百超6千瓦光纤激光切割机和大族6000瓦光纤激光切割机买哪个好……急_百度知道
百超6千瓦光纤激光切割机和大族6000瓦光纤激光切割机买哪个好……急
提问者采纳
大族在国产机中还是很好的！毕竟进口的当然是百超啊。请问你们是什么地区的
订了百超光纤6000瓦
提问者评价
太给力了，你的回答完美地解决了我的问题，非常感谢！
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出门在外也不愁From ShapeOko
Primary consideration is how fast the flutes of the cutter move against the material. A secondary consideration is the direction of rotation of the cutting tool (typically clockwise) and the interplay between the movement of the spindle and material, .
The perfect cutting is not too slow, not too fast, not too shallow and not too deep.
Forum user danimal wrote up an excellent overview:
w/ an in-depth usage strategy.
The values below may be used in configuring milling operations when using a
program to generate G-code to make a cut, but unless your machine is essentially identical to the machine which they were used on, can be considered as only very general guidelines. All values should be verified and tested on a scrap of material first, then one should adjust to match desired chip size and surface finish and time required for completion.
Please share any instances of success or failure along w/ the specifics of:
your machine and its configuration, esp. any upgrades (but information for stock Shapeoko 2s and 3s would be especially welcome)
Milling cutter
actual feed / speed and the unit of measure (mm/sec in/min etc)
whether or not you had dust collection active
any active cooling
material, including source
Excellent discussion of feeds, speeds and guidelines and more:
--- incl. guidelines for brass.
While several online tools exist for calculating linear movement (feeds) and spindle RPM (speeds):
--- requires registration
(suggestion for using this w/ the SO3 is to limit cutter force output to 2--3 lbs. and to have at least 0.001" chip load per tooth.)
--- includes download link for another Excel spreadsheet
These tools are intended "... for industrial machines that assume that there is no slop, twist, or flex in the machine."
A notable calculator is G-Wizard listed at: .
There are also physical calculators:
In addition, one needs to decide upon a cutting depth advancement, and the amount of stepover (how much each toolpath overlaps, see the ). Using a smaller cutting depth advancement is one suggested strategy for coping w/ the design's lack of rigidity.
Interesting discussion of materials suitable for cutting on a Shapeoko and their characteristics in: .
The S1 and S2 both give good finish passes at around 1 pound cutting force per FSWizard. Roughing passes, maybe up to 10 pounds depending on how aggressive you want to be. Edward (Ford, the machine's designer) has posted an aluminum milling video with the S3 with good finish and parameters that FSWizard spits out about 4 pounds for.
The feed rate (speed at which the machine head moves in XYZ space) and the speed rate (number of revolutions per minute the cutting tool revolves around its axis) need to be proportional to each other, so as to have the machine cut out suitably sized chips. If a calculator suggests one be greater or lesser than allowed by your machine, reduce or increases the other proportionally (w/in the limits of your machine’s frame and linear motion setup) so as to bring the other into range.
Typical starting values:
Cut Depth/Step Down: The traditional guideline is 1/2 the diameter of the end mill. Another school of thought is to start shallow and work deeper until the sound of the cut changes (typical values this way are 0.3mm (harder plastics (acrylics)) or 0.6mm (wood)
Stepover: 1/3--1/10 the diameter of the end mill --- discussion of step over for ball end mills and finishing:
Plunge Rate: (Note that your
must be capable of centercutting)
harder materials (steel and cast iron and harder alloys): 8 to 10% of feed rate
softer materials (softer aluminum alloys and brass, denser/harder plastics and composites, exceptionally hard woods): 15 to 20%.
softest materials (most plastics and varieties of wood): 30 to 50%
(a useful guideline is one-fourth the feed)
In contrast to the usual cutting formula, this simpler one has been suggested:
Chip load is a physical thing. It's the thickness of the thickest part of the chip that the cutter generates. If your cutting feeds are set up right (i.e. actually generating chips), you should be able to straighten out a chip (carefully! they can be sharp) and measure the thickness. That would be your chip load. I like to keep chip load constant, since the thickness of the chip has a huge amount to do with where heat goes, where cutting forces go, and ultimately the cleanliness of your cut and the life of the tool. I'll always start with the chip load to get a feed rate. Here's how that works:
Feed = [chip load]*[#of flutes]*[RPM]
You'll notice that cutter diameter doesn't come into play there. If you add it to your formula, you're going to come out with really weird numbers. Basically, I say I want each tooth of my cutter to take off a certain amount of material, say 0.004". Now let's say my cutter has two flutes, so every time it rotates I have two chips being removed. In order to remove 0.004" per flute, I have to move the cutter by 0.004*2, or 0.008" per revolution. Now I can multiply that out by my spindle RPM (12000, because why not) to get 0.008*12000 or 96 inches/min. You'll notice units cancel out to a sane unit of IPM for feed. "But Jeremy," you say, "If I'm trying to run my poor little 1/16 cutter through acrylic at 96 IPM it won't last two seconds! That's just too fast!" Well, I hear you. The thing is, it's not too fast. It's actually the appropriate speed to get a good cut. (I'm not vouching for 0.004" necessarily being an appropriate chip load for acrylic. I'd actually suggest something more along the lines of 0.002" to 0.003", but that's a discussion for another time.) The thing at this point in time that will break your cutter is excessive cutting forces, which come from the last variable in our cutting equation: depth of cut.
Many places will have fundamental rules of thumb for how deep you should cut with your CNC router. They'll say "cut at 1/2 your cutter diameter," or something along those lines. Ignore that for these models. I don't trust something that simple, as its bound to be overlooking something. In this case, proper chip and cutter loading. There are a lot of ways to use a lot of math to calculate how deep you should cut, but at the end of the day you're still using a shapeoko machine, which is quite flexible. What I'm saying is, every machine will be different and hard to predict. Start shallow (won't hurt anything) and work down deeper and deeper until it sounds like your cutter is really loading down, then back off a shade and remember that value. I usually suggest starting with 0.012" depth per pass for harder plastics (acrylics) and 0.024" for woods. Those will be very light cuts, and you can play with increasing them more and more until you're happy with how the cut goes.
Suggesting that one should modulate the cutting depth (the afore-mentioned working w/ a light and delicate touch).
One thing to understand is that depth (axial depth, along the cutter) vs width (radial width, or stepover) is very different in traditional machining as opposed to cnc routing. In traditional machining, you tend to start out with a block of material slightly oversize of the actual part. You then whittle it away to reveal the part hidden inside, which usually involves very deep axial cuts with a very shallow radial cut. This is the opposite of routing, in which we're cutting parts out of sheets, so most of the time we have no choice but to have 100% radial engagement (full width of the cutter is cutting). This is less than optimal, and means that we have to cut shallower to compensate. Most "rules of thumb" for cut depth don't quite grasp the fact that you are more or less locked in to 100% width of cut. You can't choose an optimal depth and adjust the width to compensate as normal. You can implement various strategies to do that when cutting parts out of a sheet or panel, but it really doesn't make any sense in that context because it's much less efficient from a cycle time perspective.
