Clean edges on cnc routed dibond

[billsines]

If your cuts are like a tuna can, I suspect there is something amiss with your machine. Not getting your settings right or using a dull bit can do that. You might even have excessive machine flex, or even machine slop due to wear of parts. I just had to replace some gear rack on one of mine last Thursday. Think about it, if you have a lot of wear somewhere, that will translate into sloppy movement, that will translate directly to your cut. Check out all your components and see if there is any slop due to wear.

 

[fuzzy_cam]

We have an older ShopBot and get perfectly clean edges on ACM all the time. We use a 1/8" end mill bit, 3 ips, 16k rpm.

 

[jhd]

Duh... I figured it out. My spindle was going in the wrong direction... Cutting like butter now. Thanks to all that helped!!!

Mike

 

[astro8]

We use a bits designed to route stainless steel to cut acm/acp. Single flute upcut at 400-500-600 inches per minute, climb cut at 24000 rpm but that's on a Biesse with 50hp of vacuum. Downcut bits work well too, as long as your spoilboard is freshly surfaced.

 

[Devin]

We cut alot of brushed acm at my shop.

I typically run a 3/16" Belin bit. On 3mm acm I'll run 2 passes. 1st pass at 150-220 ipm cutting .111 depth. 2nd pass at 220 ipm .125" depth with a .015" width. This is at 16000 RPM. With a smooth and flat sheet of MDF spoil board for a proper vaccum.

The clean pass takes off .015" off the side and finishes the cutout of the finish piece.

With ACM, alot of time if the cut isn't clean it's because your feedrate is too slow. The material is very soft and easy to cut for a sharp bit. Don't be afraid to ramp the speed up. Also, it's important to use an accurate caliper. We use a calibrated Mitutoyo. Had trouble getting accurate readings with cheap alternatives.

Hope this helps, I've had to spend lots of time sanding down edges before I figured it out. Now they come out clean everytime.