Old timer told me I was cutting my speeds and feeds all wrong

Guy with 40 years in the trade watched me run a part and said I was babying the machine too much. He bumped up my feed rate by 40% and the cycle time dropped way down without breaking a tool. Anyone else get handed a reality check by someone who's been doing this since before CNC was common?

2 comments

2 Comments

miles2771d agoMost Upvoted

I mean sure, bumping up feeds can drop cycle time, but that old timer's 40 years of experience doesn't mean his settings are right for every job or every machine. Pushing a tool too hard can lead to chatter or worse, a crash, and I'd rather take an extra minute than scrap a part or break an expensive insert. Idk, maybe I'm just cautious, but babying the machine has saved me from a lot of headaches with tolerances or weird materials.

stone.jesse1d ago

My 200 bucks on a chatter wreck taught me conservative feeds beat expensive lessons every time.