Maximizing the Effectiveness of Your CNC Machine
Jun 12, 2017Using your CNC machine effectively comes down to understanding its operation and getting any hindrances out of the way. With the mindset of constantly seeking better ways to solve problems, your CNC machine will be as effective as possible.
Quality Cutters
If you are a novice with your CNC machine, starting out with HSS (high speed steel) cutters is a wise move because they are less expensive but still of solid quality. Doing your best to find name brand cutters at a reasonable price will mean it will be less irritating when they inevitably break due to early mistakes. Once you have better proficiency and can zero the cutter heads easily, you can move on to carbide cutters. Using solid cutters, particularly as you get into finer sizes, will allow your CNC machine to make cleaner and more accurate cuts.
Workholding
Your workholding setup is vital to the success of your CNC operation. Much of the work that goes on within the CNC machine is completely dependent on what happens outside of the device. The use of an effective clamping and vise kit to hold materials in place—for many machining requirements—and an understanding of where the material needs to move in order to be milled effectively are highly necessary. Also keeping a set of parallels to support the mass of larger pieces lets you mill effectively with less concerns about material movement. To use your CNC machine effectively, it is important to remember that a CNC machine is not merely working on a single cut, but holistically on a larger object.
Chip Management
Chips that get caught in the area to be cut can lead to rapid failure of your cutters. In some cases, this can be dangerous. Even in the best case scenario this can lead to dulling the cutting tools and making poor cuts on important and potentially expensive materials. The solution that makes your CNC machine work more effectively is to be extremely careful about chip management. This can be done, generally, by putting together a misting setup and applying the mist at angles that push the chips away from the cutting tool and its subsequent path.
Feeds and Speeds Calculator
Determining the effective spindle speeds and feedrate necessary for your cuts through “playing it by ear” are poor methods when using a CNC machine. Getting, and making a habit of using, a feeds and speeds calculator is very important. This will allow you to use your machine and your cutters optimally, minimizing wear-based damage caused by attempting to estimate a cut. This is also a better method when working with various materials, as they are less likely to be burred or otherwise damaged by improper cutting speeds or feed angles.