engraving on vf-2

[jprobst]

I make these custom sand rail parts for my brother and now he wants to put in his company logo, my question is can i do an engraving using a contour toolpath? and if so can anyone recommend the style of bit to use along with speeds and feeds? we are now doing it on an old manual engraver but i have a 2007 haas vf-2 with 10,000 rpm spindle, so it makes sense to do it when i cut the part, any help in this matter would greatly be appreciated.

[ltmquik]

Depending on the size of the logos or lettering we use 1/32" BEMs down to custom ground 0.005" tapered cutters. My guess is you could use a 1/32" BEM.

[jprobst]

how fast do you go?think i'm gonna try it, i don't see any reason why it wouldn't work

[gar]

070509-1220 EST USA

jprobst:

We use a standard engraving cutter with a 0.005" tip.

See
http://www.gravograph.com/usa/Engrav...ng_Cutters.php

Some samples on my web site at www.beta-a2.com
See MISCELLANEOUS PHOTOS page photos P7 (used an end mill), and P9 thru P11 using New Hermes cutter.

(edit)
7500 RPM, our maximum, and maybe 10 IN/MIN in Al.
(end edit)

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[ltmquik]

Originally Posted by jprobst how fast do you go?think i'm gonna try it, i don't see any reason why it wouldn't work

We run about 60ipm 12K rpm about .003"-.005" deep cuts.

[Loading]

At school we didn't have any 'fancy' cutters. We just used a #3 center drill. 7500 rpm was our max and we went ~15 IPM with a few thou DOC.

[Geof]

We use standard 90 degree spot drills, 1/8" and 1/4" at depths from 0.003" to 0.020" using up to 60 ipm at 10,000rpm on aluminum and drop the speed to about 6000rpm and 20 ipm on leaded steel.