An exercise for the reader:
Take the feeds and speeds for a small endmill in a particular steel alloy, then calculate the force needed to make that cut, a specific engagement. Then, calculate it out as a kinematics problem.
The whole thing needs to be really stiff to cut steel. If the deflection at the tip of the cutter (cutter plus whatever it is attached to) is more than the thickness of the chip, (feed per tooth) then it is guaranteed to chatter, and not cut well. This is why milling machines are HEAVY.
--- searchable database of material properties includes data sheets of thermoplastic and thermoset polymers such as ABS, nylon, polycarbonate, polyester, polyethyle metals such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, lead, magnesium, nickel, steel, superalloys, tita plus semiconductors, fibers, and other engineering materials.
Note that different materials will respond to cutting in different ways, and will ultimately be cut with differing levels of accuracy. Discussion in: .
--- aluminum , bakelite, particleboard, rubber
--- technique for determining optimal feed based on spindle r.p.m. and test cuts
Sortable table
Surface speed
Cooling/lubricant
1/8" four flute solid carbide endmill
30,000 RPM
generic dremel
single or double flute 1/8" end mill
762--1524 mm/min (30--60ipm)
11,000 RPM
1.5875 mm (1/16" @50-60ipm) or 3.175 mm (1/8" @30-40ipm)
generic dremel
double flute 1/8" end mill, 1/2" cutting length
11,000 RPM
generic dremel, Dremel 4000
Polycarbonate (Lexan)
double flute 1/8" end mill
20,000 RPM
double flute 1/8" end mill
20,000 RPM
2.032 mm (0.08" Plunge Rate: 75mm/min.)
n/a (through cut)
2 flute 1/8" Carbide
700--1000mm/m
20,000--30,000 RPM
0.7mm--2mm
stock spindle, DW660
2 flute 1/8" Carbide, 1/2" cutting length
25,000 RPM
Dremel 4000
(conservative)
2 flute 1/8" Carbide
2400mm/min (conservative)
30,000 RPM
1.5mm (very conservative)
33kg/m^3 Foam
5 to 10 mm
Forum discussion:
Discussion and experimentation:
I made a test piece with 30, 6mm holes, using 2d pocket, bore and circular tool paths. All three strategies was tested with and without finish passes. With climb and conventional. And any combination. And I also tested boring conventional with 0.3mm stock to leave and then a contour/profile path at full depth to finish off the hole. I haven't gone through the numbers thoroughly yet. But so far a few things I've noticed.
It seems Gadgetman was on to something with single-cut operations vs choosing a roughing and finishing two part strategy. All my best holes (size, roundness and finish) were made by single operations that did the full diameter at once!
Secondly using conventional milling produced the best results. Some with climb milling was ok as well, but the general result was that anything concerning climb milling (be it complete single cut operations or used as finis passes) gave a little worse result.
I had little luck with the any variation of the circular path, and it also does a very annoying z up movement with every completed Z level.
The best two were simply 2D pockets (normal pockets) and bore cut as a single conventional milling operation. Those two produced the best looking holes and finish and was closest to spec. Of the two I think I prefer bore, since it's quicker to set up and quicker to cut.
The ones I did as a rough bore with a finishing contour pass came out pretty bad, too small and with lots of chatter.
Ideally, all the heat of a cut will be carried away by the chip — this is not always possible, so for some cuts in certain materials, coolant will be used.
It may be applied in various ways, either through drip or mist systems (see ) or one may fashion a dam or well in which to pour it.
Discussion:
To actually test feeds and speeds for a material, esp. note the technique mentioned above:
--- technique for determining optimal feed based on spindle r.p.m. and test cuts
It is always a good idea to test and prove out a G-code path, esp. the first time one uses it. One can of course do an “air cut”, one anxious user piled up flour and had the endmill drag through that, or one can use a less expensive material (poplar rather than walnut, aluminum rather than brass).
The industry-standard for this is machinable wax, a combination of wax and a compatible plastic, usually polyethylene (used in plastic bags and many food containers).
See below for feeds and speeds which are specific to this material, and other details, but it should be possible to use the G-code intended for the final material.
--- .125" end mill at about 7500rpm, 75-85 IPM, 37 plunge, 90% stepover, 100% step down
Metric version:
Ideally when milling metals one would use an upcut bit, so as to clear chips --- however, given the narrower bits which a Shapeoko is likely to be using, plunge depth is typically limited to 0.25mm (0.01") which ameliorates the difficulty of clearing chips. Even so, some users have found it helpful to increase the width of cuts to aid in chip clearance as noted in .
Forum discussion full of suggestions: .
Strategy for cutting thin sheets:
single flute, up-cut cutter (e.g., Onsrud O-Flute), starting point 18,500 rpms on the spindle, feed rate of 85 inches per minute.
Work holding: spoil board and spray glue technique.
secure your spoil board to the machine, tram an area slightly larger than your work piece.
use a spray adhesive such as 3M Super 77 --- follow the directions
Apply some weight for a few seconds to make sure you get good adhesion.
to remove the work piece, use a propane torch to heat your piece until it's too hot to touch, this will loosen the adhesive.
Use a chisel to carefully pry your work piece from the spoil board, solvent will clean any remaining adhesive.
One consideration when cutting electrically conductive material is that the electronics must be shielded from the chips --- ensure that your controller is in an enclosure which will protect it.
The typical (ideal?) technique would be to find the Surface Feet Per Minute (SFM) (available in references such as:
) for the metal in question, then calculate:
RPM = (SFM*3.82) / Cutter diameter in inches
Discussion on Reddit:
Considerations for jewelry:
Metals may be colour-coded --- one company's system:
When milling aluminium, you have to know which alloy you're milling.
Aluminium is like wood : milling oak, pine or balsa wood is not the same.
For instance in aluminium you have series (1000 to 8000), each of which is alloyed with different elements (specified in parentheses below) to achieve differing mechanical properties.
Alloys which are readily anodized include 5083 and 6061.
A further consideration is whether or no the material has been heat treated.
1000 essentially pure aluminum (99% minimum by weight), can be work hardened
1050 not good for machining
1100 --- machinability poor
2000 (copper)
2011 --- machinability excellent
AU4G (2017) is really good at machining : you can take deep passes (~0.3 to 0.5mm) at something around 500 to 800mm/min (20 to 23 ipm). This aluminium will resist to the heat and won't melt.
2024 --- very strong and is used a lot in some aerospace applications. Its ok to work with, I'd say its in the middle. Its not gummy like some other alloys but it doesn't produce the best finishes and will take a little longer to mill over say 6061-T6
3000 (manganese) can be work hardened
3003--- machinability poor
4000 (silicon)
5000 (magnesium)
5052 available in sheet --- machinability only fair (poor)
5086 --- machinability poor
5251 not good for machining
5456 --- machinability poor
6000 (magnesium and silicon) easily machined
6020 --- machinability excellent
6060 is really different. It's much softer and melt faster and stick on the endmill, making it worse. You have to take smaller passes (0.2mm) at high feedrate (around 1000 to 1200 mm/min, or 40 or 47ipm). Using a 1 flute endmill usually give better results.
