Feed moves that cut nothing, caused by conservative stock assumptions in CAM, tool paths that start far from the material or repeated passes over areas already cleared. On long production runs, trimming air cutting is one of the cheapest ways to cut cycle time. During prove-out, deliberate air cutting above the part is a safety check.
Heard on the job
Half this cycle is air cutting, the CAM thinks the stock is a full block, give it the real casting model.
Also heard as
- cutting air
Related terms
Making chips
Shop phrase for machines actually cutting metal, the productive part of the day as opposed to setup.
Prove out
To run a new CNC program cautiously the first time, watching every move to catch errors before they crash.
Feeds and speeds
The spindle speed and feed rate chosen for a cut, set from material, tool and machine.