First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who commented on yesterday's post with the PNC pocketing issues. I was able to solve the problem I was having by changing the operation from a 3D pocket clearing to a 2D pocket clearing. The ramp down was still the same, but it didn't take roughing step-downs and went all the way to the bottom then retracted up in one motion.
I then started getting into some of the multi-axis portions of the CAM, which got a little complicated. The part has quite a few unique angles that require simulations 5-axis work. For all the flat, curved faces, it was pretty easy to do with a flow toolpath. However, when I got into the contouring for the pockets, I ran into some issues. Typically you would use a swarf toolpath and simply select the top and bottom 2D contours. Except this part doesn't have specifically defined line segments on the interior of the piece, and so you only have one point of contact (the outside parameter of the pocket). I'm somewhat new to simultaneous 5-axis programming; any insight would be greatly appreciated!
I am also using the Pocket NC simulator to check and see the toolpath functions as it should in Fusion360. I ran into some issues when trying to post the gcode where it would keep giving me errors "<post name>.failed", until I figured out it was with the 5-axis flow toolpath, I narrowed it down to the maximum tilt the machine would allow and lowered it from 180deg to 15deg.