Shaping and knurling on a mill !!!

[Mook]

Cutting grooves, especially vee grooves can be a pain on a flat face due to the zero cutting speed at the tip of a pointed cutter. Locking the tool & using as a shaper really reduces the cutting time & noise...

[tonyfoale]

Mook,

In the video it looked like you kept the same Z on the way back. If so, wouldn't it be better to lift the tool a tad on the return stroke?

[Mook]

Mook,

In the video it looked like you kept the same Z on the way back. If so, wouldn't it be better to lift the tool a tad on the return stroke?

Traditional shapers mechanically index over the part on the return stroke so the tool needs to be clear on the return stroke. This is what the clapper box does.
In this case the part does not index until the end of the return stroke where the tool is clear.
This was cut on a 2 axis CNC, on a 3 axis I add a Z axis retraction but it is probably not needed. ( A Z axis retraction on a 3 axis prevents direct X axis immediate direction change )
I will post a another video soon to show form generating on a 3 axis CNC using this method.