6061 most commonly used aluminum alloy (in the U.S.) --- 6061-T6 nice to machine and forgiving. Can be milled without coolant or lubricant if the feed rate, depth of cut, and spindle RPM are set correctly. 6082 is very similar and more common in Europe.
6082 medium strength alloy with excellent corrosion resistance, machines well in T6 and T651 temper
6101 --- machinability poor
7000 (zinc) can reach the highest strengths of any aluminum alloy
7075 also gives good results when milling, but is difficult to cut on a Shapeoko
8000 (other elements)
These are not the same values as the best suited feed and speed in industry.
Discussion of difficulties w/ guidelines:
Technique for deriving feed and speed and depth of cut by observing a cut:
MeshCAM settings:
Some hold that aluminum should be cut extremely shallow and extremely fast, having even made the statement: "Whatever you're doing, go even shallower and even faster".
One interesting observation is that ball end end mills work better.
One thing which will make a big difference is to choose an end mill especially designed/made for cutting aluminum. Characteristics of such include:
upcutting flutes
reducing the number of flutes to reduce the effective feed rate
special coatings to prevent material from adhering to the bit
ZrN (Zirconia Nitride) --- described as “for aluminum only”
TiB2 (Titanium Diboride)
Additionally, a radius endmill has been noted as reducing vibration.
Length matters, w/ shorter bits reducing chatter.
Depending on the aluminium alloy you're milling, the material can melt and stick to your endmill. If this happens, try to change the cut parameters:
fewer flutes, lower RPM, faster feedrate, also try coolant while milling (WD40, water or aluminium specific coolant fluid). This is less likely to happen with harder alloys such as 2017.
Discussion of techniques and strategies in: . See also .
Doing the finishing pass as a climb cut will give a better finish on an extraordinarily rigid machine and bit. Using a roughing pass wider than cutter is advised.
If aluminum “galls” on an endmill, a bathroom drain clearing product (such as Draino(R)) may be used to remove the material (please check the chemistry of this first against the composition of your end mill and its coating).
--- detailed discussion of tool paths, finish and various
A further consideration is the temper of the metal.
ShapeOko 3: 5in/min at about 15k cutting speed with a 1/8" carbide cutter. I take about .008" deep passes.
1/4" carbide, Adaptive Clearing, 33k RPM, 60 IPM, 0.1" stepover, 0.063" doc
also did 1/8" carbide, 33k rpm, 30 ipm, 0.05" stepover, 0.02" doc
Using the upper pair of mounting holes on the spindle carriage plate may reduce chatter. 2F end mill at 12ipm with 5 speed (DWP611).
Material: 1/8" Thick, 6061 Aluminum
Feedrate: 60ipm (1524mm) --- conservative 80ipm was achieved
Depth pass: 0.0625" (1/16") (1.5875mm)
45% overlap
Plunge Rate: 20ipm (508mm)
Bit: 3 Flute, 1/4" Square end Mill, HSS
CAD: Autodesk Inventor 2014 Professional
CAM: MeshCAM v6 Pro
Router: Dewalt DW611 (Speed set to 4)
.25" depth of cut, .025" stepover, and 60IPM feed. This makes nice long dagger shaped chips, and seems to cause the least chatter of all while still keeping a .5in^3/min material removal rate.
I cut a "grill" into the "protection plate" that covers the electronics of the shapeoko 3 to mount an 80mm fan, i did it no problem without lubricant. My settings:
2 flute 8mm carbide bit
Stepown 1 mm
Overlap 3 mm
Dewalt set on 5
6061 (1' x 1/2"), 1/4 x 4flt coated ball. Spindle 16k, feed: Slot: 2"/min, Front angle: 11"/min, Top: 22"/min
rough on shapeoko3: 25 ipm, 0.3mm doc, 150mm plunge
waterline finish on nomad: 8ipm, 0.3mm doc, 150mm plunge
parallel finish: 4ipm, 50mm plunge
0.25" dia. cutter
300mm/min (11"/min)
0.5-0.75mm (0.02"/0.03") depth of cut
1/2" 6061 aluminium --- 3 flute1/4" End Mill at 600mm\min, 200mm\min plunge, around 14,000rpm, 0.2mm DOC... awesome finish, and good looking chips.
0.1mm depth per pass at 560 mm/min 4 flute high speed steel endmill
Mill Bit 2FL SE REG SQ - TiALN
Plunge rate 3 in/min
Depth per pass at 0.020 (conservative)
Feed rate a little to 36 in/min
Speed set to 5.5 on the Dewalt, guess, could be 26,000 rpm
combination of a 3mm 2flute 45 Helix cutter at
Rpm with a .17mm DoP with a feed of 400mm/min
1/8" thick 6061-T6 alu. Plate
Feed 215mm
Depth 0.2mm
Plunge 27mm
Bits 1/8" 2 flute carbide and V-bit
Forum discussions here:
Feed: 160 mm/min
Plunge: .2 mm
Speed: 20,000 RPM (DW 660)
— aluminum, includes specifics for bit, depth, stepover, feed and use of a cooling solution.
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" endmill.
Feed: 12ipm
Speed: generic dremel turned on high (30k RPM?)
Cut Depth: .0125"
Stepover: .0625" (50% of bit diameter)
Cooling/Lubricant: liberally applying WD40 as the job was being cut
Bit: single flute spiral upcut 1/8" endmill. Available from .
Feed: 500 mm/min
Plunge: 300 mm/min
Cut Depth: 0.1 mm
Speed: Maximum speed (bundled generic rotary tool)
Coolant: cutting fluid (mineral oil or water should work)
.071 6061 Aluminum sheet
Tool: Flat carbide endmill .0625
using a small Dremel
Feed: 12inches /Min
Plunge :6 /Min
1/8" thick aluminum and 3/8" thick aluminum
Bit: 2 flute center cut end mill (from Inventables) --- Dewalt DW660 spindle --- max. speed 30,000 r.p.m.
Feed: 500mm/min feed
Plunge: 100mm/min plunge
Step Down: .2mm step down
accuracy was +/-.2mm over 3inches
1/8" 6061-t6 aluminum
Niagara C330 1/8" 3 flute TiAlN coated end mill
650mm/min feed
100mm/min plunge
HSM (high speed machining) techniques to pocketing 6061 with a Shapeoko 2
Toolpath: Helix to depth, 0.5mm constant engagement adaptive clearing (trochoidal) toolpath
End mill: 4-flute variable helix TiAlN carbide
Speed: 17.5K RPM
Feed: 450mm/min (18ipm)
30 degree 1/8" shank v-bit.
