I’ve noticed every time I see someone cutting or carving PVC or acrylic on Youtube they don’t seem to be using a dust collector and the dust gets all over the machine. That got me wondering if you aren’t supposed to use a dust collector with these materials? Is there a safety issue or something or is it just a coincidence?
@mu1sic2ian3 I’ve cut PVC, acrylic and polycarbonate. I use my dust collection for all of them.
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They don’t always use a dust collector because it is hard to see what is happening for a demonstration. I normaly use one on acrylic.
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Ok thanks this is great to know. I tried searching but couldn’t find much information on this topic.
@mu1sic2ian3 To add, I use an o-flute bit, set my speed to 10,000 rpm, which is the slowest that I can go, and set the feed rate to 100 IPM. I take shallow passes and get no melting and chips that look like rice.
I just did a tree topper in 1/8" ABS and these specs worked very well.
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Awesome, would you use the same feeds and speeds for PVC?
Oflute up cut bit right?
@mu1sic2ian3 I do use those same settings for PVC. The key is slow spinning and relatively fast feed rate to prevent melting. I use a small step depth. Others will argue that I’m too conservative.
Yes, an o-flute is upcut. You do not want to pack the shaving down. They will melt.
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