Overheard a veteran operator say G41 is useless for roughing ops... got me thinking

I was at a shop near Charlotte last month and heard this old timer telling a new guy that cutter comp is a waste of time for roughing passes. He said just program the rough toolpath oversize and save yourself the headache. I've always used G41 even for roughing because it keeps my CAM and machine matching up perfect. But he made a point about run time and less code to babysit. What do you guys do for roughing passes? Do you use cutter comp or just hard code the offset?

2 comments

2 Comments

lee.lucas22d ago

Wait, didn't someone do a test on this a while back and find that G41 actually adds like 0.2 seconds per tool change for roughing? I remember reading a thread where a guy measured it and said it was basically nothing unless you're running a million parts. But the old timer has a point about simplicity - I've had G41 crash on me before because I forgot to put in a lead-in move, and that wasted way more time than just typing the offset directly into the toolpath. For roughing I usually skip it now unless the tolerance is really tight.

ivanlewis22d ago

Those 0.2 seconds add up quick when you're running hundreds of parts a day though. Plus forgetting the lead-in is a user error, not a G41 issue. If you build your posts right from the start it saves time in the long run.