Any Advice would be nice

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I am currently running a rather long (not sure if it is longer than it needs to be) on the original 50W cnc router that came with the a350. If my little project works, I’d consider maybe the 200W or consider going something bigger .

I have a couple of pieces of Merbau pre oiled decking. The current stuff i’m using has been weathered. This is an Australian hardwood, and known to be oily and tanniny

I’m using a pocket cut, down to 10mm, the direction is approx 180 x 70mm. So large area.

I’m running the 3.175 single flute EM. Running approx 1.4mm stepover and 0.5mm step down. Is there a way I can speed up my job?

What is the largest diameter EM I can realistically run?

I was going to buy some carbide/titanium end mill sets, when i run those still in Merbau, what would I need to do with feed rates, and speeds etc? Very new to all this, and don’t mind being patient and run things slowly if I need to, but if I can run a bit faster, that would be ideal.

I have been told to use “conventional” methods for some parts, but my ability with conventional methods is not great, and am far more comfortable programming cuts and letting my machine be accurate, cos I am not.

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Using an 0.5 stepdown, I’ve run a full 3mm stepover, but I was using a 2 flute end mill, carbide, at about 1000mm/m with a 3.175.

However, as far as “largest” you could theoretically go up to I’d say 6mm. Buy cheap on amazon or elsewhere first before spending good money on name brand bits and do some tests. I’m sure the 50W could probably run a 6mm end mill with say, a 4mm stepover, 0.5mm stepdown, maybe 300-500mm/m.

However, you could also try the inverse since you’re going for depth. Use the length of the end mill. Do a slow spiral down to depth, then only use a 0.3-0.5mm stepover, but cutting a lot deeper. Maybe 300-400mm/m.

I’ve never used merbau, so I can’t attest to the hardness or machinability. I’ve mostly done sugar maple, cherry, and red oak.

Most of CNC machining is testing. :slight_smile: You’ll break some bits, you’ll ruin some wood, but you’ll learn a lot.

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Thanks Skree, what I’m doing is a test, I suppose I also need to do a stress test on the machine so I can actually know what sounds bad and what sounds good to know if i’m overloading it or not.

I think it’s running about 439mm/min currently, and I couldn’t tell you what the spindle speed is currently, I didn’t look closely enough in fusion when i set it up.

I can say currently, the bottom surface looks very good, the sides a little rough, but expected that, and the side will also be hidden, so not too concerned.

I might grab a few off cuts of the merbau, and play with some settings and see what I can find. Was just going some cheap amazon ones to trial

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If you’re in Australia, I’ve been getting my bits from “Adams Bits”, he has an overview of the correct bit to choose here: CNC Router Feeds and Speeds - The Adam's Guide - Adam's Bits, with a calculator page here: https://feeds.endmill.com.au/

When selecting a bit, there’s also a good overview of the best bit for what type of work you’re doing: 2, 3 & 4 Flute CNC Router Bits for wood, plastic and metals

If it’s just for personal use, you could also look at Autodesk Fusion. It’s a lot to get your head around, but it has a bunch of different cut types, including doing things like a rough pass and then a smooth pass, and it can get the wood finish very nice, it less time that Luban can (in my limited experience).

I’m no expert, and have busted a few bits, but at $5 each it’s not the end of the world and got something that’s working well for my use case.

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Sweet!! Thanks, yes I am from Aus, so that makes life a lot easier. I think buy a couple of bits, and break a few i’m not too upset. And those other links I’ll check out, hopefully make life a bit easier.

I am using fusion 360, and still have a larger learning curve, but I have created my design, and created tool paths etc, but I need to learn what functions will work better for what I’m doing, and then work out what the limitation of my machine and tools are. It’s fun, and i’m happy with the results so far, would just like it a bit quicker. So far I just run it for a few hours at night after work, as I can’t monitor it whilst i’m at work, or remove dust currently. But it’s a work in progress.

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Hiya,

I’d recommend using carbide bits in general as they tend to last longer.

The largest end mill shank size that the ER11 collet can handle is 3/8”, but I tend to stick with metric sizes, so the biggest metric collet it can handle is 6mm

I’d recommend a double or triple flute, up cut, 6mm carbide flat end mill. No need for any fancy coatings as those are for ferrous materials which the machine cannot cut.

