New CNC user mistakes and info

**Neale** · 08-09-2020

So much depends on what you need to achieve. That guy is a professional looking to maximize throughout from his investments. As a home user, the priorities are different. I try to keep cutter rpm up (I keep reminding myself that when I use a handheld router I'm running a 1/2" cutter at 26K rpm) and feed rate up - too slow burns wood. So I tend to use depth of cut to set the load on the machine. Maybe DoC = cutter dia might be a starting point, but a limiting factor will either be load on spindle (I probably wouldn't be using a 1/2" cutter at that depth...) or how well you can clamp the work, especially trying to hold down the piece you are cutting as you break through. Double-sided tape is great but a real pain to get off afterwards!

I use 6-8mm a lot in wood - and mostly 6mm - but have a 50mm cutter for surfacing. DoC is pretty small for that one. And I won't be trying to cut out 12mm ply in one pass - apart from anything else, my dust collection couldn't cope! On which subject, for the odd one-off, I often forget the dust shoe and just track the cutter with a handheld nozzle on the shop vac. Plastic nozzle, of course, which is looking a bit tatty now after a few years' use!