Quote Originally Posted by CrazeUK View Post
Would that mean one should do fewer slower deeper passes, as opposed to faster more shallow passes?

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I don't think there is a simple answer to that, since it depends on the material, but in general terms it is better if the material is not shaved or rubbed off because that generates too much heat and causes melting. So, some times increasing the depth may help, other times increasing the feed rate, or the spindle speed, and again, some times all three. I am not afraid of doing shallow cuts if needed, but in that case I do it with very high feed rate and the spindle speed, feed rate and the quality of the cutter is more critical there.

When I notice melting (mostly when different acrylic qualities are used) then I try to guess if the feed rate is too slow or if spindle speed increase can be a solution, or if deeper plunge would help. I am by far an expert but normally I can guess pretty well based on my experience, adjust and do it right next time. In my experience it is not always working to have pre-calculated parameters, and one which works this time may not work next time if the material is not exactly the same batch. Never the less, when starting with new material or cutter which I don't have experience with, using a feed rate calculator is a good idea because it gives me a good reference to start from. If the calculated values work then I use it or play with different values in the calculator if I intend to change something, for example if I want to increase feed rate to finish a job faster.