I am new to CNC working, and I have been experimenting with our new Carvey. We have purchased a number of end mills from inventables and I am still unsure what the following two should be used for and what settings to use (Easel does not appear to have any presets):
2F Fish Tail Upcut 1/8" (green ring)
Solid Carbide Single Flute Engraving Bit
Any info how they should be used, and how they differ from the others would be helpful!
Good morning. As you use your machine more and get used to different materials, you’ll get a better understanding of the different types of bit.
The difference between a drill bit and an end mill is a drill is meant to cut point first through a material to make a hole and an end mill cuts sideways.
There are also different types of end mills; ball end, tapered, square end, upcut, downcut, compression, chip breaker, etc. That is a good topic for you to research. The magnifying glass at the top of this page will allow you to search those topics here.
Once you learn the terminology, the names of the bit will give you the information you need.
You have a square end mill (meaning it will leave a flat bottom in the cut) and it is an upcut (meaning it will pull the debris up and out of the material. Upcut bits are good for plastics, metals and materials where heat can build up and re-melt the swarf. Downcut bits are nice for materials that splinter because they push the material down during the cut.
Engraving bits are as the name says for engraving a design into the surface of a material.
This is actually a topic you should spend some time reading about if you plan to really get into running a 3D carving machine. I would suggest keeping a notebook or clipboard by your machine as a logbook.
@SarahEricaLionetti also, we have a good intro blog post from a while back you can read over [here] (http://blog.inventables.com/2014/07/milling-101-understanding-milling-bits.html). It by no means covers every scenario but it is a good read to start out with.
