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Hello everyone! Could anyone shed any light on which make of MDF i need to be using with my router? I have recently seen a feed suggesting Medite and Caberwood as they dont fur-up when cut. Is this true? I need it in 4mm thickness and am producing 30mm high numbers for clock faces. The stuff i am using at the minute is rubbish! Could it be that i am using the wrong speed/feed rate? I am fairly new to this so any advice would be great.
Wiz
Hi There Wiz, Well the question of different types of MDF also went through my mind when i started using a router by hand, in the end it came down to Feed rate, spindle speed, Type and quality of cutter.
Im sure there are better and worse brands of MDF but for me the local DIY is the usual supplier, and to be fair im not sure they wouldnt think i was a marsian if i asked them who was the supplier or what was the brand..
Experiment i suppose is the order of the day and if you cant get a consistantly acceptable finish then perhaps buy from another DIY... give it a go it will be fun, innexpensive and you can let us all know your findings..
Rick
With MDF you want to use a relatively high feedrate and low spindle speed so that you get a high chipload (about 0.3mm depending). If the swarf is dust then either reduce the spindle speed or increase the feed.
What size cutter are you using so I can give some examples?
There you go Wiz I knew Jonathan would know this one :smile: it will actually provide some very usefull tips and information for others.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonathan
Rick
Ok thanks guys. I will give reducing the spindle speed etc a try tonight then. Will this reduce the furring on the edges? At the moment when i am cutting it is producing fine dust so, going on what you have said, i have my speed to high. Just for the record my machine is the Heiz S1000 using a Kress 1050w. Anyway, will give it a go and put the results on here.
PS my local builders merchants did give me funny looks when i queried the make of MDF!
what cutter are you using ??
James
Hey James, I am using a 3mm Diameter Straight Twin Fluted Wood Cutter. My current spindle speed is 12000 and feed rate is 12mm/sec. To be honest i really have no idea if i have the right settings, it was a half-educated stab in the dark as i have had no CNC training. When using thicker MDF the shapes seem to be coming out spot on but with the 4mm i am getting bad furring on the edges.
If I can find the link there are demonstrable differences in grade, but the bulk purchasers (ie big shops and chains) do not seem to have any consistency in what they sell.
What depth per pass? I'd keep the depth low to start with and increase the feed rate, or decrease the spindle speed. At the moment your chip-load (the width of each chip) is 0.03mm when it should be about 0.23mm. That implies you need to feed about 7 times faster or decrease the spindle speed by the same factor ... but both of those would break the cutter as the deflection is too high. The best will be somewhere in between...Quote:
Originally Posted by MrWiz73
If you're doing a lot of this it's worth getting a single flute carbide cutter. Since it only has one flute you only have to use half the feedrate to get the right chip load.
I am using a 3mm pass depth.