In below diagram, the dashed arrow is K. And the double arrow shows the edge-to-edge step in distance, which is "K × cos (π×(N-2)/2N)", of an N-sided polygon.