Cutting 3/4 Melamine on CNC

Advice on bit type, feed rate, and RPM. July 3, 2005

Question
Is there any bit out there that really does cut through 3/4" melamine in a single pass with no chipping? We nest our parts out of 4 x 8's instead of pre-cutting them on a saw first. Any advice will be appreciated.

Forum Responses
(CNC Forum)
From contributor S:
Either a 1/4" to 3/4" will allow a single pass without any chipping.

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From contributor E:
Depending on the parts, we single pass 3/4" melamine with a 1/4, 3/8 or 1/2 Onsrud single flute compression spiral. We get a clean cut top and bottom.

You will have to dial in the feed and speed values of anything you run and make sure the tool is sharp. Melamine will dull a tool fairly fast and a dull tool will produce chipped edges.

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From contributor A:
I've been using Onsrud 3/8" two flute spiral compression with excellent results at 750 IPM, 18000 rpm's. #60-123MW. I cut more pre-finished plywood than melamine, but when I do cut melamine I still get excellent results. I go 60+ sheets between changing bits.

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From contributor B:
We have had great success cutting 3/4" melamine with Onsrud's .375" three flute compression spiral - part number 60-126. 1,100 inches per minute at 18000 rpm. The only area of concern is the lead-in, lead-out - when set correctly, you will not have any chipping.

We have found the tool life varies with the board it is cutting. The adhesive and junk that makes up the core will affect the tool life.