Calculating Speeds and Feeds for Cutting tools

I get asked quite often about things such as recommended speeds and feeds, how to calculate speeds and feeds, how to convert speeds and feeds...get the point yet?

Really, sometimes finding information on speeds and feeds on cutting tools is like searching for a diamond in the rough.

But fear no more, you have come to right place for all the speeds and feeds you can handle.

Hold on to your hats it's a wild and bumpy ride.

If your just getting in to machining and want some good calculators for speeds and feeds, you should try American Machinist. They have calculators for:

Tool Life Speed Adjustments - This calculator shows you a range of cutting speeds for different tool lives.

Speeds/Feeds Conversion - This calculator converts different expressions of speeds and feeds to other units of measure.

If using calculators on the web isn't your thing, I found a pretty cool webiste today that has a desktop Machinist's Calculator. It isn't free like at American Machinist, but you don't have to be online to use it, plus they are offering a free 30 day trial. I always like freebies!

The next bit of information came from another site I stumbled upon today while searching for speeds and feeds. This is what they have to say about speeds and feeds:

"Selecting spindle speeds and feed rates can be difficult, particularly if you're not accustom to working with CNC machines. Although you can't beat years of experience, we've compiled a short list of recommended spindle speeds and feed rates. The most commonly used materials are listed, then divided according to the CNC machine. All values are modeled around the use of engraving or .25-inch diameter cutters and in most cases should suffice for most jobs. However, do remember that these rates are only approximate values; they do not take into account factors such as tooling material types, diameters, and profiles. With this in mind, we recommend performing a test cut, then changing the values according to any factors that may affect the machining of your design."

So if you are looking for speeds in feeds for steel to wood turning, this is place to check out:

Speeds and Feeds/Spindle Speeds

As always, happy machining.

I am out...B