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Lost a $400 aluminum job because I skipped the test pass
Last month I got a rush order for a aerospace part out of 6061, customer needed it by Friday. I was in a hurry and decided to skip my usual dry run to save time, just loaded the program and hit cycle start. About halfway through the roughing pass I heard that awful grinding sound and realized my tool offset was wrong by 0.015. Scrapped the whole piece, had to eat the material cost and redo it overnight. Now I always run a quick test pass even if I'm behind schedule, it just saves me from making the same dumb mistake twice. Has anyone else ruined a job because you felt rushed and skipped a step you normally do?
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briannguyen16d ago
Honestly, I read somewhere that skipping the test pass is the number one way guys scrap expensive parts. Tbh that 0.015 offset mistake is the kind of thing that haunts you for weeks.
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lily_sullivan8216d ago
Oh wow, 0.015 offset? That is brutal. One and a half thou off and you're basically staring at a paperweight. I've seen guys do that on brand new billet parts and literally watch all their weekend plans disappear. Yeah, skipping the test pass is just asking for trouble. It's one of those lessons you usually only learn the hard way too, once you've already paid for it.
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