Newbie - which toolpath

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Aussie
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Newbie - which toolpath

Post by Aussie »

First post ...be gentle :D

I would like to drill a 1/8 hole through the material..do I use the Drill Toolpath with a 1/8 end mill ?
If I want to drill 3/16 hole through the material and I only have the 1/8 end mill... do I use the pocket toolpath and set the depth to the material thickness.... is this what they call a through pocket ?

Thanks in advance

Ron
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LittleGreyMan
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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by LittleGreyMan »

Hello and welcome,

Yes to both questions.

Just ensure your end mill has center cut.
Best regards

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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by FixitMike »

A bit more: Your material must sit on a sacrificial board (Spoilboard). The depth of cut is generally specified to be slightly more than the material thickness so the hole is sure to go through.

If you have a drill press, you can use your end mill or a V bit to mark the hole location and use the drill press to finish it.
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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by martin54 »

This is where you need to start thinking about what you want to do & how best to accomplish that, that comes through time & using the software/CNC obviously.
If I wanted to cut a 3/16" hole using a 1/8" endmill then I wouldn't personnally use a pocket toolpath, I would use a profile toolpath cutting INSIDE the line :lol:
Why ? Well a pocket toolpath is going to create a lot of very short rapid movements as the bit cuts, a prifile cut inside the line will produce a nice smooth cutting action especially if you use a spiral ramp :lol: :lol:
While my machine is perfectly capable of cutting this as a pocket toolpath I don't see the point it putting it under the extra load & increased wear when I don't have to.

If you are new to the software & CNC then it would be a good idea to start working your way through the tutorials on the support site, download the tutorial files so you can work along side the videos. This will help give you a good understanding of the software :lol: :lol:

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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by adze_cnc »

I'm with Martin on using a profile path.

For something like this you could even set the profile path's depth of cut for the tool to the thickness of your material (plus any over-cut if using FixitMike's suggestion) and use a spiral ramp for the cut. I had a few hundred holes 8mm in diameter to cut in a 3/4" board using a 1/4" (6.35mm) bit once and this saved an immense amount of time instead of having it do multiple passes.

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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by scottp55 »

+1 on using a bit 50-90% Diameter of the hole and using the Inside Profile Spiral Ramp.
Once you have the Z(Plunge Speed) and the amount of spirals down so you have a cool bit after a dozen or so holes.
Saved 40 plus minutes each on the 2 dozen crib boards we sold 3 years ago, (and got perfect fits for multiple types of pegs by adjusting the offset).
The ability for multi-sized hole with the same bit saved a ton of time on my spoilboards/fencing/wedges
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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by Aussie »

Thank you all for your advice, I shall start working through the tutorials over the Christmas break .... hope to get a lot of shed time.
The cuts that I want to do is in 10mm acrylic... what speed and feed do you suggest for this material ?

Thanks,
Ron
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adze_cnc
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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by adze_cnc »

The danger with asking what feeds and speeds to use is that someone with a rock-solid industrial machine with a 10 hp spindle is going to tell you they run at 400 inches per minute and blah, blah, blah.

Try searching in you favourite search engine (Google, Bing, Qwant, DuckDuckGo, etc.) for: router bit feed rate chart

...or check what your tool manufacturer has to say (Onsrud, Amana, etc.).

If it is of interest my last acrylic cut (with a 5 hp spindle) was: 1/4" Onsrud single-flute carbide hard-plastic cutting bit; 12,000 rpm; 120 inches/minute; 1/8" depth of cut (small job so no need to go 1/4" deep); non-cast acrylic. No remelting just fine acrylic dust. Your mileage may vary (YMMV).

Steven

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Re: Newbie - which toolpath

Post by martin54 »

As Steven has said it is difficult to offer advice on speed & feed settings as it varies so much, if your CNC machine has a dedicated forum then might be worth asking there. Type of bit being used makes a big difference as does good chip/dust extraction. If you are cutting acrylic then cast is a better choice than extruded, it is just easier to machine.
I use single flute bits which are designed epecially for acrylic, they are not cheap but they are worth the extra money in my opinion. I don't have the best dust extraction set up so when I am machining acrylic as well as the dust extraction running I also aim an air line towards the tip of the cutter which helps to remove the dust so I get a clean cut with no rewelding , it also helps cool the bit although it probably doesn't need it :lol: :lol:
A lot of cutter manufactures will give details about speed & feed settings when cutting different substrates, these suggested feed & speed settings may not be suitable for your machine at all so if you are going to use them the best thing you can do is use those figures as a starting point to fine tune your machine :lol:

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