Couple of Questions Regarding Software and bits.

[SamTaylor]

I work for a furniture manufacturer and we are transitioning from all hand cut frames and fabric to digitizing the existing patters and using CNC for the cutting to speed up production.

I have a few questions;

Im currently teaching myself Fusion 360 and VCarve Pro. We are doing only 2D cutting, fairly simple flat patterns out of plywood. Is Fusion360 overkill for that? Is VCarve a more suitable and faster solution?

I also have some general questions about bits;

We are currently using a 1/2in Flute bit on our ShopBot.
is that a good choice for .75 in plywood?

is a flute considered and endmill or are they different?

Im really new to CNC and even furniture making in general lol.

Any help is appreciated.

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[ger21]

For 2D cutting, just use V Carve. It's much simpler, and should be faster.
You could also just create a Sketch in Fusion 360, and do your CAM from the sketch. But imo, V Carve is much simpler.

I'm assuming you are using a carbide tipped router bit?

An endmill is a term usually describing a spiral metal cutting bit. A spiral router bit will look exactly like an endmill, but the cutting geometry is slightly different. Router bit manufacturers do not call their spiral router bits endmills.

A spiral router bit is capable of cutting at much higher feedrates than a carbide tipped straight bit, but is much more expensive. Plywood can be very hard on bits. You really need to experiment to find the tooling that works best for your application.

[awerby]

A "flute" isn't a type of tool; it's what the cutting edge of an endmill or router bit is called. Some have 4 flutes; those are usually used for steel. If you're cutting wood, you'll typically use a 2-flute or single-flute tool. When you're figuring out your speeds and feeds, you multiply the RPMs by the number of flutes your tool has and divide the feedrate by that number to get your "chip load". The idea is to get chips coming off the cut that are an optimal size; too small and the tool gets dull faster while the job takes too long. Too big, and the tool could break or stall. Here's a chart: https://www.vortextool.com/images/chipLoadChart.pdf

[SamTaylor]

For 2D cutting, just use V Carve. It's much simpler, and should be faster.
You could also just create a Sketch in Fusion 360, and do your CAM from the sketch. But imo, V Carve is much simpler.

I'm assuming you are using a carbide tipped router bit?

An endmill is a term usually describing a spiral metal cutting bit. A spiral router bit will look exactly like an endmill, but the cutting geometry is slightly different. Router bit manufacturers do not call their spiral router bits endmills.

A spiral router bit is capable of cutting at much higher feedrates than a carbide tipped straight bit, but is much more expensive. Plywood can be very hard on bits. You really need to experiment to find the tooling that works best for your application.

So I'm noticing that there is no 'Flute' option for tools in Vcarve.
Would I have to plug in the tool information myself for a custom bit?
or will using the generic .5in Endmill work with my bit if I do the calculation below.

A "flute" isn't a type of tool; it's what the cutting edge of an endmill or router bit is called. Some have 4 flutes; those are usually used for steel. If you're cutting wood, you'll typically use a 2-flute or single-flute tool. When you're figuring out your speeds and feeds, you multiply the RPMs by the number of flutes your tool has and divide the feedrate by that number to get your "chip load". The idea is to get chips coming off the cut that are an optimal size; too small and the tool gets dull faster while the job takes too long. Too big, and the tool could break or stall. Here's a chart: https://www.vortextool.com/images/chipLoadChart.pdf

Appreciate this, cleared up what a Flute is.
Thanks for the chart!

[ger21]

Any straight bit is entered as an endmill in Vcarve, regardless of the style of the flutes.

[ger21]

A "flute" isn't a type of tool; it's what the cutting edge of an endmill or router bit is called.

Isn't the "flute" technically the space in between the cutting edges?

[awerby]

It looks like you're right about that, Ger, although the only picture I could find illustrating it has an arrow pointing to the wrong place: End Mill and Cutting Tool Design Criteria and Technical Features In the accompanying verbiage they seem to agree with you, although it's somewhat ambiguous.

[KH0UJ]

If you reduce your 1/2 bit to 1/4 bit, you will definitely speed up your routing on any 2D outline work, its much easier for the tool bit to glide thru any type of wood when it`s a bit smaller in diameter, a custom sharpened 1/4 dia. single flute carbide bit is your best bet, both the price on the tool bit and the longevity on it while working, but there`s a downside, you need at least 18K-24K rpm on your spindle or else it`s gonna snap lower than that. I cut / engrave / outline on our hardwood products on a daily basis for straight 3 years now single flute 24K rpm FTW, it`s cheap and last longer compared to a multi flute carbide expensive tool bits.

[ger21]

If you reduce your 1/2 bit to 1/4 bit, you will definitely speed up your routing on any 2D outline work

Maybe on a very light duty machine. If your machine is rigid and powerful enough, larger tools and more flutes can be much faster. A 3/8" bit can cut twice as fast as a 1/4" bit, as it's much stronger.

But it depends on the application, and what you're goals are. If high speed is the primary goal, and the application allows it, larger tools are faster, and last longer than small tools.