Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: How fast is too fast on a Bridgeport?

washcomp wrote:

>Yea, its scary fast. I've slowed it down from my first encounter
>with "shock and awe". Whoever designed the Position Wizard
>aftermarket table on it must have had loads of fun and then slowed it
>down in the original NC controller. I never saw it work (or any
>other CNC machine for that matter) before designing a new controller
>(with substantial assistance from the members of this group) and
>testing it under MACH2.
>
>Now that I know I can leap tall buildings in a single bound, I
>welcome any advice about rational XY and Z axis speeds and
>acceleration (I'm running microstep at 1000 steps per rev).
>
>

It is pretty unlikely you will cut metal above 30 IPM. It is possible
to cut some
plastic materials faster than that, but usually you need a high speed
spindle to cut
faster. Unless you are doing heavy production work, you probably don't
need a
rapid feed over 60 IPM, but you might set your program so it is possible
to reach
120 IPM, but defaults to 45 or 60. You may want to start out slower, as
I had a number
of explosive crashes when I first started using my CNC retrofit. I'd
crash a
clamping bolt into the cutting tool or something like that.

Jon