Unlocking the Secrets of Efficient CNC Milling: Straight Cut or Side Cut?
As masters of CNC milling machines, we’ve all encountered the age-old dilemma: "Should I opt for the straight cut or the side cut?" It’s a question that has puzzled even the most seasoned professionals, as the right approach can make all the difference in efficiency, surface quality, and overall performance. In this in-depth guide, we’ll delve into the fundamental advantages and disadvantages of both methods, providing you with a comprehensive framework to make informed decisions that maximize your results.
The Two Contenders: Straight Cut and Side Cut
Straight Cut (Layer Cutting): "Chewing" the Layer of Ingredients per Layer
Characteristics: Like cutting a thousand-layer cake, "chewing" the layer of ingredients per layer
Benefits:
✅ Eat more: The cutting depth can reach 2-3 times the diameter of the tool, and the rate of material elimination soars!
✅ Rapid drying: High power speed + large cut volume = improvement of efficiency 3-4 times!
✅ Can resist: It is specially used to treat deep grooves and thick wall rooms, and the tool is not easy to "return"!
Applicable scenarios: Machine tools with thick mold opening, treatment of deep cavities and low spit load
Side Cut (Lateral Cutting): "Refined" Against the Side
Characteristics: Like a sculpture knife, "refining" against the side
Benefits:
✅ Surface light: Molding with a cut, the RA roughness value is directly "embellished"!
✅ Save time: Complex surfaces do not require secondary refining and thin walls do not "shake"!
✅ Play it: With high-speed milling (350 m/min +), efficiency and double pipe accuracy!
Applicable scenarios: Mold surface, thin walls, high-precision contours
The Showdown: Efficiency 4-Dimensional Hardcore Battle
| Dimensions | Cutting a Layer | Side Cut |
|---|---|---|
| Material elimination rate | ⚡⚡⚡⚡ (King level) | ⚡⚡⚡ (high level) |
| Treatment speed | Several stratification tools, but you can eat "big pieces of meat" | The path is complex, but you can finish it at high speed |
| Tool life | Quick wear, but the blade can "keep life" | Even wear, but a slightly higher cost |
| Surface quality | Remaining secondary refinement | Make beginnings directly without "refining" |
Unlocking the Secret to Full Efficiency: The Golden Combination
Universal Formula = Cut Rough Treatment + Lateral Cutting Finish Treatment
Crazy at the Beginning: Use the layer cut at the "violent outing" and quickly chew 80% of the remaining amount!
Subsequent Capture: Modify the side cut and "stable, precise, and ruthless", with a direct mirror effect on the surface!
Secret Parameter:
- Layer cut: Cutting depth is full + power speed is pulsed!
- Side cutting: Linear speed from 350 m/min + coated tool buff!
Fresh Easter Eggs:
- Use compressed air to cool and prevent heat deformation!
- Use water-based cutting fluid for side cutting, and the friction is directly "returned to zero"!
A Guide to Avoiding the Pitfalls: Don’t Choose the Bad Scenarios!
❌ Cutting and overturning site for layers: parts with thin walls (directly "Cut Tordu")
❌ Lateral cutting operation: thicker deep groove (the "strike" tool on site)
Conclusion
The layer cut is "a miracle that can be produced by great strength", while the side cut is "an intelligent force to determine the universe" — for those who know how to choose methods, machine tools work less than you!
By mastering the art of combining both methods, you’ll unlock the secrets to efficient CNC milling, maximizing your productivity, surface quality, and overall performance. So, which method will you choose? The choice is yours!