Conventional cutting is just one type of cutting. The other type is climb cutting. Conventional cutting means that the head is moving in the opposite direction to the rotational direction of the mill. This takes bigger cuts, that go from thin to thick chips. This can result in a rougher finish and extra load on your machine.

Climb cutting is the opposite, you move the tool in the direction of the mill’s surface rotation l, which results in chips that are thicker at the cutting edge. It can give you a cleaner finish, but to make sufficient cuts you have to run the tool slightly slower to deliver the same surface finish result. Climb cutting also reduces chatter as the cut stroke pulls the tool into the workpiece.

It’s best to run all CNCs using climb cutting techniques. You use conventional cutting on manual mills as they tend to be built way beefier than CNCs are, at the expense of them working a lot slower.

On a 6mm tool, cutting Jarrah (similar timber in terms of gumminess), I usually set your tool to climb cut, set your step over to be about 2mm, your optimal load to 1mm, your cutting rate to about 1000-2000mm/s and your step downs to 0.5mm.

Add some form of dust extraction too (I’ve got 3D print files for a dust extractor for the 200W CNC head on my website, but there’s heaps of designs out there) mostly because merbau and jarrah dusts can get past the labyrinth seal at the end of the tool head and into the bearings, which are not user serviceable.

I’d also recommend using Fusion for the Snapmaker machines as opposed to the stock Luban software, as Snapmaker has made a post library built for them. The stock Snapmaker tools are in their fusion library (you can download them off the Snapmaker Wiki) but You can also add your tooling into fusion by making a custom tool for whatever you buy.

I’d recommend buying tools from Adam’s Bits, they’re an Aussie based store in the eastern states.

Hope this helps :slight_smile:

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That helps a lot!

I do have it on climb at the moment. I will most likely upgrade to the 200W at some point, but I want to get through this prototyping and learning phase first.

I think I have seen the files for the dust hood things, I was already thinking about printing making one!

Once I’ve completed the piece i’m working on, I will give these options a go.

Just checking, that cutting rate of 1000-2000mm/s would be on the 200W machine, not the 50W?
I’m confident mine is only running at 429mm/s I think at the moment, which was default Fusion settings.

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Adam’s bit’s is a great place to get decent tools from here, super helpful too (I know a few people who have just called them up, had a chat about their machine and what they want to do with it, get some good advice, and they’d throw together a pack of mills and router bits to suit their specific needs). I don’t do much work with wood on my machines, but I do know first hand that some Australian hardwood can be much more of a challenge than working with soft metals. Just like @Skreelink said, good information will get you part of the way, but you’ve just got to FAFO to get the experience and find out what works best with the materials and machine you have. Stupid mistakes are just another form of education, as long as you keep your body parts out of the machine and don’t leave it unattended.

3rd party CAD/CAM options that will support Snapmaker’s special blend of Marlin is a struggle, the CNC world has all moved on to things like, FluidNC, GRBL (and it’s many forks) or running LinuxCNC on a small pc or a pi. If I hadn’t got a new CNC router for work, I’d be seriously considering an attempt to put a different controller on my A250. I love the machine, but a lack of compatibility makes it hard to get excited about now.

Enough of my rambling… I think you’re just going to have fun breaking things and learning along the way. Some tool suppliers will give speeds and feeds for their End Mills, but they’re all tested on proper industrial machines. It’ll take a bit of work, but you’ll start to find the sweet spot to balance the “correct” speed for the type of metal your mills are made from, the stock you’re cutting, clearing chips (instead of burning your way through), breaking end mills and having something cool at the end of it.
I have the 200W spindle, it is definitely an upgrade from the original 50W version, the bracing kit is a great upgrade too. It’s a tough machine (within reason of course), so you’re not likely to break it by pushing the boundaries, it’s not super rigid and that starts to show a lot well before you are in too much danger of totally destroying it. It has come down in price, but it’s still money that could be put toward getting a larger and more powerful CNC router kit :person_shrugging:

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Hello,

I don’t think that this email was meant for me. However two days ago I was going to set up again my original Snapmaker 2.0. I was part of the original Kickstarter program and have one of the first 500 shipped.

