Good day everyone.
I need some help and any suggestions are appreciated.
I’m trying to cut the groove (Circled in yellow) with a slit saw.
You will notice the shape of said groove, and it will require a five axis toolpath to do it. I’m not having any luck. I’ve tried 5 axis curve and multisurface algorithms with no luck. I’ll be trying others later. I’m hoping this groove I CAD modeled is machinable. (Fortunately its a training exercise and not a real part.)
Unfortunately, this forum won’t let me attach my Mastercam file or solidworks files to give you more clarity.
Thanks.
You should be able to link a file to this forum topic.
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Since it helical in nature, I suspect the face is not flat, hard to tell, other than the square corners, you should be able to surface machine the face areas using an extended collet holder and small diameter ball nose enmdill.
How big is inner diameter? If you are able to link a step file , i will try to CAM it in fusion.
Have a nice day
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about 1.7" inch diameter. I have enough room to get the saw/slot tool in there.
I get a message when I try to upload the emcam file that only png. jpeg. etc… are supported, but not other extensions like step. emcam. etc.
because of the helix, a slitting saw is going to cut a wider groove than the saw; a slit saw isn’t really designed to cut a helix…especially if the difference between saw diameter and bore is small. A t-slot cutter, being much smaller in diameter than the bore, would have less helix /side interference and may work better for you.
I model a similar partial helix oiling grooves in bronze bushings, using MasterCam X9. Use the create helix function to draw a simple helical line. I size the helix geometry so the center of the cutter follows it; and it is calculated so the cutter cuts the groove to the desired depth. If needed I use “amount to leave in XY” to adjust the depth of cut. This isn’t “sexy”, but in the shop, there’s no need to make it more complex than it necessary 
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If you have a dropbox/sugarsync/google account, you could post a public link that can be accessed by others. I am approaching end of school, competitions, judging, end of year type of stuff, but would be glad to look at it, but my response would not be quick. Someone on this forum may be able to help though. If you do not have access to cloud storage, then maybe a PM and arrange a email file transfer.
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