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Prospector™ Features
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What Is Plunge Roughing?
Plunge roughing is a milling technique capable of removing large amounts of metal very rapidly. The process is essentially a type of drilling operation, in that the plunging tool used feeds directly into the workpiece in the Z axis only, creating a hole size equivalent to its own diameter. Moreover, like a drill, the plunging tool — regardless of extensions — can maintain maximum feeds and speeds in cuts of any length. For rough machining of molds, plunge roughing offers a highly productive alternative to conventional Z-planar facemilling. The basic process is simple. In successive passes, the plunging tool is fed directly down into the mold in its Z axis only, retracted like a drill, indexed to new X-Y coordinates, and fed down again. The process continues in a pattern of overlapping holes until the entire mold core or cavity is roughed out.
In 1997, SofTech introduced the first implementation of plunge rough cutter path generation in a commercial CAM system. The center-cut variant uses a counterboring end mill to plunge directly into the work. To broaden the application of plunge roughing, a second variation — edge style — was added to Prospector™ in 1998. Edge style differs from center-cutting in that a smaller step-over is used between each plunge so that readily available off-the-shelf tooling can be used instead of the purpose-built counterboring end mill. This form of plunge roughing is better suited for lower horsepower machines and does not require high-pressure coolant. Advanced algorithms in Prospector determine the correct path to machine either cavity or core conditions such that the tool never bottoms out. Unique conical entry holes to facilitate chip evacuation are automatically generated for cavity conditions to clear out the area from which plunge roughing can begin. Prospector supports a specialized Z-Planar cleanup cutter path to remove scallops and smooth out the irregular pattern of stock left over from plunge roughing.
The Benefits of Plunge Roughing
 Major productivity gains can be achieved using the plunge roughing process programmed with Prospector software. Results indicate that plunge roughing metal-removal rates are minimally more than 50% higher than those obtained by conventional Z-planar roughing with button-type facemills. And this advantage increases dramatically in deeper cuts. While the plunging tool, regardless of extensions, can maintain maximum feeds and speeds in cuts of any length, extended-length facemills require reduced depths of cut to avoid tool deflection and chatter.
Need Help Getting Started?
 Together with our tooling partner, SECO/Carboloy™, we can provide you with the tools, software and expertise to make plunge roughing a reality in your shop.
Plunge Roughing Powered by Tooling from:
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