Is there a rule of thumb for endmill size when boring holes? For a 3/8 hole, is it fine to use a 1/4 endmill?
Hello Bob,
There is no real “rule of thumb”, as long as the bit is either the exact size you want your hole or smaller you are fine.
Only difference is if you use the exact size bit you can use the “drill function” in a lot of the software options. Vs if it is smaller you would use the “pocket” cut to achieve your end result. But either way you can achieve good results.
Nice thing about the drill feature (if you happen to have the right size endmill for the job) is it takes bites up/down so it clears out the hole as it drills. The pocket function just progressively goes deeper until it recaches the depth you set. But again I use the pocket feature all the time and have great results.
-Alex
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Thank you! The bore feature on fusion 360 looks nice. Although I have to use a 2d pocket for my dog holes, though I found it has a nice “detect pockets” feature to find all the holes in question.
Unfortunately that’s harder on the endmill than a pocket cut with ramping. Unless you’re using a ballnose (which means you’ll need to drill into your spoil board to go all the way through with the hole) the bottom of the endmill is flat. There’s a reason drill bits have points.
In addition to using a ramping cut, VCarve also provides the spiral option so the mill starts in the center and spirals outward to make the hole. Lots easier on the endmill since the bulk of the cutting is done with the flutes as designed. Don’t know if Fusion has that option.
I can Ramp with the bore as well from the center. I’m not sure if I need to use a downcut since those have a little better plunging capability.
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