On a VF-2SS, a 6061 bracket with a 3/8" 3-flute at 18,000 rpm and 240 ipm dropped from 3:42 to 3:19 after tightening the arc filter to 0.0005" and trimming lead-ins/outs. Have you seen bigger gains from G187 E-value/look-ahead tuning versus leaving comp off roughing and using G41/G42 only on a light finish?
I’d loosen ‘G187 P1 E0.003–0.005’ on roughing so the VF‑2SS holds 240 ipm through arcs, then switch to ‘G187 P3 E0.0003’ and use G41/G42 only on a 0.005 finish — like letting it round rough corners a hair. That’s been a bigger win for me than comp choices, but it hinges on your post outputting real arcs; if you’re seeing tiny line segments, bump the CAM arc filter or enable HSM/look‑ahead.
At 3:19, try 8–10% WOC with the “3/8” 3-flute; G41 just 0.005 finish. Stepover now?
Biggest jump I’ve seen was making sure look-ahead wasn’t throttled — cancel any leftover G103 with ‘G103 P0’ before roughing, then tighten G187 only for the skim; running with G103 active is like sprinting with the parking brake on. Do you have HSM enabled on that VF‑2SS?
I’ve seen bigger gains switching to climb-only stay-down; at “3:19” try 0.02 in retract, 90% stay-down.