CNC router apps

[vavet]

I started a new job about a month ago. It’s in the federal government, but a new entity born out of Covid. We have a few experienced people, but most of us are new to this. We have two Multicam CNC routers. We anticipate using them for acrylic, aluminum, and maybe some hardboard and plywood, but probably not much else.

We have Alphacam right now. Not too impressed with that so far, but maybe it’s just a learning curve.
we have an assortment of bits from LMT Onsrud. We have inventoried what we have and referenced the LMT Onsrud website to learn the capabilities of each bit, but thats still a bit awkward. Is there a generic app you’ve used to track your bits, max rpm, length of cut, etc?

also….probably an obviously new guy question:let’s suppose my workpiece is 3/4 inch thick, it seems the consensus is that you take multiple passes to cut that. Why? if you take 3 passes to do that, you’re always cutting with the bottom 1/4” of your bit. Your bit is going to be sharp, except that bottom 1/4”. Why not slow down your feed and use the entire cutting length?

 

[cvairwerks]

also….probably an obviously new guy question:let’s suppose my workpiece is 3/4 inch thick, it seems the consensus is that you take multiple passes to cut that. Why? if you take 3 passes to do that, you’re always cutting with the bottom 1/4” of your bit. Your bit is going to be sharp, except that bottom 1/4”. Why not slow down your feed and use the entire cutting length?

Horsepower requirements and bending load on the shank....Takes a lot of hp to turn a bit in 3/4" material if you are hogging off much. Taking a cleanup pass, only removing .030" or less, not much hp required. Most router bits are 1/4 shank and don't tolerate much side load...they bend then snap because the cutting edge digs in and you get a big change in side load.

If you run the cut simulation using 3 passes, then run it with the same chip load on a single pass, you will find that the single pass will be slower by a slight amount in total time.

Also, if you are plowing a trench, chip clearance becomes a problem as well, when trying to make a single pass at full depth.

 

[steel 35]

feeds and speeds calculator cnc
gigle that you will find a lot of them,
looked & can't find the one I used long ago.

It's pretty hard to hold down pushing 3/4 inch.