First post and a question about spindle speeds(rpm).
A little background first:
I'm new to cnc (rank beginner) and in the process of purchasing a Haas(Minimill or TM1) for my knife making business. I work with O1, A2 and CPM 3V tool steels .125" thick +- and at present use a local waterjet cutter to cut out two parts from 12"x36" plate.
The main piece (fixed blade blank) is fairly simple with 1/4" and 5/16" holes cut in the tang and flat grind bevel of 12deg. The second piece has a 1/2" long slot .125" wide and cut through the material(.125").
I have looked at several speed and feed calculators and gotten a rough idea as to what spindle rpms might work but because of my ignorance on the subject am not sure as to the type of tooling best used for each process, and don't know how many teeth or chip rates to put into the calculation as well as having no experience in milling these materials other than band saw and grinder am at a bit of a quandry.
If possible I would like to use .125" end mill(?) for cutting out the profile of both parts to decrease waste and maximize the number of parts per unit of steel plate, and also for the slot in the smaller piece. I understand smaller tools need faster speeds to make up for surface area, however I am not in need of running hundreds of parts every month so slower feed rates might be an option.
So my question/s : Will the 6k max spindle speed rating work for this application or would the increase to 10k(and possibly $3800 increase in price) be a better option?
Thanks for your time and looking forward to your insight.
mtnscout
A little background first:
I'm new to cnc (rank beginner) and in the process of purchasing a Haas(Minimill or TM1) for my knife making business. I work with O1, A2 and CPM 3V tool steels .125" thick +- and at present use a local waterjet cutter to cut out two parts from 12"x36" plate.
The main piece (fixed blade blank) is fairly simple with 1/4" and 5/16" holes cut in the tang and flat grind bevel of 12deg. The second piece has a 1/2" long slot .125" wide and cut through the material(.125").
I have looked at several speed and feed calculators and gotten a rough idea as to what spindle rpms might work but because of my ignorance on the subject am not sure as to the type of tooling best used for each process, and don't know how many teeth or chip rates to put into the calculation as well as having no experience in milling these materials other than band saw and grinder am at a bit of a quandry.
If possible I would like to use .125" end mill(?) for cutting out the profile of both parts to decrease waste and maximize the number of parts per unit of steel plate, and also for the slot in the smaller piece. I understand smaller tools need faster speeds to make up for surface area, however I am not in need of running hundreds of parts every month so slower feed rates might be an option.
So my question/s : Will the 6k max spindle speed rating work for this application or would the increase to 10k(and possibly $3800 increase in price) be a better option?
Thanks for your time and looking forward to your insight.
mtnscout