User:Stever/boxford/speedsnfeeds
All recipes from personal experience and tested on the Boxford 260VMC, Categories of machining are Roughing, Finishing, Slotting, Engraving, Drilling
Recommended surface speeds[edit]
| Material | HSS | Cobalt | Carbide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic | 15 | 15 | Not recommended |
| Aluminium | 100 | 150 | 300 |
| Brass | 75 | 125 | 200 |
| Steel | 25 | 35 | 65 |
| Stainless Steel | 20 | 25 | 40 |
| Titanium alloys | Not recommended | Not recommended | 15 |
| Tool Steels | Not recommended | 10 | 30 |
NOTE : THESE ARE APPROXIMATE RECOMMENDATIONS - YOU WILL NEED TO RESEARCH ELSEWHERE AND GET EXPERIENCE IN ORDER TO PICK SPEEDS PROPERLY - IF THE TOOL MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDATIONS DIFFER FROM THIS TABLE, USE THE MANUFACTURER'S FIGURES INSTEAD
Key[edit]
| Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Blue | Not (proven) a maximum, could do more |
| Green | A demonstrated maximum, any more will break tools |
| Red | Known to be excessive, will break tools |
Aluminium[edit]
Roughing[edit]
| Tool Size | Tool Typetype | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated | 100m/min | 10mm | 4mm |
0.03 (250mm/min) |
Noisy and spindle only just copes, definitely a maximum, use conventional milling only. Limited by spindle power, not tool endurance |
| 5mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
40m/min (2500rpm) |
5mm | 1.5mm |
0.02 (200mm/min) |
Good finish, not a maximum could have done more |
| 3mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
28m/min (3000rpm) |
1.5 mm | 1.4mm |
0.0075 (90mm/min) |
Good finish, not a maximum could have done more |
| 2mm | 2-flute ball nose end mill | HSS | TiAlN coated |
19m/min (3000rpm) |
1mm | 0.5mm |
0.02 (120mm/min) |
Works OK, 150mm/min is too much |
Brass[edit]
Roughing[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4mm 2-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
38m/min (3000rpm) |
1 mm | 1.8mm |
0.025 (150mm/min) |
Nice surface finish, almost certainly could do more depth |
Finishing[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1mm 3-flute flat end mill | Carbide | TiAlN coated |
9m/min (3000rpm) |
1.2 mm | 0.95mm |
0.0022 (20mm/min) |
Too much WOC, breaks cutters |
| 2mm 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
19m/min (3000rpm) |
3 mm | 0.8mm |
0.01 (120mm/min) |
Nice surface finish, might be able to go a little faster but was making noise |
Engraving[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 degree 0.3mm tip engraver 1/8" shank | solid carbide | TiAlN coated |
25m/min (calculated) (2500rpm) |
N/A | 0.6mm |
0.02 (50mm/min) |
Cutter sometimes breaks, probably should try higher rpm |
| 90 degree 0.3mm tip engraver 1/8" shank | solid carbide | TiAlN coated |
30m/min (calculated) (3000rpm) |
0.25 | 0.5mm |
0.01 (30mm/min) |
Seems to work, could maybe do deeper or faster? |
Slotting[edit]
| Tool Size | Tool type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
31m/min (2500rpm) |
1mm |
0.015 (150mm/min) |
Using ramp profile, might be able to do more but surface finish is not good |
| 2mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
19m/min (3000rpm) |
1.5mm |
0.01 (120mm/min) |
Snapped tool |
| 2mm | 3-flute flat end mill | Solid carbide | Uncoated |
19m/min (3000rpm) |
1.5mm |
0.015 (90mm/min) |
Snapped tool |
| 2mm | 2-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
19m/min (3000rpm) |
1.0mm |
0.008 (50mm/min) |
So far so good, working up the feed rate |
| 3mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
28m/min (3000rpm) |
1.5mm |
0.005 (60mm/min) |
FTP could be higher |
Low-Carbon (Mild) Steel[edit]
Roughing[edit]
| Tool Size | Tool type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4mm | 4-flute flat end mill | HSS | Uncoated |
20m/min (1600rpm) |
5mm | 1.8mm |
0.02mm (130mm/min) |
Cut very well, probably can do more |
Drilling[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 mm 2-flute jobber drill | Cobalt Steel | TiN |
20m/min (1600rpm) |
0.04mm (63mm/min) |
Cut well, used pecking profile, probably could have done more feed |
"Special" materials[edit]
H-13 Tool Steel[edit]
Roughing[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6mm 4-flute flat end mill | solid carbide | TiAlN coated | 35m/min | 7mm | 0.5mm |
0.04mm |
Width is at maximum, depth might be deeper |
| 1mm 3-flute flat end mill | Solid Carbide | TiAlN coated |
9.4m/min (3000rpm) |
0.5mm | 0.5mm |
0.0022mm (20mm/min) |
Might handle more but only one test was made |
Finishing[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
DOC | WOC |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 degree 0.3mm tip engraver 1/8" shank | solid carbide | TiAlN coated |
30m/min (calculated) (3000rpm) |
0.5 mm | 0.15mm |
0.0026 (8mm/min) |
Too much, breaks the tip off |
Drilling[edit]
| Tool Size/type | Material | Coating |
Surface speed (RPM) |
FTP (feed rate) |
Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6mm 2-flute jobber drill | HSS | TiN |
14m/min (730rpm) |
0.02mm (15mm/min) |
Was in danger of stalling spindle, definitely the maximum size that can be drilled in this material |