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Cutter Comp

Cutter compensation allows a CNC machine to adjust the toolpath to account for the diameter of the cutting tool, ensuring the final part matches the programmed geometry. It compensates left or right of the programmed path based on the tool's radius. To activate compensation, the tool moves at least the radius away from the part before cutting. Deactivating compensation requires another offset move. Understanding cutter compensation is useful for adjusting part sizes and using alternate endmill sizes.

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74 views

Cutter Comp

Cutter compensation allows a CNC machine to adjust the toolpath to account for the diameter of the cutting tool, ensuring the final part matches the programmed geometry. It compensates left or right of the programmed path based on the tool's radius. To activate compensation, the tool moves at least the radius away from the part before cutting. Deactivating compensation requires another offset move. Understanding cutter compensation is useful for adjusting part sizes and using alternate endmill sizes.

Uploaded by

Jordan Tran
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Understanding Cutter Compensation

Cutter compensation is one of the most useful things to know when CNC machining. Cutter compensation allows you to program the geometry and not worry about the toolpath. It also allows you to adjust the size of your part, based on the tool radius used to cut your part. This is useful when you cant find a cutter of the proper diameter. This is best explained in the graphic below.

part tool

part cut with programmed tool radius part cut with a larger-thanprogrammed tool part cut with a smaller-thanprogrammed tool tool path

The solid circle is the nominal sized tool. The dashed circle is an undersized tool, and the dash-dot circle is the oversized tool. With a little imagination, you can see all the possibilities for tweaking your part, or getting your part made with any size endmill.

TURNING CUTTER COMPENSATION ON AND OFF


It is important to note that cutter compensation becomes active after the next line move or rapid that is at least the length of the tool radius. Failure to account for this will give a funny part. A good method around this is to zero your part and program a move away from the part in the X and Y direction equal to the tool radius. Then move back to 0,0, and then continue cutting your profile. See the graphic below. Note the tool center is now perpendicular and to the left of point A.

move to 0,0

0,0 A ramp on to A

To turn cutter compensation off, you must do a ramp off move similar to the ramp on move. Again, send the tool off in the X and Y direction a distance equal to the tool radius. For the graphic above, after reaching 0,0 turn off cutter compensation and ramp off to A. Depending on the shape, you may have to go beyond 0,0 to eliminate any nurkies(a nurkie is an unintentional over or under cut left by the tool). This terminates cutter compensation, and you can go on to something else. There are three G-Codes involved in using cutter comp : G41 initiates cutter comp to the left of the path; G42 initiates cutter comp to the right of the path; and G40 cancels cutter compensation.

CLIMB & CONVENTIONAL CUTTING WITH CUTTER COMPENSATION.


This refers to the direction of cut relative to the direction the spindle is turning. In CNC milling it is common practice to climb cut. With the spindle turning clockwise, as it usually does, cut a contour in a clockwise direction. If cutting a pocket or hole cut counter clockwise. Your parts will come out okay if you go the wrong way, but surface

This part is shown with two tools climb cutting The big tool is set cutter comp left The small tool is also set cutter comp left

finish and accuracy is usually better when you climb cut. SUMMARY Cutter Compensation: allows you to program the geometry not the tool path is useful when you dont have the right endmill is helpful in tweaking your part size allows you to compensate for tool wear is generally a neat and powerful thing to know about
revision history : Ver 1.0 4/94 John Wadsworth original text Ver 1.1 8/01 Katherine Kuchenbecker minor revisions

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