8ipm (203.2mm) feed, 3ipm (76.2mm) plunge rate with 0.008" (0.2032mm) plunge per pass.
Termed architectural aluminum, it may be identified by the profile having square edges (usually other grades have slightly rounded edges similar to steel angle). Inexpensive and easily extruded.
.02" aluminum 6063
Feed: 500mm/min (this could probably be increased)
bit: 2 flute 1/16" bit.
Cut Depth: .01" (Cut in 2 passes)
Plunge: 75mm/min
Forum discussion here:
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" carbide endmill w/ 45 degree helix.
Feed: 600mm/min
Speed: 20--25,000
Plunge: 100 or 150 mm/min
Step Down: 0.4mm
1/8in endmills at 40IPM .05 step over, and .032 depth of cut in 7075 AL.
standard length ones at 20IPM, .05 stepover, and .032 depth
1/4" chamfer mill at 20IPM with .05" stepover.
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" carbide
Feed: 350mm/min
Speed: 10,000 rpm
Plunge: n/a (ramp-in only)
Cut depth: 0.2mm for slots with 100% bit engagement, 0.4mm for finish pass
Lubrication: used cutting oil only on the pockets
Bit: 2 flute 6mm carbide endmill
Feed: 400mm/min
Speed: 6730 rpm
Plunge: n/a (ramp-in only)
Cut depth: 0.2mm for slots
Feed: 200mm/min
Step Down: 0.4mm
WD-40 lubricant.
500mm/min, .3mm per pass with a 1 flute 1/8 carbide endmill, at speed 3 on a DW611
Tough, strong alloy with excellent corrosion resistance, however not easy to machine. .
1/8" carbide cutter at 150mm/min. 0.2mm depth of cut per pass using DW660.
3 flute, 45deg flute, carbide, 4mm diameter ... 21k RPM, dry, climb cutting ... Spiral downcut along a 1mm radius, .4mm per revolution (leading to a 6mm hole) ... feedrate of 500mm/min with a forward step of 0.5mm (12% tool engagement)
Least expensive alloy. Likely available as sheets.
cut on my SO2, with a feed rate of 300mm/min and a 0.1mm depth of cut... Dremel. I used a speed of around 15000 rpm and plenty of WD40 as lubricant. The thing that made the biggest difference to the finish was blasting all the chips out with air at regular intervals. ... On the down side, it blasts small chips of aluminium and WD40 all over the place, so there is plenty of cleanup required afterwards...
400 mm/min feed
1/8" four flute solid carbide endmill.
Spiral plunge
lots of tap magic cutting oil throughout the milling.
0.25 mm pass depth.
1/8" carbide, 33k rpm, 30 ipm (10IPM if you are taking full width passes), 0.05" stepover, 0.02" doc for adaptive clearing.
From Easel:
Depth Increment: 0.005"
1/8" single flute spiral end mill from Inventables. Step down was .2mm per pass, feed rate of 400mm/min. Makita's speed was set to about 3-1/3 on the dial, which goes up to 6. I used some silicone spray initially, but I ran out and cut most of the job dry, periodically vacuuming chips out of the cut.
1/4" 2 flute carbide endmill, Makita up to 4.5, .002" depth per pass at 25--30ipm
1/4" 4 flute bit.
Feed was 15 ipm and 1 ipm Z. 0.01" per pass too.
Very conservative. Used cutting oil occasionally.
15 ipm with step down .01 on 1/2 aluminum
Superglue. I use a thick (&4mm) piece of aluminium larger than what I need to cut, clamp that to the wasteboard and then dab a few drops of standard cyanoacrylate superglue on the thin sheet and slap it to the larger, thicker piece. Then I break out my 1.2mm 1-flute endmill ( ... 58a7df7885) and run it at a feed rate of400mm/min, plunge 100mm/min and a pass depth of 0.2mm. The spindle... runs at full tilt. When I'm done all I have to do is give the thin sheet a good whack sideways and it pops right off the larger sheet.
Forum discussion here:
Bit: 1 teeth 3mm mill
Feed: 800--1200mm/min
Speed: 10--13,000
Plunge: 100 mm/min
Step Down: 0.2mm
Cooling/Lubricant: a lot
Feed: 30ipm
bit: 1/8 carbide altin endmill
Cut Depth: .025"
3-4 IPM 0.015 cut depth at the low end of the DW611's speed range with lubricant ---
Depth Increment: 0.015"
Ascertain that if a copper alloy, it does not contain beryllium.
6000 r.p.m. (theoretical)
Step down .002"
Dewalt speed 1
small 1mm flat endmill
Speaking of pushing my machine hard, by pure accident I've actually been able to cut 22 gauge weld steel in a single pass at 7 IPM. It was smoking quite a bit but the machine was marching along without missing steps or jerking. I'll never do that again though, but it was cool to see the machine pushed to its limits. The intention was to make a 0.005" pass.
30 ipm, 10 plunge, .015 depth of cut, .2 step over.
Forum post discussing this:
One user, danielfarley was successful using an 800W spindle w/ settings of: carbide tool - two flutes, 2mm wide, 100--140 mm / min, used some WD-40 as lubricant... although some tooling works better with no lubricant. Unfortunately, this has a potentially high cost in tooling, w/ endmills only lasting for cutting of a single (small) part in this instance.
More successful was forum user dottore in , making a "turner's cube" on a much upgraded Shapeoko 2 (Makita RT-0701, aluminum bed, belt drive Z-axis w/ Acme screw, cooling system, &c.).
1/4" thick 304 stainless steel about 2.5" x 3" each
3/16 carbide bit
.015 doc for roughing, then .01 doc for penetrating the circles, then .007 doc for the profile cut.
1/8" ball end mill
depth ~.005".
step down .0025"
Brass is available in a wide variety of alloys each w/ markedly different characteristics, Engraving Brass (CZ120 / CW608N) which has 2% lead added to it, or Free Machining Brass (CW614N / CZ121) which has 3% lead content are “lovely to machine”.
List of alloys and their characteristics:
Discussion of machining brass tags:
DW660. 0.063" straight 3-flute bit
Feed 5in (127mm)/min
drop 5in (127mm)/min
drop distance 0.015" (0.381mm)
Available from
Alloy 260 1/2 hard ASTM B36
Likely difficult to machine.
Two flute:
bit: 2 flute 1/8"
feed rates: 4in (101.6mm)/min
plunge rate: 0.015" (0.381mm) drop down
step over: 60%
Three flute:
bit: 3 flute 1/16"
feed rates: 10in (254mm)/min
plunge rate: 0.02" (0.508mm)drop down
step over60%
3 flute straight bit
0.063" diameter
0.01" (0.254mm) stepdown
5" (127mm)/min feed rates
1.5mm 2 flute carbide end mill
stepdown: 0.15 mm
RPM: 24000
Feed: 330 mm/min.
Plunge: 165mm/min.
Leaded nickel silver (C792) machines the same as 360 brass. Other alloys (C752) are more difficult.
