Advice on routing bits / tool please?

[Phill Fenton]

Fairly quickly in my experience – though it probably depends on the quality of the tool. A sure sign it’s worn is when the cut edge finish becomes very rough

[Steve Morgan]

Cutting speeds and feeds are crucial to the life of a router tip, even when cutting timber so if you can alter the spindle speed it’s worth looking up the ideal cutting speed for the material you are cutting and get as close as possible. It only requires a bit of basic arithmatic to calculate.
I don’t cut much di-bond type material, mainly timber, but I do hone my HSS tips after a bit of use to keep them sharp and most of them are well over 10 years old.
I’ve always used Trend tips, they produce a very extensive range for all manner of materials.

http://www.trend-uk.com/en/UK/

[Martin Pearson]

It’s sort of a how long is a piece of string type question because it depends on lots of variables. Why do you ask David? If your not getting acceptable results then it doesn’t matter how much work it has done it needs changed, if it is still producing a good cut without having to drastically alter speed, feed depth of cut etc then it doesn’t lol.

To add to what Phill & Steve have said tool material will make a difference, HSS or Carbide, materials cut, tool deflection, machine rigidity.

If they are carbide bits & have been overheated at all then they will go blunt very quickly.

[Simon Worrall]

David
With dibond you are cutting two different materials, The aluminium layers will wear out the tip much faster than the polypropylene core. So if you vary the height, ie use the ramping option, you will get more life from your bits – maybe twice as much.
Aside from that, tell your boss not to be such a cheapskate! 😀
Simon,

[Gert du Preez]

Why use a 3mm bit? A 6mm will last way longer, and is not that much more expensive.

We process huge volumes of both 3 and 4mm ACM. A single job can sometimes consume a couple of hundred sheets of ACM :yikes:

I primarily use a Belin 6mm Solid Carbide bit for cutting (single pass) but also cut some items with fine detail with a 3mm Belin single flute. (also single pass)

We get very good life out of the bits. The 6mm bit I feed at 100mm/sec (6m per minute) at 24 000 rpm. The 3mm I feed at 30mm/sec (1,8m per minute) at 16 000rpm. (Both cases using Aluminium Cutting Oil in the mister)

I think it is the Perspex / Aluminium cutting that wears out the bits rather than the ACM. And, MDF absolutely MURDERS a bit. I keep some dull bits in the tool tray for cutting MDF. Better to do a bit of sanding than replacing an expensive bit.