Hello! I’m writing because I often get a bit lost when it comes to setting up cutter paths. In Krabzcam, do you have a “go-to” setting that you use for everything? Or do you prefer to fine-tune it? And, as a follow-up question, if you do have a “go-to” setting, what is it? Thanks for your help, Gilles.
Krabzcam is cool I am also trying to learn what settings are reasonable.
Whichever CAM program we are using, It would be a cool community resource to write down what speeds and bits are working for different materials. In the wiki part of the repository Maslow_4/docs at Maslow-Main · MaslowCNC/Maslow_4 · GitHub There are two libraries one for bits and one for materials. I would like some help putting data into those, I think they would be really valuable to our community.
I wrote down a few of the settings that worked for me but then forgot this last time this is my personal log but I would like to flesh out the wiki document of router bits and settings when I have a better feel for what works with what materials.
I would recommend a personal log where you write down what works and running some quick test cuts to see where the machine starts to burn or get wobbly.
Do you have specific questions about specific settings? I am assuming you are talking about speeds and not the types of machine paths?
A lot depends on material, bit, and depth of cut.
I have mostly been cutting particle board
This worked for me for last time:
I started conservatively with feed rates of 400 but that was too slow, I have been increasing them. 700mm/second cutting sideways through 3/4 in particle board worked. As I increase speed the back of the pieces have not been as cleanly cut. So I am tuning that for different projects, especially plunge speeds with blowout on the back side. Slower plunge means better cuts.
Safe slow and conservative puts me at 400 plunge and 400 feed for small things where I don’t care too much about overall efficiency. 700 and 700 in 3/4 inch particle board seems to work.
I also thought I needed multiple passes but an accident showed me that things can probably be cut in larger and deeper cuts than I thought.
My log as an example of the records that I am trying to keep:
Wiki places to put settings once you have some figured out, I would really like some help filling these out a bit as I don’t have a lot of practical experience myself. If people think to throw some data in there occasionally I think it would really be valuable for the community.
Material log because so much of the speed settings depend on the material:
Bit log because different bits will behave very differently.
Actually, I was using Fusion 360 for everything at the moment, CAM and CAD (I’m not saying I’m a Fusion master, far from it…). And designing the toolpath with Fusion is complex, I can’t really find any information about router bits, rotation speed, feed rate, plunge speed, ramp or not… In short, a real pain. I even asked the AI, which sometimes gets tangled up in its successive answers, and I’m getting lost. It seems to me that the settings in some of Bar’s videos are over 1500mm/min, and the AI is yelling at me, “Absolutely not, too fast, it’ll be an industrial accident!” Intuitively, I’d be inclined to set the router to maximum speed, but actually, no, the AI tells me it’s burning the wood… So I set the router to speed 2 or 3, as recommended. The sled then lifted up two or three times, and the motor that was under the most strain during the cut failed (because it was exceeding 4000mA, if I understood correctly…). In short, a real pain. Hence my question about “homemade” presets that work well, and everyone’s preferences.
Thanks for your reply, and thanks in advance for any further answers.
gilles.v.79 wrote:
Actually, I was using Fusion 360 for everything at the moment, CAM and CAD
(I’m not saying I’m a Fusion master, far from it…). And designing the toolpath
with Fusion is complex, I can’t really find any information about router bits,
rotation speed, feed rate, plunge speed, ramp or not… In short, a real pain. I
even asked the AI, which sometimes gets tangled up in its successive answers,
and I’m getting lost. It seems to me that the settings in some of Bar’s videos
are over 1500mm/min, and the AI is yelling at me, “Absolutely not, too fast,
it’ll be an industrial accident!”
it’s thinking in terms of cutting metal, not wood
search online for feeds and speeds for cutting wood.
the maslow is physically limited to something like 2000-2500mm/min and will only
hit that on long, straight lines.
Intuitively, I’d be inclined to set the
router to maximum speed, but actually, no, the AI tells me it’s burning the
wood… So I set the router to speed 2 or 3, as recommended.
This is usually correct for 1/4" bits (smaller bits need to spin faster), the
key thing is that you want your cutting to produce chips, not dust
for wood cutting, the maslow tends to be at the low end of the feed rate charts,
and the router’s minimum speed is rather high.
running the router too fast will cause it to do more rubbing against the wood
than cutting, and that will heat it up, which not only can burn the wood, but
will dull the bit fast (on industrial high-speed/high-power wood CNC machines,
it’s possible for them to go through multiple bits in a single day)
The sled then
lifted up two or three times, and the motor that was under the most strain
during the cut failed (because it was exceeding 4000mA, if I understood
correctly…). In short, a real pain. Hence my question about “homemade” presets
that work well, and everyone’s preferences.
if you run the same gcode without a bit in the machine, how does it go? Many
people are having problems because one of the arms is too tight and so it takes
an excessive amount of current to move the arm.
if you lower the feed rate, the current requirements will be lower.
David Lang