Good overview of plastic machining characteristics here: . See also .
--- graph charting relative ease or difficulty of machining various plastics
--- list rating plastics from 1--20 in terms of machinability
--- fabrication guidelines
There is a heat issue with all plastics, the idea is to remove as much material in one rotation of the spindle as possible then move on. If you dwell in one place too long your bit will heat up and the material will heat up, leading to distortion, bad smells, and dull bits. Single flute bits will help.
When milling plastics you want "chips" to come off the bit. If you find that you are instead getting "threads" of material you need to either increase your speed or increase your depth (preferably not both). You will notice a difference depending on the direction your mill is going. If you get a lot of "chatter" (bit seems to hop) while milling uphill (where bit is turning into the material) you'll want to slow your job down slightly.
When engraving plastics, coating the surface w/ WD-40 may allow easier removal of waste material which sticks at the cut edges:
Go a bit slower and a bit lighter in ABS than HDPE.
3 or 5 in/min and a plunge depth of 0.05"
RPM: W DC Spindle)
Tool: Onsrud 63-701 1/16" Solid Carbide One Flute Upcut O Flute
Step down: 0.015625 -- 1/32"
Feed: 10--15 IPM
Plunge: 5--10 IPM
3mm ABS sheet milling and routing:
Machine: eShapeOKO, dual Y motors (1.5NM torque steppers)
RPM: 6000 (Kress 1050 FME spindle)
Tool: 2mm Carbide 2 flute end mill
Feed: 2000 mm/sec
Plunge: 300 mm/sec
Delrin is the DuPont brand name for Acetal. Moderately expensive plastic which machines extremely well. Suggestion is twice the DOC and feedrate as 6061 aluminum.
Bits: roughing path with a 1/4" end mill and a finishing path using a 1/16" ball nose mill
Feed: 800 mm/min feed speed
Cut Depth: 1/16" @50-60ipm or 1/8" @30-40ipm
Stepover: 10% step over
Material Thickness: Varies (Tested 1/8" - 3/4")
Forum post:
SO3: 15krpm at 40ips feed rate with an 1/8" carbide flat end mill
Nomad settings:
According to some machinists, Delrin must be allowed to rest for about 24 hours after initial machining, and then the last finish cut (0.001") to precise dimension can be taken. Very sharp tools, lots of coolant, and temperature limits are recommended.
Further information:
Bit: single or double flute 1/8" end mill (with center point for drilling!)
Feed: 30-60ipm
Speed: generic dremel turned up to 11
Cut Depth: 1/16" @50-60ipm or 1/8" @30-40ipm
Stepover: ???
Material Thickness: Varies (Tested 1/8" - 3/4")
Plastic that can easily be found in your local supermarket as a white cutting board (but also available in other colors). Only limitation is they are typically quite thin, usually not greater than 1/4"(6mm) thickness. Thicker material is available (9mm or so is sold as "half-inch" cutting boards), while larger boards in half-inch or even 3/4" thickness are available from specialty suppliers or online. Much larger and thicker panels are available from specialty plastics shops, sign shops and possibly local hardware stores.
Note that boards which are molded (as opposed to cut) may be swollen or otherwise out of dimension along the edges, or somewhat shrunken towards the center, depending on how they are cooled coming from the mold.
Forum posts discussing (very conservative) specifics of cutting it .
Bit: double flute 1/8" end mill
Feed: 355mm/m (very conservative 1,500--2,700 mm/min has been suggested --- one can trade off speed for cutting depth)
Speed: 11,000 RPM (Dremel 4000 set to 11)
Cut Depth: 1.5mm (as much as 2.5mm may be feasible at slower speeds)
Stepover: 30%
Tests done with an eShapeOKO with dual Y motors (1.5NM torque) and a Kress 1050 spindle:
Bit: 4mm 2 Flute carbide end mill
Feed: 2000mm/minute
Plunge: 300mm/minute
Speed: 9000 (Kress set to '2')
Cut Depth: 3mm
We did some tests at Inventables and these settings worked successfully:
DIA = 0.0625
Step over% = 60
Step down = 0.045
Spindle Speed = 12,000
Feed Rate = 60
Plunge Rate = 30
DIA = 0.125
Step over% = 60
Step down = 0.062
Spindle Speed = 12,000
Feed Rate = 60
Plunge Rate = 30
One datapoint, Improbable Construct notes "2 flute 1/8" endmill, 40% step over, 1/16" cut depth, 27000 RPM, at a feed speed of 1200 mm with good results. Of course that was with dual Y motors and the double X mod."
Another datapoint: 30in per minute on the feed rate, and .125 on the depth per pass.
single flute 0.063, 0.125 and 0.25 carbide bits
~15,000 RPM
0.05" Step
Bit: 1 flute 1/8" upcut
Feed: 1300mm/min.
Plunge rate: 250mm/min.
Cut Depth: 3mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
1/8 single flute carbide end mill. 30 imp , 10 plunge, .1 depth of cut, .4 step over. dewalt set to 2.5 (very conservative) .
A further note: "With HDPE you want to use conventional milling. It does leave a fuzzy, stringy edge when you use climb milling."
Rubbing the pieces w/ a towel after machining will help remove errant flecks/strands.
the following settings worked best with a straight fluted bit. Upcut bits make a huge mess of things.
40% stepover
0.05" step down
20IPM Feed
10IPM Z-Feed
Clockwise on the engraving
Also note Starboard, a form of HDPE with additives to make it tougher and more UV resistant.
Bit: double flute 1/8" end mill
Feed: 1000mm/m
Speed:20,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 1mm
Stepover: 2mm
Bit: 1 flute 1/8" upcut
Feed: 800mm/min.
Plunge rate: 250mm/min.
Cut Depth: 0.5mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
0.188" Lexan
1/8" 2-flute end mill
19,000rpm (3 on the 611)
feed rate of 20ipm
Single flute cutter, routers likely need lowest possible speed setting.
1/8" cutter single flute, 1800 rpm, feed rate of 50"/minute (1200mm/min) and plunge rate 24"/minute (600mm/min) with depth of cut 1mm. Possible to increase the depth of cut if your endmill is suitable.
Lengthy discussion of the difficulties of milling acrylic and some solutions: .
Note that what is sold as 0.25" thick acrylic is typically manufactured to metric 6mm (0.236"). Thickness tolerance for typical manufacture is 0.02", engineering plastics are available w/ tighter tolerances (0.005" from McMaster-Carr).
Notes from IC for cutting his :
Bit: double flute 3.175mm (1/8") end mill
Feed: 400mm/min
Speed: 20,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 2mm (0.08")
Stepover: n/a (through cut)
Plunge Rate: 75mm/min.
O-flute bits are recommended.
Using a Dremel bit:
Spindle speed: 3500
Plunge rate: F10
Depth:0.7 mm passes, with one clean-up pass
Alternating CW and CCW cutting passes
Makita RT0701 16in/min feed, 0.08" step down at speed 2 (~12,280 r.p.m.)
