40 ipm is light years away from the 300+ that’s being suggested. I usually run my Whiteside v bits at 100 or 120 and have had great results, but faster than that and it falls apart in quality big time. When I run a bit at over 200 the machine sounds like it’s trying to tear a hole into a different dimension.
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@120 ipm I was doing ok most of the time but some small details would have random tear out—islands on the inlay would break off, sharp inside corners on the pocket might chip out.
I read someone using high speed and slow feed and making good inlays. I experimented and that unlocked repeatable small details for me. Slowing down to 40 IPM, and I get repeatable cuts on sub-mm features—circle-in-circle on octopus tentacles, for instance.
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Great information here. I wish I would have seen this earlier and getting a hold of chip rate is essential. The most interesting aspect is that if calculated right, the 1/4" won’t take too much longer than the larger surfacing bit (because you can move faster).
However, what do you guys find regarding surface quality? I find the facing with 1/4" flat end mill leaves behind a lot of grooves which I then have to sand. This wouldn’t be a problem in a wide flat area but in a deeper ‘pocket’ type of situation, it’s impossible to reach a sander in there to do any real work.
How many of you have opted for an ‘unsupported by 1F’ spindle?
If I’m cutting wood I almost always switch the software over to raster mode and set it to cut the same angle of the grain, cuts my sanding down to nearly none. Even without that unless I’m cutting end grain I don’t see too much that I can’t sand out in a few minutes when cutting with a 1/4 inch bit.
@Seamartin00 What’s “raster” mode? I have used Parallel machining patterns in the direction of the grain and that seams to help hide the ridges somewhat.
Same thing, i think thats just what aspire calls it.