[Hardwoodcnc]

I’ve been running some tests on 3/4” plywood with a 5” slitting saw.

I’ve been getting a lot of smoking when removing a small amount of material (around 1/16”) from the outside diameter of a cylinder.

I’ve tried a high feed rate (over 1,000) and a low feed rate (around 100 and lower).

My spindle rpms have been tested at 8k - 12k.

Any ideas on what I should do to fix this issue?

I’m using Fusion 360 and Mach 4

[Superman]

8-12k rpm.... seems a little too fast. The rubbing is really friction burns. It is nearly grinding speeds.
Try bringing it back to 1-2k adjust feed accordingly, then if passable, increase speeds & feeds to gain production speeds

Find out what cutting speeds that tools use to cut best ie HSS cutters are different to carbide, plunging cutters are different to drills.

[Algirdas]

or ...
plywood is actually easy to cut amongst wooden materials. We work with wood material:
1. The top cutting speeds ( for instance, the spindle 80 000 rpm and the cutter diameter 350 mm, so it is almost 88km per minute ! ).
2. Strong air blow to take away the dust ( and heat ) as fast as possible.
3. Crazy sharp cutter tips.
The combination takes away the heat faster than agregating it.
Sure, the tool and spindle balance at these speed is very important, otherwise the tool blows as a granade.

[Hardwoodcnc]

The specs on my cutter are;
"3500-4300 rpm at a feed of 20""-100"" per minute for your application."

I ran some tests:
4300 at 100 feed rate and 10,000 sfm Result: smoking when making a cut
3500 at 100 feed rate and 10,000 sfm cutter Result: stops on wood during cutting
4300 at 50 feed rate and 10,000
Result: stops on wood during cutting

Any ideas what to try next in terms of adjusting my rpm/feed rate/sfm?

Thanks