10mm cast Acrylic using 6mm Single Flute bit 2mm depth 400mm/min Feed speed.
Cast Acrylic:
DW660: single flute end mill, 30000 rpm, 300mm/min feed rate, 75mm/min plunge. Pass Depth 0.0625
single flute 0.063 and 0.125 carbide bits
~15,000 RPM
0.05" Step
Extruded Acrylic:
Stock Shapeoko 2 w/ stock spindle, maximum speed, feed rate 380--400mm/ min and plunge rate 100 mm/ min., Step down 0.8mm with better results.
2 mm acrylic from Home Depot.
Cut with 1/8" 2-flute spiral end mill.
2 mm cut depth
400 mm/min feed
75 mm/min plunge
12000 rpm spindle (300w Quiet cut spindle)
Cutter: 3mm 2 flute carbide Kyocera cutter
Spindle speed: 13800RPM
Pass depth: 0.5mm
Feed rate: 1200 mm/min
Plunge rate: 300 mm/min
Acrylic and Polycarbonate:
600 Watt router, 30,000 rpm, feedrate of 1500 mm / min, plunge rate of 800 mm / min.
Some users have reported difficulties w/ the above settings:
--- please test w/ scrap and report specifics.
Acrylic is also available under the name plexiglass.
(untested)
Feed: 200--300 in/min
Speed: 5,000 RPM
Using a Dewalt DW660 on a ShapeOko 2, Riley Porter was able to cut 3/8" plexiglass with the following settings:
Bit: 2-flute 1/8" carbide upflute w/ 1/4" shank
Feed: 600 mm/min
Speed: Full speed
Cut Depth: 1.75mm (was supposed to be 1mm)
eShapeoko: 21kRPM, 800mm/min at 2.5mm deep
Extruded acrylic tends to "store" energy and may randomly crack if one presses in a part as a friction fit. This happened when I.C. tried pressing in the magnets on his DWP611 shoe and broke a couple. A further issue is that it will have two separate optimal feed/speeds for cutting, one along the extrusion axis, the other at 90 degrees to it.
The edges may be polished after cutting by rapidly passing an open flame over them and quickly allowing the material to melt and cool.
You may wish to consider misting the material w/ water and/or dishwashing liquid as a coolant or applied to the bit as a lubricant
14,500 r.p.m. and 200 i.p.m. or 18,000 and 250 i.p.m.
Plexiglas = Perspex = Acrylic = PMMA = Polymethylmethacrylate
Cast vs. Extruded --- usually cast has a paper protective film, while extruded has plastic
Cast PMMA is essentially pure polymethylmethacrylate and machines well using, when possible, tools with zero top rake and a very sharp cutting edge. Brand new HSS cutters are a good option.
Extruded PMMA has chemicals added to it to aid in extrusion and does not machine as nicely, tending to melt. There is a possibility of stress cracks and crazing after machining as noted above
Polycarbonate. It costs twice as much, but it's nicer in every way.
(untested)
Bit: 1/8" end mill
Feed: 1000mm/min
Speed: 6,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 2mm (0.08")
Description of difficulties:
Stock shapeoko 2 with dremel 4000 (grbl 0.9)
Feed xy: 1000mm/min
Plunge Z speed: 250mm/min
Speed: 13-15,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 0.5mm
Bit: 1-flute 1/8" carbide upcut spiral
Note: Extruded plexiglass is not easy to mill. The above combo is what gave me best results after some experimentation. A two flute straight cutter can be used but will cause more melting.
13--15,000 RPM --- Spiral O shape bit suggested.
available as boards and trim pieces at home center. Mentioned for cutting in 25mm thickness.
Type 1 is solid, other forms foamed.
Identified by heating a copper wire red hot, melt a bit onto the wire, then place in the flame — a green tint indicates PVC.
Note that there are safety implications for heating / burning PVC, esp. w/ a laser.
good to machine provided using a sharp tool with high positive rake
eShapeOKO with Kress 1050FME spindle.
Tested on a machine with limited Z axis power so the plunge rate is constrained by the machine.
Cast Nylon 6 (black)
Dry cut - No lubrication or cooling fluids.
4mm 2 flute solid carbide end mill
1mm 2 flute end mill
6.3mm radius HSS corner rounding router bit.
Machine settings:
Feed Rate: 800mm/min
Plunge Rate: 150mm/min
Kress 1050FME Spindle: '2' (approximately 9000rpm)
Cut Depth: 2mm
Step over: 40%
With these settings Nylon 6 cuts very well with no heat problems. Most of the swarf was small flakes and there was very little 'fluff' left on the work piece.
With a plunge rate limited to 150mm/minute and at the lowest speed on the Kress spindle drilling is a disaster and melts the plastic. A faster plunge rate may help.
With strong enough stepper motors the following produced excellent results with Nylon:
4mm 2 flute carbide end mill for aluminium
Machine settings:
Feed Rate: 1500mm/min
Plunge Rate: 500mm/min
Kress 1050FME Spindle: '2' (approximately 9000rpm)
Cut Depth: 2mm
Step over: 60%
Plastic locker plates
1/16 2 ply
Bits: .010 2 flute end mill, 1/16 2 flute end mill
alupanel (HDPE layer caught between 2 0.3 aluminium sheets)
vinyl-faced 3mm dibond sheets (C)
for a technique for using Janka hardness numbers to derive a first approximation for cutting a harder wood.
For shallow pockets, a down cut spiral bit results in cleaner top edges.
(Centennial Edition).
Hardwoods: 1mm endmill --- 0.5mm cutting depth with 500mm/min feed rate at 16000 rpm.
Inlay in hardwoods:
Pay attention to chips on the hardwoods. If you are making sawdust the speed/feeds are to high. You want to see discernible chips, even if they are small.
Dewalt router at 1-3 speed. .250 2 flute bits flat and ball nose, and .125 ball nose. Insert V bits from Amana.
30-50 ipm. plunge 10 ipm
From Carbide Motion:
depth per pass: 0.704mm
step over 1.429mm
Feedrate: 424.180
plunge rate: 106.045
Depth Increment: 1mm
Cut Feedrate: 710mm/min (conservative)
End mill: 2 flute .125 end mill
Speed: 25,000 r.p.m.
Stepover: 30%
Spindle: Dremel 4000
These measurements work for other soft hardwoods too, like Alder and may be a good starting point for softwoods.
Depth Increment: 0.028"
Depth Increment: 0.045"
Forum post showing a cut in hard maple using a Dewalt DW660 .
Forum user cchristianson posted the following numbers in : 24 in (609.6mm)/min for feed with 5 in (127)/m plunge @ 1/16" passes (1/8" 4 flute end mill). The same values were used for a very hard mahogany as well.
1/4" router bits at 60 in/min and a .060" deep pass through maple with no issues.
Depth Increment: 0.028"
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" endmill.
