So My wife asked me to cut out some Haunted houses to paint. I have 3/4 inch MDF. using VCarve Desktop I’ve programed the toolpaths and it says that the total carve time is almost 3 hours.
Now this could very well be a issue with my setting but this is my first 3D carve, I thought it would be quite simple. bits im using are
1/4 inch upcut (Carbide #201) for clearing and a 1/8inch upcut (Specktra #46125) for finish with my Shapeoko3 XXL
the model is about 15 inches by 20 inches.
Disclaimer, my feeds and speed may be off in my settings and that would explain a lot however, i get real nervous when I use certain calculators and it has my feeds and speeds what I would consider through the roof. What are y’alls settings for cutting MDF, with a 1/4 upcut (Carbide #201) and a 1/8 upcut (Specktra #46125)?
Throwing your file into Meshcam V6, I get 9 hours, 3D roughing with a 1/4" endmill at 80 ipm, with a .15 stepover, and a 1/8" DOC. Finish pass with an 1/8" endmill, with a .01 stepover, and 40 ipm.
The calculators can only ball park a time. There are to many variables based on speeds and feeds, and the mechanical limitations of the machine. Only with experience with your own machine will you be able to truly estimate your machining time. If the software says 3 hours, triple it. If you get it done in six, you become a rockstar.
It looks as if a lot of the time is used clearing material around the house to a depth of .750. Maybe a different approach would work better like modeling the house down to a depth of .200 or just enough to get all the features cut. Then use an outside contour toolpath to cut the house out. That should keep you from having to clear area around the house that would otherwise end up in your dust collector.
I think we have to adjust the rapid rates in tool path summary. I remember having to do this with Carveco but I forgot what the actual rapid rates are for Shapeoko’s. Anyone have information on this or what they are using to get a more accurate time summary?
