Depth of cut

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rgerding
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Depth of cut

Post by rgerding »

When cutting a part out with a profile tool path, how much deeper than the depth of the material should I cut? I want to make sure I cut through the project board to make up for inconsistencies in the work piece. I don't want to cut too far into the sacrificial board.
Ron
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Leo
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Re: Depth of cut

Post by Leo »

If it were a perfect world and the material were perfect, then .001 would be more than deep enough bast the bottom of the material.

It is really personal preference how deep you cut. Anything that pleases you. I don't know how valuable your sacrificial board it, but mine is not high in value. I have every intention of it going into my wood stove pretty often and to be replaced.

Generally I cut through .01 - .02
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Adrian
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Re: Depth of cut

Post by Adrian »

Depends how you zero the machine. If you're setting the zero to the table surface then you don't need to cut deeper as the cut will always go to zero which has to be the bottom of the material as it's sitting on top of the table.

Otherwise if you're zeroing from the top of variable material you need to know how thick the material at that point to ensure you cut all the way through or overestimate which will chew up the spoilboard.

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highpockets
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Re: Depth of cut

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dealguy11
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Re: Depth of cut

Post by dealguy11 »

I zero to the spoilboard and cut through an additional .007", which seems to work pretty well with a compression bit on my machine. When using a down spiral I find I sometimes have to go a bit deeper - perhaps .01 - as the cutter tends to push material down against the bottom, pressing into the spoilboard and preventing the bit from cutting through.
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rgerding
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Re: Depth of cut

Post by rgerding »

I sure appreciate all the input from everyone. I think I understand what I need to do from now on.
Ron
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