Feeds and Speeds

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I must preface this item with the fact that I'm not a machinist and I am
yet to get my CNC mill up and running so I am coming from a point of
ignorance so no advice is too simple.

I have read articles suggesting that there are rules of thumb that can be
used to determine feed rates and spindle speeds.  I believe the influencing
factors are;
  - spindle speed
  - cutting tool diameter
  - cutting tool type (carbide or high-speed steel)
  - raw material type (Aluminium, Steel etc.)  I believe this is encoded
into some type of 'hardness' factor.
  - Chip-load (I think that's what it's called).  i.e. what volume of
material can be taken out by each cutting tooth in each revolution.

If this is all real, I would love to encode these parameters somewhere in a
HeeksCNC model and use some algorithm to suggest feedrates and spindle
speeds.  I can imagine that I could have a constant algorithm that would
work for everyone with the 'hardness of material' and the 'chip load'
values being adjustable for each machine.  (mostly the chip load).

If this is all going to be too difficult to get right then let me know.  I
am just trying to get some starting point.

I seem to remember something like;
 - use the tool's type (carbide etc.) and the material's hardness to
determine the 'surface feet per minute' rate.  This results in a
recommended spindle speed.
 - with the spindle speed and diameter we can determine a feed rate that
doesn't exceed the 'chip load' values for the raw material's hardness.

Again, I'm just throwing out the question.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by David.Ni...@gmail.com on 17 Jun 2009 at 11:18

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This has been implemented as much as it's going to be for a while.

Original comment by David.Ni...@gmail.com on 31 Jul 2009 at 5:26

• Changed state: Fixed