OK - suggestions on 3/8" compression bits especially for 3/4" thick laidup plastic laminate panels? It's that wear spot at the laminate on top of the panel. We were getting some from our sharpener and getting 50-60 sheets per but apparently he's got a new supplier and the new ones not so good.

We'd have the coated Onsrud before which cut well at first but did not after coming back from the local sharpener.

Suggestions?

Thanks!

Eric
There a lot of great tool manufacturers out there - Onsrud, Vortex, FS Tool, Amana, Southeast Tool etc etc and many are doing various coatings. Just as important as the tool itself, is dialing in your feed rate, RPM, and set up. Make sure you have good quality, clean tool holders and collets and you are setting them up with a torque wrench and set up stand for consistent, accurate set ups. Reducing run out and calculating proper feed rates/ rpm's can drastically improve your tool life and cut quality. Talk to your tool service rep or the tool manufacturer if you need help doing this or you can find it online - heres one reference :https://www.onsrud.com/Forms/Cutting-Data-Recommendations.asp

Regarding Resharpening:
Talk to the company sharpening your tools - let them know that you are noticing a significant drop off in tool life after resharpening. Maybe they can tweak their process - if they are only grinding on the OD then they can grind the inside flute, or vice versa or both. I think it is common to expect somewhere around 10-20% decrease in tool life after service because of reduced diameter, clearances and flute depth. If they arent properly equipped to service the tools then maybe they are able to send them back to the manufacturer on your behalf for factory service.

Eric,

Just a note are you adjusting your feed rate after the bit is sharpened? If not, that will help also.

Ask your sharpener is they are grinding just the Diameter of the bit or the flute and diameter which is how we grind on our CNC and it makes a big difference.

Like Dan had said also, make sure your collets are good or have been changed recently. We recommend 2 times a year if you are running production.

In my experience, that is a typical number for prelam sheets. I have found the Vortex bits to be best for us, and I tried their line of "XP" bits just for running prelams. I found that the extra cost of the XP line was not justified, because the regular line of carbide bits performed nearly as well. As others have stated, expect the resharpened bits to last a bit less than new ones, and for this operation, expect less tool life altogether since the nature of the material is harder on tooling. I have tried bits with coatings from a number of different manufacturers, and found the benefits to be negligible and cost to be unjustified. This is my experience and am not endorsing or belittling any one product or manufacturer, just stating my experience for the benefit of the poster. :)

I think it is a good idea to have the manufacturer of the tool resharpen it.

If the re-sharpening process does not include a re-application of the coating, the tool will never achieve the cut quality/life of the coated original.
Hope this helps!
Mark T.

Diamond tooling. No personal experience, but not hard to find them.

coated definitely helps for laid up laminate sheets, but like other said, u need to find sharpener with recoating.50-60 sheets is not bad for hpl laid up sheetsgoods. bout high side of average.

Gonna put in for cnc-tool.com coated 3/8 cutter.

We cut a lot of layed up panels and we have noticed Formica brand just chewing up our bits. New or re-sharpened.

Are you using a torque wrench ? Collet replacement is imperative

As others mentioned feed rate adjustment and in my opinion send it to the mfr for sharpening. They know the tool better than anyone

Make sure when you get the cutter in you inspect it

If you are standing the panels up against a
rack make sure all sand, pebbles etc are wiped away or it will damage the cutter

we use Taiwan brand(but i almost sure its chines produce)Arden 6 mm up/down ,very very cheap ,can cut 120 board plywood 17 mm(4*8) and then replace
no sharp(cost about 13$ less then sharp)

Yes, Arden is a famous Taiwan brand, you can find Arden products here

Arden Router Bits