Hi.

I am fairly new to both CNC and HSMAdvisor, so this is probably a stupid question :-)

I am preparing a post for cutting out kitchen cabinets in 19mm hardwood ply, with a 1/4" solid carbide spiral endmill.

When hand routing I generally never go deeper than the cutter diameter, based purely on the feel of tool. However, HSMAdvisor is happy to give me some recommended F&S's for a full-depth/full-width cut.

My question is, can I be reasonably confident that this will not break the tool? Or am I missing something? HSMAdvisor shows the force/torque to be only at 13%, which suggests it is well within the capabilities of the mill. But it just, feels wrong :-)

Secondly, is it actually a good idea to back off the feedrate? This shows an increase in tool-life, but this contradicts what I have read on Google, re not 'babying the cut'. Am I actually better taking the 100% feedrate, so that the Feed and Speed are properly matched?

Thanks,

Jon