I’ve recently began making things on a CNC machine. Anyone can buy a CNC but the learning curve can be steep especially as it relates to bits. There is SO MUCH to know. What bit do you use for what type of cutting action, what speed, what feed? What the same bit in different materials will do. Screw up your cuts and you will snap a bit in a heartbeat. Or you can dull a bit. Even the right bit with the wrong settings can burn or tear at your substrate.
To further exacerbate the situation ……….. BITS ARE EXPENSIVE. Snap a $40 bit and it hurts more than your pride. Also, because of the high cost of bits, at least initially, you’ll probably only have one of each type of bit. Snap that bit and you’ll have to wait a few days to get a new one.
I started this journey with a Sainsmart 3018 Prover machine.
Cutting with 1/8th bit
In this pic I used a 1/8th end mill to cut out my name in a semi-3D relief manner.
Took quite a while to make this small design. To speed things up, many CNC operations require the use of multiple bits during a single design creation.
Cut, change bit, cut, change bit, etc.
I probably could have cut this out much quicker by using a larger bit to clear the big empty spaces and then coming in and cleaning up around the name.
That sure is easy for me to think about now but when I made that John sign I didn’t HAVE ANY BIGGER BITS. My machine only came with engraving bits and then I went on line and bought a little bit set that really wasn’t money well spent.
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