Quote:
Originally Posted by sanddrag
Don't forget about spindle horsepower and torque.
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Absolutely, as well as bit stick-out (how far form the collet the bit extends). Reducing stickout from 1" to 3/4" can double your depth of cut.
GWizard also calculates the Horsepower & Torque requirements; in practice these generally come close to the limits only with fast, deep cuts in harder materials. In theory I could cut 1" thick aluminum with a 1/4" bit at 60 IPM...if I had 4 or 5 HP to play with. The reality is that I'll keep all DoCs to the diameter of the cutter or less.
To Jared's point: Mills don't like to plunge (like a drill): enter the workpiece with a ramp or helix. Flood coolant is awesome, but only if you have a way of managing copious quantities of liquid.
Oh, and my 1/4" cutter for wood measures 0.243" OD; easily compensated in software, but only if you know the real measurement.