Need Help!- Cutting MDF

[Mr Bits]

I need to cut some gears out of MDF on my CNC benchtop mill and i need help with speeds and feeds depth of cut etc.


I am cutting MDF of 8mm thickness
5mm dia 2 flute tungsten carbide straight flute router bit
My maximum spindle speed is 2150.

Thanks in advance.

[hemsworthlad]

Originally Posted by Mr Bits I need to cut some gears out of MDF on my CNC benchtop mill and i need help with speeds and feeds depth of cut etc. I am cutting MDF of 8mm thickness 5mm dia 2 flute tungsten carbide straight flute router bit My maximum spindle speed is 2150. Thanks in advance.

Hi Bits,

Your low spindle speed will be your limiting factor regards feed.
I use G-wizard which you'll find here GWizard Install
It's great for giving you a rough ball park figure to work from and this is what it says for MDF with that cutter and spindle speed.

100% cutter width: conventional cutting recommends climb if 50%
Depth Feed
1-3mm = 1088mm/min
4mm = 895mm/min
5mm = 760mm/min
6mm = 718mm/min
7mm = 675mm/min
8mm = 630mm/min

Hope this helps

[msimpson99]

From experiance not all MDF is the same density. I have some stuf from Home depot that cuts like butter. I just picked up another batch and its not the same stuff. Its a hard as a rock. Very difficult to cut.

[Mr Bits]

Thanks for advice!