How fast is your homemade CNC?

[damae]

How fast can you cut with your homemade CNC?

Click on your maximum cutting speed (for whatever materials you commonly cut).

[JFettig]

cutting speed is based on spindle speed, theres also rapid speed,
my old setup, I would cut aluminum up to 50ipm, now up to 20,
I seem to get pretty stable rapids up to 200ipm but have it at 120 to make sure.

Jon

[CJL5585]

I am using a 233 Mhz computer and above 120 ipm the axis sometimes pause to get additional data for the cuts.

[WayneHill]

It can get over 100 IPM, but is turned down. That let's me have more time to hit the e-stop if needed.

[DW61]

mine can cut at 75 IPM.

[cp8071]

My little Nema23 steppers running from 14 volts on resistor limited full-step drivers will max out at 9IPM but will loose steps towards the ends of the rails ... so I run at 4-6IPM to keep it happy. It's SLOW, but way faster than hand tools!

CP

[damae]

It's interesting that more people are either in the 10-50and 100-300 IPM brackets than in the 50-100 bracket. Not following the usual bell-shaped curve.

I wonder, is this because people are polarizing towards two seperate goals -- either to build affordable CNC or to see how fast/powerful they can build?

Or is it perhaps some other cause -- for instance, the people who built 10-50IPM CNCs are mainly cutting fine detail, wax, and the people who built 100-300 IPM machines are mainly building CNC routers?

[ger21]

I think the 10-50 is due to the affordable CNC factor.

[MrBean]

I have a belt driven X axis that can cut at 800IPM but it's pretty useless at that speed because my Y axis max cutting speed is 90IPM. Unless I cut a bunch of horizontal grooves I never see anywhere near 800. I leave it set ~120IPM.

Regards Terry.....

[Bloy2004]

This dual Y axis machine I have does 340ipm at night, but 320 during the day due to line voltage increase at night. the x does 400ipm, and the Z 240.
But this is cut back...as above, with a Makita router spindle, real usage is about 280 to 320 ipm for simple broad cuts...much slower for intricacy.

[MrWild]

Still building, but will be happy with 10ipm. Another poll on the same theme could be asked, "How accurate is your machine?" IMO 100+ipm don't mean didly if it is constantly .015 out of tolerence. I'm shooting for no more than+-.002. I think tight machines may be harder to build than fast machines. With little experience building (so far) I'm probably wrong and will find speed is an outgrowth of accuracy and vice versa. Don't seem likely though. Loose and slick with powerful motors can probably blaze with speed as the cut wanders all over the place.

[Jerry Dots]

My little router (20 X 48) can rapid @ 200 IPM and I cut balsa @ 60 IPM. Cut 1/8 plywood @ 20 IPM. Router bits are the limit on feeds. I use .050 carbide bits for cutting model airplane parts. They will break on the plywoos at speeds over 30 IPM and cutting balsa at speeds over 60 it fuzzes up and needs the fuzz sanded off.