broke 1/8 long carving bit

[kjposter]

well despite assurances that I wouldn't be putting the long carving bit at risk

the bit has broken


I was doing okay on the job of cutting the two sided project until


I tried to reduce the cutting time by finding the optimization and feathering settings that


would give the lowest cutting time


the job was always set at normal but different opt and feathering settings reduced the total cutting time from over 12 hours

to about 8

when cutting time was reduced the bit broke


if I recall I was told I would not be putting the bit at risk


I was carving white wood from Home Depot

$89 really hurts as well as the down time

[Digitalwoodshop]

A picture of the board and where it broke the bit might tell us more... It could have nothing to do with the carving time and more to do with how the projects was laid out on the board. A area of carving where you carve too close to the edge could reduct the pressure on the board and it lost contact with the brass roller and snapped the bit due to the X going WILD....

Sometimes it is easy to miss the obvious as the real reason for the snapped bit.

AL

[mtylerfl]

Yes, a photo might give a clue or two. AL always has GREAT suggestions for things to check.

Keep in mind, if you use BEST or OPTIMAL, this is 'gentler' on a bit (speed/feed rates are slower than DRAFT or NORMAL) and could offer greater assurance that your bit will remain intact (in addition to getting a better quality carve).

BTW, who told you your bit would not be at risk? Bits are always 'at risk'...it's the nature of wood machining for all CNC work no matter what brand. Causes of bit break depends on so many factors. Aside from tracking issues, if your bit is sharp, the board is flat, held captive at all times under both rollers and you choose BEST or OPTIMAL, this helps reduce risk.

[blhutchens]

layout and machine maintenance are both crucial.
Broke one bit on first deep carve doing just what you did trying to save time.
broke the second one on a rotary carve because the keypad side cover switch did not work. So the cut motor stopped but the rest of the machine did not. Use the keypad stop button it always works.
I havent ordered more yet, just limiting carves to shallower carves, some with the standard bit in an er11 adaptor (not carvewright approved) to attain deeper than 1"