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For those who want to quantify just how much faster it is to use the 611 (or any router), here are two identical pieces I cut with the same bit. The piece on the left was cut with the 24V spindle, the piece on the right was cut with the 611. The material is 1/2" MDF, the pocket is .125" deep.
I used Inventables 1/8" 2-straight flute flat end mill.
24V Spindle: 12,000 RPM, .024" DOC, 64 IPM. Total time: 105 minutes.
611 Router: Speed 1.5 (~17,100 RPM), .125" DOC, 250 IPM. Total time: 6 minutes (5.7% of the 24V time, or 17.5 times faster).
For the record, I would suggest a DOC slightly less than the final depth of the pocket, just to allow a cleanup pass of .010" or so, and a speed of 180 IPM. It would end up taking about 14 minutes, and would leave a cleaner bottom and slightly smoother side. I did that with a second piece, which reduced the 611 cut speed to only 7.5 times faster than the 24V spindle.
I think the 611 finish is actually better, especially with the .010" cleanup. The deep pass around the outside has a much nicer finish, and the edges just seem a little sharper. The bottom of the pocket feels slightly more āfiberyā, but thatās probably because the bit didnāt say on the material long enough to give it a little bit of a polish. It may also have been a different sheet of MDF, so itās hard to assign a true cause for it.
I actually had it up to 340 IPM doing feed/speed testing, but the edge quality was slightly lower than at 250 IPM. It was going fast enough that I actually had a faceshield on because I was afraid the bit would break. Plowed through it like butter. Dusty, dusty butter.
You better not to encourage newbies Robert. They will start racing on work piece.
To me, work quality and health of my machine is lot more important than time.
I go highest 120 ipm on MDF, 50 to 60 on very hard woods like OAK. And you know what, when you go slower, you donāt have to waste time for clean-up pass.
Of course Iām not even talking about depth per pass, it depends of job complexity. M2c.
Does Easel use the spindle type in calculating the āsuggestedā IPM and DOC, or is it just a straight lookup into a table of wood types? In other words, is the suggested DOC and IPM specifically for the 611 or is it a generic number?
My gut feeling is that itās all based on the ideal settings for the original 24VDC spindle, I donāt remember having to pick a spindle type in Easel. Maybe @EricDobroveanu or one of the other awesome Easel coders can give a better answer.
Now, during machine setup, you pick the spindle to use in Easel, but I think your gut feeling is right in that the feeds and speeds are probably set for the lowest common denominator.
