Hmm - is it unrealistic to use feed/speed calculators on home built machines?

[Wal]

Hi all. I was machining a bit of 6082 T6 over the weekend and I thought I'd try a new 5mm, 3-flute carbide roughing cutter. I've read a lot about how you shouldn't shy away from using more of the cutting area of the tool and how it actually prolongs tool life by working the tool etc. - I can understand why this ought to be true but somehow I can't see myself getting anywhere near these setting recommendations from FSWizard:

http://zero-divide.net/index.php?pag...ool_id=2680705

..so that works out at a feed of 16mm/sec for slotting. Here's a vid using the above parameters but feeding at 10mm/sec:





It was doing alright for a while, but shortly after I finished recording it got a bit melty when plunging into a small pocket... I reverted back to conservative settings that work for me - here's an example at 7mm/sec - DOC 1.5 - AIR & WD40 to cool:





Less than half the recommended speed - if you turn off the 'slot/pocket' option in FSW and use a 40% stepover, then the feed jumps to 30-odd mm/sec which just seems mental to me.

So a couple of general questions - are these quick speeds really intended for bigger (pro-level) machines running flood cooling etc (not just the odd squirt of WD40)? Secondly - what about the rule of thumb that you really don't want a depth of cut more than a third of the tool diameter - how true is that in the context of going deep and keeping the tool happy by giving it some work to do?

I like the idea that there's a formula for every eventuality, but much (if not all) of what I cut is by feel. is it unrealistic to expect to be able to use the numbers from tools such as FSW on home-built machines?

Wal.