Support

[ken whiklo]

Thanks Leo I appreciate the welcome.

[Leo]

Ken,

It's all cool.

I can't wait to see some of the cool stuff you will be doing.

This is a great place to ask questions, get advise, and just generally get inspired.

[ken whiklo]

So I think you posted about SGS tooling. There is a dealer here in town, but owing to my inexperience I really don't know what I should be buying. I know it would depend on the project, but I assume there are some basics one should start with. Any advice would be appreciated. Incidentally I am waiting for my CNC. Didn't realize they were that popular, especially at the price.

[Adrian]

Depends on what size of projects you're planning on doing and whether 3D is part of that or not.

I always think a good starting set is a 60 degree v-bit, a 90 degree v-bit, 1/4" spiral down cut end mill, 1/8" spiral down cut end mill, 1/8" ball nose and perhaps a 1/4" ball nose as well if you're planning on larger 3D work. That lets you do most jobs to start with.

A bit for levelling the spoilboard is a good idea as well.

[martin54]

So I think you posted about SGS tooling. There is a dealer here in town, but owing to my inexperience I really don't know what I should be buying. I know it would depend on the project, but I assume there are some basics one should start with. Any advice would be appreciated. Incidentally I am waiting for my CNC. Didn't realize they were that popular, especially at the price.

One way to get started might be to select some of the vectric free projects designed by Michael Tyler, if you are new to CNC, the software & finishing then there is a lot you can learn from these & they make great gifts as well
They come with a set of instructions plus a list of what is required for the project so you can quickly look through & see what projects use what tooling, pick a few that use the same tooling & you are off to a pretty good start.

Some machines are offered with a starter set of tooling as well so a look through what they include in a starter set will give you an idea of what sort of tooling to buy. As Adrian has said a lot will depend on the type of project you are looking to do & the materials you are going to be working with. If your machine uses a disposable spoilboard then a largish bottom cutting bit to level your spoilboard should be high up on your list.

[ken whiklo]

Okay that gets me started. I looked at the tool database and thought the ones already listed there were probably there for a reason and your feedback confirms this.

[Leo]

Ken,

Some BASIC information.

No more than 2 flutes. BUT - some the the tapered ball nose mills are 3 flute - this would be the exception to break the rule

Some general rule of thumb

Make chips not dust.

If cutter is burning, slow the RPM down and/or increase feedrate --- make chips not dust.

Though this is more for metal cutting, but it works on other materials as well. Depth of cut to be about 1/2 the diameter of the cutter. There is a LOT of room to vary this one

Yes I like SGS - but they are not the only good brand out there. I buy those on Carbide Depot.com - PRICE is best I have seen.

I have also used Chinese cutters with some decent results. Drillman1 on EBAY

[martin54]

Okay that gets me started. I looked at the tool database and thought the ones already listed there were probably there for a reason and your feedback confirms this.

I think the tools in the tool database are just a selection & not really anything to go by, you will almost certainly need to alter the settings for each tool to suit your own set up. Buying all the tools listed in the database would cost you a small fortune as well

There is such a variety of things that can be done with a CNC machine that you may never use a lot of the tools already listed, for me it goes one step further as I am in the UK & use mainly metric tools because they are often easier to buy locally