I just wanted to make a post directly about this to draw some attention to it to get a few opinions.
Do you all agree that you should not run the router that comes with the shape of go over the setting of three if you want it to last?
According to IDC, my router should be set to 5 when using their 30° bit so I’d love to know the answer to this too!
I don’t like the noise of it, and will trade a slower, quieter cutting for a louder one which isn’t done all that much more quickly.
There have been reports that the carbon brushes don’t last as long at the higher speeds (this was esp. noticeable back when we were providing both the DeWalt and Makita, since the DeWalt has a faster lowest possible speed setting).
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I agree it’s incredibly loud, but I am trying to fill a bunch of stores up with product and it’s extremely noticeable when cutting the contour cuts all the way through the piece of wood with that quarter inch bit.
For me, this thread started because my router is already burning up after two weeks using it, and I just got my machine in the router brand new. To be perfectly honest, I raised in depth of cut .08 and the speed to 60 cutting soft maple.
Does anyone here know enough to say, if those settings are too high?
I set my router to five for this and it was loud, but no rattling in my router but now, after a couple of days cutting in those settings, but not on my router is super hot and I hear a rattling sound coming from it when it’s really pushing.
I never run my carbide3d compact router at full speed. Since speeds and feeds and depth of cut all seem to be relative to each other, I tend to keep the router RPM as a standard and adjust the other variables. I like to see chips and that’s all I know about the subject. I hate the noise, but I use my gun range protection when I need to.
I personally am running a hacked brushless router from Dewalt so I cannot speak to the brushed router from Carbide3D. I do not even know what the 3 setting translates to in terms of RPM. Brushes do wear down with every turn of the spindle so technically a higher RPM will wear them out faster. They should still last a fairly long time.
That said it sounds like you are not adjusting your feeds and speeds to match the material you are cutting. With the wrong feed rate / RPM / depth of cut combo you will get all sorts of horrible noises from your machine which can lead to premature wear to things like bearings and potentially the brushes.
Keep in mind that most tool manufactures are expecting you to be using high end CNCs that are super ridged with high power spindles. As such their recommended settings are probably way too aggressive for a standard Shapeoko with a router combo. I would recommend using Carbide Creates default feeds and speeds for your cuts till you get a better understanding of what your machine can handle. When run your Gcode files be sure to set the RPM of your router to the RPM specified in the toolpath settings.
I recommend purchasing a photo sensor digital tachometer like this:
You put a little piece of reflective tape on the collet and can read the precise RPM of your spindle. This will allow you to adjust the RPM till you are at the desired speed.
Then use Carbide Creates default settings for the material you are cutting. Pay close attention to the RPM they use and set that as your router RPM.
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I was told that the standard settings are extremely conservative that come with a shapeoko so I’m trying to find the best settings for what I’m doing here
I have an SO3 XXL with HDZ. My Dewalt 611 router sits on 3 which is 20,000 RPM and is hardly ever moved off that setting. I have made hundreds of projects and have been successful with almost all of them. The only failures were not due to the router speed but a loose nut on the keyboard.
There was a post recently that the RPM reminder was not being posted when changing bits. I have never had the RPM warning come up on my screen. Not sure why it never comes up but I would like the reminder but that also makes it easier to ignore the RPM setting.
Your mileage may vary.
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If I run my 1/4 end mill for one hr solid Is it normal for the nut at the chuck to be hot to the touch?
That has been reported on some Carbide Compact Routers when they are new — usually once they run-in a bit this stops.
Ideally when cutting most of the heat of the cut/friction will be carried away by the chips which are cut.
I will keep an eye on that. Thank you very much.
I guess I’m the outlier that typically ran at 5 or 6. But I also run higher feedrates than I see most people running. My machine is out in a detached garage and I wear earplugs. I mean low noise is nice, but if I’m out there running the machine…I’m out there to run the machine. I don’t get as much shop time as I’d like, so I’m going to run it to save time.
It also depends on the material, the endmill I’m using, my depth of cut, etc.
Wood (unless on the harder end of the hardwood scale) doesn’t care so much about chipload. Just cut it. 
Plastic and aluminum do care a lot about chipload. I run them fast, but at lower depth of cut to make sure I’m making chips, not melting.
More flutes means less RPM to get the desired chipload.
Smaller diameter means you need more RPM to get a proper chip load.
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