Feed: 562.5mm
Speed: 26,000 R.P.M. (likely too fast --- Harbor Freight Trim Router)
Cut Depth: 1.5mm
Stepover: 40%
Theoretical: 1/4 inch carbide bit try 12-18000 rpm and 762--2,286mm/min (30--90 ipm). 1/8 inch depth per pass. Leave about .01 inches for a full depth finish pass at the lower ipm range. Depending on the machine you may need faster or slower. You might also need a different step down.
Forum post showing small, detailed cuts in pine (including a Harley Davidson logo) .
Forum user atrueresistance reported success in
Forum user Junior483 noted success using the same settings as for MDF.
Stock Shapeoko 2 w/ Altocraft spindle: Plunge depth 0.03125", feed rate 5 inches per minute --- seemed to tax the spindle. Suggest shallower plunge.
(CamBAM settings)
Depth Increment: 0.03
Cut Feedrate: 35 (40 was too fast)
Depth Plunge: 10
Tool Diameter: 0.125 (2 flute .125 end mill)
SO3: 3.2mm flat 2-flute
800mm/min feedrate and 500mm plunge
Makita set at 3, ~16,870.
SO3: 1/4" flat endmill at 1600mm/min, 2.5mm DOC, and 2.5mm stepover (pretty conservative)
MDF (medium-density fibreboard) is a relatively easy material to cut.
It's soft and evenly composed, so the bit should have no trouble working through it at a consistent pace.
The main concern when cutting MDF is that cutting will yield a lot of airborne sawdust (which, due to how MDF is made, can be harmful to to inhale).
Wearing a dust mask is certainly not a bad idea, and is recommended.
Another concern is that the waste will expand somewhat when it is cut, filling a slot, which may become an issue if one needs to cut more than a pass or two. Rather than slotting, cut pockets which are at least half again the bit diameter.
You should also be aware of burning issues while cutting MDF.
If your cuts are making the wood darker and/or producing a smell, try using a faster feed rate or a better bit (a 2-flute carbide endmill works very well, 2 flute end mills with TiAN coating are suggested).
Faster feed rates prevent the bit from staying in one place for too long, which is a factor in overheating.
From Carbide Create:
depth per pass: 0.883mm
step over 1.429mm
Feedrate: 586.740
plunge rate: 146.685
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" straight
Feed: 1950mm/min.
Plunge rate: 375mm/min.
Cut Depth: 3mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
1/8" 2 straight flute, flat end: 0.024" cut depth, 64 IPM
1/8" 2 flute upcut, ball end: 0.062" cut depth, 36 IPM
1/8" upcut single flute
DOC: 0.03"
RPM: 11143
Feed Rate: 60ipm
Forum post with speed and bit specifics .
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" endmill.
Feed: 100ipm
Speed: ???
Cut Depth: ???
Stepover: ???
Simple triangles ()
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" carbide endmill
Feed: 400mm/min (conservative)
Speed: 30,000rpm ( standard)
Cut Depth: 7.5mm (entire 1/4" sheet)
Stepover: ???
2D wing shape () ()
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" carbide endmill
Feed: 400mm/min (conservative)
Speed: 30,000rpm ( standard)
Cut Depth: 1.5mm (very conservative)
Stepover: ???
Signs carved out of MDF:
eShapeoko: 21kRPM, 1200mm/min 3.5mm deep or 21kRPM, 12mm deep feedrate of 500mm/min
AngusF noted in , “1/8" end mill cutting Baltic birch plywood at a 0.7mm depth per pass, I will miss steps at 800mm/min, but not at 700. I'm still using the stock spindle...”
1.8mm depth of cut, and 1200 mm/min feedrate
using a Proxxon rotary tool:
Material: 1/8" birch plywood
Bit: 1/16" 2 flute endmill
Feed: 150mm (Probably could go 200)
Speed: 15,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 0.8mm
Stepover: n/a (through cut)
Material: 3/4" Baltic Birch
Feed: 38in (965mm)/min.
Speed: 30,000 RPM
Cut Depth: .06in (1.524mm)
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" straight
Feed: 2600mm/min.
Plunge rate: 500mm/min.
Cut Depth: 3mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
With a DW660, double X, Y drive shaft, this gives a fairly clean edge.
Material: 1/4" nominal (4.8mm - 5.2mm actual) Birch Ply from Home Depot
Bit: 2 flute 1/8" Carbide
Feed: 1000mm/m
Speed: 30,000 RPM
Cut Depth: 2mm
Stepover: 2mm
1mm endmill --- 0.6mm cutting depth with 600mm/min feed rate at 16000 rpm.
Relatively cheap, fibers are long in it, so splintering is an issue. Use climb cutting for roughing, (chops the fibers without tearing out as much as conventional) cutting".
Surfacing w/ an SO3:
1/4 " flat mill, 85 IPM, Dewalt611 at speed 4, stepover 0.2". Single pass, 0.080" depth
Plywood forms can be tough to cut. One tactic is to use a down-cut spiral bit for the first half of the cut, then switch to an upspiral --- this may be of use w/ other forms of plywood.
Available in 3 forms:
carbonized --- sort of reddish brown color. Soft, about as hard as typical plywood
natural --- blonde to yellowish blonde in color. About 15--20% harder than maple.
strand-woven --- as hard as Ipe
Following is from :
Speed: 762mm/min (30 inches per minute)
Depth per pass: 0.7112mm (0.028")
Speed: 1,000 mm/min
Depth per pass:1.5 mm
Pocketing 800mm/min.
1/4" step down w/ 1/4" 4 flute carbide up cutting.
Shapeoko 3: .1875 two flute,50 ipm %45 step over .1875 depth, full depth passes, border was .1" passes at 30ipm
Shapeoko 3 - Walnut Carbide Logo
Stock Material - Walnut (11-1/2" x 5-1/2" x 7/8")
Cutting Bit - 3 Flute, 1/4" Square Endmill
Total Cutting Depth - 1/4" (0.25")
Depth Per Pass - 1/8" (0.125")
Feed Rate - 60 inches Per Minute
Plunge Rate - 30 inches Per Minute
Only softer stones are suitable for cutting on a stock machine.
Engraving: 130mm/min, 0.2 mm/pass, with a 1mm diamond bit.
Abrasive and dusty. Potentially hazardous.
May contain quartz which will dull bits.
Slate - (Metamorphic Stone) A fine -grained rock formed from clay, sedimentary rock shale and sometimes quartz. Hardness scale: 3
Very hard, requires diamond tooling and active cooling and a very rigid machine.
Discussion of safety implications for dust:
Copper circuit board cut on the forums . Further discussion .
Especially clean
cut "using a 0.3mm end mill with lots of WD40 on the board.... (F)eedrate is 4ipm and depth is 0.005 inches."
Bit: 10 degree tungsten bit
Feed: 20 IPM
Speed: 30,000 RPM (Dewalt DW660)
Cut Depth: 0.005 inch
Bit Width: 0.0025 inch (used for calculating) 0.016 inches (actual)
Bit: 30 deg bit
Feed: 100 mm/min
Cut Depth: 0.3mm inch
Stock SO2 Milling a PCB
Bit: 0.0157 kyocera end mill from drillman1 on ebay.
