Need Help!- FEED RATE IN ACRYLIC PLEASE.

[TheNigerian]

I just got Trend's 6.3mm x 20mm spiral upcut acrylic cutters and need to know what feed rates to set for them to cut acrylic.

I use the DeWalt laminate trimmer with a fixed speed of about 24000 rpm.

Help needed.

[bill-the-cat]

When your chip load is correct, the heat generated by cutting is removed with the chip.

If your chip load is too low (and/or RPM too high), the cutter will tend to "melt" materials like acrylic rather than "cutting" them. However, at 24000 RPM, you would need a feed rate of 96 IPM to get a .002" chip load on a 2-flute cutter. You may want to look at a router speed control to reduce the RPM and allow you to program a "realistic" feed rate with a .001-.002" chip load.

[TheNigerian]

Thanks bud.

I will enter that feedrate into my code to see what happens.

I do own a variable speed Porter Cable 892 - which the manufacturer assures me will fit on my KT-2514. I'll fabricate a toolholder and use that router instead - if I find that I have to.