I would like to know if there are any firmware updates and could I get a new set of instructions for setting it up?

Before I moved and stopped using it, I received a few replacement parts as the models were not sticking to the bed and I bought an enhanced laser. I also believe that I was sent a new nozzle.

I know that there is a Facebook group for the original model, but I don’t use it.

What is the best way to put my machine back in service. Funny thing is, I was planning to try tomorrow so that I can now use it with my grandson.

So, I see this email and find the timing amazing. Three days ago my son asked if I could set it up before there visit over the holidays.

Great to know how well Snapmaker has done. Your website shows your array of new products. In a year or two I might buy a multi colored one for my grandson.

Please, any advice or tips will be helpful or links to updated firmware.

I am in your database as one of the original model owners with my name engraved on the machine.

Thanks you,

Richard Weinberg
rdw1991@gmail.com

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Hi

You can find content specific to your device model on this page, such as user tutorials and software downloads.

Snapmaker

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Yeah, sorry, not to get off topic, but I also have been receiving email updates to this thread despite not participating in it. Is the message board having some kind of glitch?

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The forum is currently under revision, and some settings may have changed. You can unfollow this topic if you like! We’re continuously refining the details.

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The Snapmaker A350T’s 50W spindle is the main limiting factor here, especially for Merbau, which is a very dense, oily hardwood. It can cut the material, but only slowly.

1. Maximum realistic endmill diameter

  • The 50W spindle can only realistically handle 3.175 mm (1/8”) end mills.

  • Larger cutters will stall or chatter immediately.

  • Even the 200W head only supports up to about 4 mm in hardwood.

So the 1/8” single-flute you’re using is already the right tool for this machine

2. Settings to speed up your pocketing

Your current setup (1.4 mm stepover, 0.5 mm stepdown) is safe but very slow.

You can push it without overstressing the spindle:

  • Stepdown: 0.7 mm to 1.0 mm

  • Stepover: 40–50% of tool diameter (1.2 to 1.6 mm)

  • RPM: Max available

  • Feedrate: 500–700 mm/min

  • Use a single-flute carbide upcut for the roughing pass

This is about the max reliable removal rate you’ll get from a 50W spindle in Merbau.

3. Endmill type

Avoid generic “carbide/titanium sets.”

Use a proper carbide single flute specifically designed for small routers.

These clear chips better and reduce heat/burning in oily woods.

4. Baseline feed and speed for Merbau using a 1/8” single flute

  • Roughing: Max RPM, 500–700 mm/min feed, 0.7–1.0 mm stepdown

  • Finishing: Max RPM, 300–450 mm/min feed, ~0.3 mm stepdown

This keeps the spindle from bogging down while maintaining acceptable chip load.

5. Why it’s slow

  • The pocket is large (180 × 70 × 10 mm)

  • The spindle is only 50W

  • The tool diameter is small

  • Merbau is extremely hard and resinous

Even well-optimized toolpaths will be slow on this hardware.

6. About upgrading

The 200W head gives an improvement, but it still can’t run big tools.

If you want major speed increases on hardwood, you need:

  • A 500W+ ER11 spindle mod, or

  • A dedicated CNC router (Shapeoko, Onefinity, etc.)

Those allow 6–8 mm tools and much deeper cuts, which increases speed dramatically.

Short version:

The A350T is limited to 1/8” end mills with the 50W spindle, so your tool choice is already correct. To speed up Merbau pocketing, use a carbide single-flute and increase stepdown to 0.7–1 mm and feed to 500–700 mm/min at max RPM. Merbau is extremely dense, so even optimized cuts will be slow on a 50W spindle. The 200W upgrade helps a bit, but for real speed you need a stronger spindle or a larger CNC.

What stresses are we looking at? Here it is.

Spindle torque 80 to 90% safe but close to limits

Bit strength 60% well within limit

Module rigidity 50% no proble

Heat generation 70% risk 30% low

Chatter risk 30%

Use this advise at you own risk, this is only my take on it using cam or fusion360 Have fun printing.

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Definitely an AI answer.

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