Feed: 10 ipm XY
Speed: 4 ipm Z
Cut Depth: 0.003" depth
Take a piece of thick (12+mm) MDF, roughly 150x150mm to use as a platen. Fix the platen to your wasteboard in a permanent manner (just screw it into the wasteboard if you must. Be sure to countersink the holes a few mm (3-5))
Now, do one of two things:
If you always use the same size copper clad blanks - make a shallow pocket in the platen that is slightly larger than your blanks. This pocket only needs to be 1-2mm deep
if you use scrap copper (or various sizes). Run a facing operation across the entire platen. This will bring your work surface exactly square with the machine.
Download/Install/Use the autoleveler software:
- Although your platen is going to be square with your machine, the thickness of the actual copper varies across any given piece by as much as .1-.2mm. The autoleveler software will help compensate for this.
3 flute coated carbide endmill
40-50IPM (mmPM)
.008" depth per pass (.203mm)
2 on Dewalt DW611
Carbon fiber can be cut, but requires dust collection (the dust is hazardous and electrically conductive) and is tough on bits, requiring more frequent replacement.
Bit: 1 flute 1/8" upcut
Feed: 800mm/min.
Plunge rate: 150mm/min.
Cut Depth: 0.5mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
Feed = 300mm / minute
Plunge = 150mm / minute
Spindle = Stock shapeoko demel knock off at max
Stepdown = 1mm
Bit size = 1.5 inches)
One concern w/ cutting paper and card and fiberboard is that it will dull bits.
I cut this as a test first cut before moving onto heavier materials.
I used a conical shape cutter that came with my rotary tool.
It's coated with some sort of rough particles. The edges of the cuts are rather messy, which would be tricky to clean up (e.g. with sandpaper), especially in areas where little "islands" have been cut (inside the "a" and "e") as there's not much left below to hold them in place.
Abrasive, hazardous dust (using coolant to control this is a frequent suggestion), care must be take to prevent delamination. Diamond or carbide tooling.
Discussion in the forums: .
Suggestion: use steel speeds and aluminum feeds
Bit: 1 flute 1/8" upcut
Feed: 800mm/min.
Plunge rate: 150mm/min.
Cut Depth: 2mm
Spindle: Kress 1050
0625" fishtail diamond-cut bits
Feed and speed settings: 20 ipm feed
8 ipm plunge
DeWalt DW660 on 90%-100% throttle
Pass depth was .045" for a total of 3 passes with .010" of over-cut into particleboard
Used in making glass molds. Dust is conductive and potentially hazardous.
Roughing pass: 60 inches/minute
Step down: 1/16"
1/4" end mill
Finishing pass: 30 inches/minute
1/8" ball nose
(I have in mind to make rubber stamps, e.g. for a mini production run of home-made Christmas cards...)
1.5 mm endmill
500 mm/min feedrate
1 mm depth increment
One option for parts which can be cut quickly is to freeze the rubber (with dry ice or even colder temperatures) before cutting.
May be helpful to wipe the machine down w/ an anti-cling dryer sheet before cutting to help reduce static sticking chips everywhere.
High density polyurethane foams are often used in sign-making, as well as for props. Density ranges from 10--30 pounds per cubic foot. Creates a gritty dust which is hard to clean up. See Tooling Board below.
Forum user Cwalster noted in post , "EPS and EPP ... the trick is to use HSS, flat end mills and to conventionally cut it. If you don't you get a fuzzy surface."
Forum user PsyKo noted the following settings in :
Bit: 6, 8 or 12mm wood end mill (such as these )
Feed: 1200 mm/min (can probably go higher, but I'm in no rush)
Speed: ?
Cut Depth: 5 to 10 mm
Stepover: 50% of bit diameter
One brand name is Plastazote. Use dual-colour for tool drawers, top : 5mm (less than 1/4"), then for the color below, adjust to match drawer thickness (leave a reasonable amount of space above). mill fast speed with low rotation speed.
~6000 rpm (Bosch Colt lowest speed)
feed rate 1400 mm/min (~55 in/min)
1/2" straight bit (a router bit with 2 flutes)
step down of 3--4mm (0.11 in)
“leave about 5mm (1/4") minimum between 2 pockets so you have enough material to maintain some strength.”
1/32" four flute end mill
650 for the speed and 5mm depth per pass though. I had my dw611 set around 3 for the speed
Owens-Corning “Foamular” project boards:
125 iPM and 0.35 doc. 1/4" 2-flute straight bit
Polyurethane tooling board machines very well, and lacking grain, holds excellent surface detail. Density ranges from 20--50 pounds per cubic foot. Popular for pattern-making, product mockups and toolpath testing (hence the name).
RenShape 440 ---
--- formula for a DIY alternative:
Machines similarly to hardwoods, a climb cut finishing pass may eliminate marks from chatter. For a high gloss, sand using micromesh and polish with Novus #2.
Bit: 1/8" end mill
Feed: 900 mm/min
Speed: 20,000 r.p.m.
Cut Depth: 0.5--1 mm
v60 .5 dia bit at 55 in/min and cut in .18 in deep at 19k router speed
0.0625" DOC, 1/4" end mill, and 60 IPM on a heavily modified SO2 ~7lb of cutting force
Dust is fine and potentially dangerous, if cutting for extended periods of time, released / generated gases are a potential hazard.
A horizontal roughing cut was done at 80IPM with a 0.25in, 0.060 corner radius end mill from lakeshore carbide (where I buy all my tools). The DNP611 was set to 3.5 on the speed controller. Stepover was 50% with a 0.055" step down, and stock remaining set to 0.02". Finishing was done at 120IPM with a 0.125in ball nose mill, 15% stepover. A leading edge curve following cleanup path was run with the same 1/8" ball mill and an 8% stepover.
Best cut w/ a drag knife or laser.
Dust is like glass shards. Adhere to scrap wood using CA glue (dissolve the glue after cutting using acetone). Spread the piece w/ petroleum jelly to minimize dust.
(derived from the ShapeOko coaster file from
Bit: 1/8" end mill
Feed: 20--30 in/min
Plunge Rate: 8--10 in/min
Speed: unknown
Cut Depth: 0.1 in
Suggestion is to do it before the plaster fully cures so that it doesn't dull the bits so much.
Good dust collection is imperative. Static may be an issue.
Discussion here:
and discussion about various materials here:
Often used for quickly testing toolpaths which will be run in expensive materials or which require inordinate amounts of machine time. It may also be used to make molds for casting, esp. by jewelers.
It is easily made:
Various tools may be used to heat it:
CNCzone thread:
One notable potential supply for wax is companies doing investment casting.
Engraving: 1/4" 30 degree carbide vbit, 10ipm of cutting speed and .020" deep cut}