DOC
Is this an acronym for “diameter of cutter”? Also, the value that is found in this column, are they only limited to just this size? What if, for example, I want to use .25" instead of .4" for pine wood. Do the RPM, feed, and plunge values change or do they remain the same? If not, by how much do they change?
FEED and PLUNGE
What unit are these values in? Also, are they in measurement over time? Example: 100 mm/min?
The units are Imperial inches (per minute) — the curly quotes are standing in for proper double primes.
There’s a metric version here: https://shapeoko.com/wiki/index.php/Materials#Shapeoko_3 which has been somewhat regularized — it would be great if folks would confirm that said regularization is okay and results in values which actually work.
Trial and error will work, but may break endmills and be rough on the machine.
It’s supposed to be a matter of calculation, and I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it.
The G-Wizard calculator from Bob Warfield at CNC Cookbook seems to be the best option (and at one point in time it had a nifty integration with MeshCAM) — all of my notes / research on this is pretty much on the Materials page on the Shapeoko wiki — eventually I’ll understand it all, or at least work up some reasonable feeds and speeds for a 1/8" endmill on a Shapeoko 3.
