Hardwood - CNC Milling Guide

Hardwoods are produced by angiosperm trees that reproduce by flowers, and have broad leaves that many species shed annually (deciduous trees).

Hardwoods are known for their density, strength, and durability, making them desirable for a variety of applications, including furniture, flooring, cabinetry, and high-end woodworking projects. 

Examples of hardwoods include OAK, MAPLE, CHERRY, MAHOGANY, WALNUT...

Hardwood milling on EVO requires a few precautions depending on the wood species. For very dense woods it requires shallow passes and lower feeds compared to softwoods, in order to be easy on the belt drives and avoid tear out due to vibrations. 

In general EVO will handle it perfectly but as always: start with our safe parameters and increase them progressively to find the sweet spot for your own setup. 

• Machine : Mekanika EVO S / High-Z / Router AMB 1050W
• End mill : Ø 6mm / 2 Flutes Carbide / Upcut spiral
• Feed rate : 2 500 mm/min
• Spindle speed : 17 000 rpm
• Depth of cut : 3 mm

Hardwood milling on PRO & FAB requires a few precautions compared to softwoods. In general, passes should be shallower and chip load lower due to hardwood's density (depending on the species). But there is a wide range of variations depending on fixture, tool used, species etc. 

So as always, we recommend to start with the recommended safe parameters and increase them progressively to find the sweet spot for your own setup. 

Parameters used in the video :

• Machine : Mekanika PRO S / Standard-Z / VFD 2.2kW
• End mill : Ø 6mm / 2 Flutes Carbide / Upcut spiral bit
• Feed rate : 3 200 mm/min
• Spindle speed : 19 000 rpm
• Depth of cut : 5 mm

• You can go up to a 4 flutes end mill, as chip evacuation is usually easy. 
• Using a downcut on the first pass (or a compression bit all along) will help prevent tear out on the top face and get a better general finish.
• Use ramps or helix instead of plunge to increase your tool's lifetime.
• Don't aim for big chips on hardwoods. Perfect milling should produce fine chips and not dust, but some hardwoods are very brittle and chips will break during cuts (making it hard to identify the chip thickness). 
•  If the surface finish is not good, it can be related to various things: 
  • check that your stock is fixed strong enough and not vibrating
  • check your tool's edges to see if it is damaged
  • use the shortest tool possible for the job to avoid tool deflection
  • Test different feeds/speeds (most likely : reduce feed rate or increase spindle speed, within the machine's capabilities and while maintaining an acceptable chip load).

You can find here a link to a feed and speed calculator for the most classic materials, and safe values adapted to each of our machines.

MEKANIKA CNC FEED & SPEED CALCULATOR 

IMPORTANT NOTE: this is made to help you find parameters for your milling, but you should always think by yourself and enter cutting parameters that are matching your own setup.
Calculating the theorical values in this table is easy, but many parameters in your setup may make them unfit for your case. Always start with low engagement and speed, and test deeper/quicker parameters progressively.