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I finally figured out why my fixturing was off after 4 months
Was getting random deviations on a simple aluminum part for weeks. Kept adjusting offsets, re-leveling the vise, checked tram. Turns out I was clamping way too hard on thin wall sections. The part was flexing during the cut and springing back after. My lead guy walked over one day, watched me clamp down, goes "bro you're crushing it." Took maybe 10% off the clamping force and my parts have been spot on ever since. Anyone else have a dumb simple fix that took way too long to find?
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claire_davis3117d ago
The thin wall clamping thing gets a lot of people. I used to work with a guy who always said "tight is tight" but that's not really true with 6061. You have to think about the material moving around under the cutter, not just holding it still. I'd say about 30% of the errors I see in our shop come from people over tightening something, especially on those softer alloys. It's a good lesson to learn though, once you feel that flex you remember it.
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price.ben17d ago
Yeah, "tight is tight" got me good once... I clamped a 1/16 wall pocket so hard it looked like a potato chip after the cut.
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Did you ever try varying your clamping spots? I started putting soft jaws with relief cuts right under the thin sections and it let me grip way looser without the part moving around at all.
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