We have a Laguna SmartShop 2 - 12HP spindle. Reading through hundreds of posts on feeds and speeds/bits/etc with absolutely opposite opinions on how to cut various materials, I notice that one consistent qualifier is the nature of the machine itself- hobbyist, "production," industrial.
I read a lot of posts like, "If you have a hobbyist machine, you can cut 6IPS, but if you have a production machine, it's a million miles a second in one pass through aluminum. Without lubricant. With a straight bit. 1/16". We do it everyday and make 850 parts an hour and I've been doing it for 35 years."
We cut MDF - ultralight but mostly the normal, heavier stuff. We cut foams of various thicknesses, and acrylic. I'm just trying to narrow down my choices in bits and feeds/speeds, but I have no real idea where our machine fits in the spectrum. I would hate to be slaving through multi-hour cuts on MDF at 50IPS when we could be far more productive, faster. Anyone familiar with what we've got who might be able to help me narrow my search scope?
Thanks so much,
_Mike