@ItsDan wrote:
I’m in the process of exploring using fancier bits and other optimizations and wanted to document my efforts a bit so you can see lots of failure and maybe offer some insight.
The background is I’ve been doing a box project with a 1/8" upcut endmill, which has been fine but it leaves a lot of cleanup work. I started using an Amana 46180-K compression bit. The results are amazing, between that and using Cut2D to do some more advanced techniques such as ramping, lead in, and finishing passes, I have almost no cleanup to do after the cut. The only negative is the bit was absolutely screaming at me, so I backed off the feed rate significantly, which did help though not fully. Because of that my cut time went from ~15 minutes per box to over 30, which I’d like to try and get back down if possible.
So I began turning to GWizard and doing google searches to work out a reasonable speed, and basically ended up feeling like I have no clue what I should be doing. I’ve seen recommendations for 1/8" endmills from .0625 cut depth through .25" cut depth, speeds from 15ipm to 200ipm. The manufacturer recommends 20ipm with the goal of a .0005" chip load per tooth, whereas most guides I’ve seen for 1/8" bits in hardwood suggest .003-.005" per tooth, a full order of magnitude higher.
So I decided to put some cheaper 1/8" endmills in to do some testing. The videos below show the same test pattern. The first slot is .06" depth of cut, .12" total, 45ipm, the 2nd slot is .125" doc, .12" total, 45ipm, and the final one is .06" depth of cut, .12" total, 60ipm. The 2nd video is the same as the first but I blocked the dewalt fan so it wouldn’t blow all the chips away, the picture after the video shows the chips, I feel like the bottom is ‘chippier’ than the other two. The 2nd slot sounds like it’s struggling, or is that just me?
I see a lot of advice to listen to the machine and go by sound, but I’m realizing I just don’t have a good reference point for what it should sound like. I’m wondering if people have any insight based on hearing the machine run, am I underpowering it? Should I be trying to go even faster? Or am I already pushing it?
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