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IndustryArena Forum > WoodWorking > WoodWorking Topics > Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?
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  1. #1

    Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    Hi, sorry for asking again the same question but i really cant find the answer in the other topics. I will tell you what i do( and how much i understand of it) and i really hope someone can guide me in avoiding the problem if it is possible.

    The problem is that the wood is fuzzy in some places where the engraving tool moves in a certain direction i guess, and the opposite mirroed location the same.

    The first picture is the roughing part where it roughs like crazy but i know the 8mm endmill is dull and it doesnt really matter i guess but you can see how it does it in just half of the project.

    rough stage

    The second is after the fine finish with the 6mm ballnose which i think is not dull. There are just these 4 places where some fuzzing remained. IT is easy to remove it by hand but for more complex and smaller projects is really hard and annoying so i try to understand why it is happening.

    fine finish

    The wood is very soft. I think it is called lime in english.

    So here are the speeds i used to use.

    rough finish: spindle speed 200 ( i dont know what that 200 is measured in) and feed rate 4-5000
    fine finish: spindle speed 200 and feed rate 6000+

    The result were kind of the same maybe a little bit worse than what you see in the pictures with the current speeds. With those speeds the left over material was tiny wood shavings.

    Current speeds (experimental)
    rough finish:spindle speed 300 and feed rate a little bit slower 3500
    Fine finish: Spindle speed 300 and feed rate 4500-5000

    The left over material is fine dust.

    Any help will be appreciated.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    35538

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    Use a harder wood.
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    just sand it fine emery
    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/

  4. #4

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    I have to use that wood for now. What do you think about the speeds though? Should i use faster spindle speeds? should i use raster or offset 3d engraving?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Posts
    35538

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    Yes, try to use a faster spindle speed.
    Gerry

    UCCNC 2017 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2017.html

    Mach3 2010 Screenset
    http://www.thecncwoodworker.com/2010.html

    JointCAM - CNC Dovetails & Box Joints
    http://www.g-forcecnc.com/jointcam.html

    (Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management)

  6. #6

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    my machine's fastest is 400. and when i wrote feed rate i meant process speed.

    So do you know in what the spindle speed is measured ? and what is feed rate?. Process speed is the speed with which the X and Y axis' are moving. Do you have advise what strategies i should use for the 3d engraving and is 4mm ballnose too big?

    http://i.imgur.com/Cowvj6N.jpg

    i am experimenting here:

    for the pyramid an offset strategy looks better

    for the half column 6mm raster was best but 4mm raster was worse..i guess the stepover was big?

    Do you have any tips?

    Thanks in advice.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    1469

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    Don't increase you feed rate this will increases the fuzz on wood, slow feed rate down and rune the spindle (router) at a higher speed, typically this is the machine approach to minimizing fuzz. Tool type and sharpness is also part of the equation.

    Harder woods are less fuzzy than softer woods, but this also varies from species to species and even within a single piece of wood, or even the same piece of wood.

    Fuzz can happen at the intersection of the annular rings, the grain of the wood, each ring and between the rings the material is a different hardness and flexibility.

    Yea I know way too much information, but it is complicated and the more you understand the better equipped you are to understand why it is happening, and work toward a way to minimize it.

    Try brushing with stainless, brass, plastic bristle brushes, even different hardness tooth brushes to strip off the fuzz without damaging the wood.

    Or you can try a light grade sand or emery paper but this will cut the sharp edges of the wood very quickly.

    Getting rid of fuzz is a trial and error game, each application is a slightly different situation.
    Good luck and let us know when you succeed

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    5728

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    What the British call "lime wood" is what we Americans call basswood. I've tried cutting it with CNC and it always comes out fuzzy. It's because it's fibrous and soft, so the fibers pull out of the wood as it's cut. So if you have to use this particular wood, resign yourself to dealing with the fuzz.
    Andrew Werby
    Website

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Posts
    2985

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    If the fuzz is fine enough, you may be able to remove much of it with a quick pass under a torch flame.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Posts
    5728

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    I tried that - it just made a mess, with little black dots where the fuzz was.
    Andrew Werby
    Website

  11. #11

    Re: Wood is half fuzzy after 3d engraving. How to avoid?

    Thank you for your replies. I guess its inevitable with the fuzz but after a lot of experimenting i found out in which cases what strategy to use to keep the fuzz to a minimum. The blow torch kinda does the trick but the use of fine emery paper is inevitable. I just needed to know that limewood/brasswood/ always has fuzz becouse its very soft.

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