I made a bunch of progress on the programming of the model rocket today!
I was a bit dissatisfied with how my programs have been turning out lately, and I think I may have found the prime reason. I would typically use a lot of adaptive clearing toolpaths to rough out my projects. However, I would also take pretty light stepdowns (50% of tool diameter), so the machining time to clear out large areas is quite extensive. I would also use many different strategies to clear out material trying to be the most efficient with each tool, but adding it all up with the tool changes and time between paths builds up quite a bit of run time.
I decided to review my boss's operation and imitate that as it was a proven program. I found that he only used pocket clearing methods to remove the bulk of the material, then come in with single tool finishing toolpaths that run right over quite large stepdown roughing at lower speeds than you would typically see. It's a fascinating combination of slow but steady mixed with swift overall operations. He is big on not pushing the machine to its limits and running hard to get every ounce the machine has got.
It's a very interesting way of doing things and contrary to most machinists' methods, but his output speaks for itself. I'm shocked by some of the turnaround time's he has gotten on some very complicated parts. He's able to get the part from design to ship out the door at fantastic speeds; he focuses more on putting a good program through the machine rather than a high-performance one. He often tells me that he is not a production shop, and spending an extra hour of programming to cut down a few minutes in machine run time for a couple of parts doesn't make sense.
It's really been a stumbling block for me to get over not using adaptive clearing methods as I was brought into that early on hearing it was the best thing since sliced bread. However, what I didn't realize was that it was better only for certain applications. For the majority of aluminum operations, you can push your tool pretty hard in full depth cuts.