Vectric Customer

I have been trying some different processes with staked text. When I use the 3-D modeling , my projects come out perfect but when I do a basic pocket cut using .25 end mill for clearing and an .125 end mill to finish , the finish bit.125 is carving deeper than the .25 bit and leaving a pretty good track around the base of the letters. Iam using the same cut depth as the .25 clearance but and also using a touch plate. This track is about .010 to .015 deep. Anyone have any ideas on what might be happening? Thanks!!

Could be the big geometry. Not all bits are designed to leave clean cuts on the bottom and some also have offset "teeth" on the bottom.

Another possibility is play/flex in the Z axis upwards. A .25 bit will impart more upward pressure than a .125 bit.

To be honest it's pretty rare to get a perfect transition between two different tools, there's nearly always some hand finishing required.

One thing I have done to avoid this problem... design a couple of small pockets in the material that will be waste. Use them as test cuts using the same pocket toolpath settings. You can cut one then make whatever change you need before you do the real pockets.