I have a single straight that I was going to try but, after seeing Glenn’s initial post and his statements of positive outcome, I figured I’d give the same but a try.
I saw a youtube video, don’t remember where, of a guy who used a straight bit, cutting in 1 pass, and going slower than 200 ipm. Don’t know what his was set at but it was noticeably slower.
As for a source of records, I get mine from Good Will. $1 each.
By that, I gather you haven’t done record carving in awhile (I know this was an old thread). No big need to retry if time does not cooperate.
yeah idk I am just not a fan of straight bits
and to tell you the truth I am not sure why I not a fan lol
but yeah I would be interested to see I know the really complex ones are cut on a laser and thats really the best tool for the job
if you cut one with a straight bit post up some pics I would be interested to see
For me a V-bit on thin plastic sheet give me a bevelled edge and tight inside corners.
Video (just casual carving 2mm acrylic sheet, nothing extreme in any sense) :
This is with acceleration at 500 and max feed rate 3000 for Z
End product:
You don’t need the speed any higher than 1 for plastics.
Just tried a cut with a Freud 1/16" bit, 200 ipm .02 DOC speed set to 1. I got a very clean cut, no sanding
very nice very nice I really like how your not afraid to turn up the speed on that baby and get things done lol
hmm very nice is the monogram ready right off the machine or do you have to do anything to it after you cut it out?
Here is what the above cut looked like right of the machine, all I did was run my fringer’s around the edge
ahh yeah that looks like a little bit of re-melting there
I run into that sometimes to and your right just takes your finger to take them off I would imagine if you had a air blast pointing at the tool when cutting you would fix that issue
For these particular jobs I run the carve twice, one with incremental depth per pass then a single full depth carve (to same depth as first). After the first carve the groove is usually packed with plastic chips (v-bit dont clear much) but when I run the carve for the second time the cooled plastic clear really really well.
So yes, the monogram is pretty much ready to use right off the CNC - but since it will be placed on a cake I do make sure they are 100% clean of any trace of unwanted material.
With a 1/8" V-bit I usually run at 1500mm/min at 10k rpm with depth per pass 1.1mm (convenient since max depth is 2.2mm). I can run much harder and at full depth but intricate parts and thin design elements (1/32" wide) make it cost effective to run depth in two stages and at slower feed rates.
this video was from along time ago I think i worked out most the issues but you can see the chip packing here and then the disaster lol
all the letters came out smooth in the end but the problem was I was using a downcut instead of a upcut
thanks for the info I think I am going to try this out
I have been approached to make monograms like this and I always out source to a laser but you can get some fine detail with the v-bit and if its thin material it should not be a problem
are you using tabs to hold it in place or do you cut without tabs?
I am not a fan of tabs I find them hard to remove on items like that and really monograms in general
No tabs, just masking tape & ca glue.
I use Intertape Polymer Group 9970 Indoor Carpet Tape (IPG)
so I am curious and you dont have to
but would you share the file for that cake topper that you made? just looking for a svg or dxf file
I just want something to try out and that design seems to have alot of good detail and probably something good to practice on
Sent you a PM WW.
Have not tired straight flute yet. Was about to then I realized I have one of these so I figure I would give it a try - https://www.inventables.com/technologies/solid-carbide-single-flute-upcut-end-mill
I know the bit is slated for “soft plastics”, and I am not sure if vinyl record is considered soft but I was curious.
I ran one at 100 and the other at 75 ipm. Both cut full depth at one pass. Between the two, I can’t tell a difference in speed settings. Both did very well. There were some stuck-on chips but they wiped off easily with my finger (being careful not to cut myself on the sharp edge).
I will try a straight flute and post those results but it maybe not be today.
