Today I got the rest of the parts all programmed and started running them one by one.
Unfortunately, due to the time-consuming stepdowns at the very end, the whole operation takes about sixteen minutes per piece, and there isn't a whole lot I can do to speed it up. Also, I do I run the risk of breaking a tool or the part itself. I also used a little playdough like clay to reduce the vibrations of the slitting saw when cutting the small side features. I'm honestly shocked how everything lines up so perfectly with the CAM programming, and I'm having almost no tolerance issues.
One strange thing I am encountering is when trying to get off the part from the block of aluminum in the center, in the corners wouldn't quite match up, and I would have to work pretty hard at it to cut it out completely. My boss checked it out himself and also isn't quite sure what's going on; its a brand new 1/16" endmill and is cutting two thou per side under what it should. It's pretty consistent in how much it's leaving, but I'm too afraid to program it with the negative stock to leave to compensate for it. One of the only things it could be is if the cutter is wearing out from some of the other toolpaths it's doing, but there aren't any signs of similar error elsewhere. The quick and dirty solution to this issue is to have it cut down five thou deeper than it did before, so instead of cutting the corner with an Exacto knife, I only need to cut the side of the block.
While working on the parts, the Haas VF2ss started to leak coolant all over the floor (turns out I forgot to clear the chips from the coolant conveyor) and had to pause to mop it all up.
Unfortunately, I ran out of time for the day, so I had to leave the last set of parts for tomorrow. My goal is to get these shipped out by the end of my shift tomorrow, which will require me to debut everything, throw them in the tumbler, wash and dry them, and package it all up.