Roland Modela MDX-40 User Manual download pdf (Page 8)

Step 1. Start up

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Choose the tool

Square (Straight)

Square end mills have cutting blades on the bottom

and sides. Although flat, the tips have a gap in the

blades in the centre, which makes them suitable for

profiling, surfacing and roughing, but not drilling. Slot

drills have continuous blades at the tip which makes

them better suited for drilling.

Ball

This tip has a rounded tip like a ‘ball.’

It has cutting blades on the tip and the sides.

It is very effective as a finishing tool for curved

surfaces, giving a very smooth finish.

The main characteristics when choosing a tool is the tip shape, blade

diameter, flute length and shaft diameter.

Shape of the tool tip

For Rough cutting

+++++For fast and efficient rough cutting, you should use the widest tool which will take away the majority of

the unwanted material as quickly as possible. The largest diameter tool you can use with the MDX-40A is

6mm. However, this may be too wide for the geometry of smaller models and could leave too much material

behind for a fine finishing tool to remove in holes, cavities, etc. Using a wider tool for roughing also means a

finer finishing tool will be required during the cutting process and will have to be changed manually.

Alternatively, the whole model can be cut using a smaller tool which can both rough and finish cut, but this may

take considerably longer to finish.+So you must decide whether production time is more important than

unattended operation.

For finishing

Use the tool with the diameter that can fit into the smallest space of the model.

Select the square or ball end tool depending on whether the majority of the model has flat or curved

surfaces.

Radius

Also known as ‘bull nose’, the tool has a flat tip and rounded

corners, combining the elements of square and ball tools.

There are cutting blades on the tip and the sides. These tools

tend to cut faster than the ball equivalent because less

toolpaths are required. It is commonly used for roughing.

Conical

This V-shaped tool has a flattish tip and is used extensively

for engraving and also for fine detail work such as in jewellery

wax modelling. The tip sizes vary according to the width of

cut required.

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Roland Modela MDX-40 User Manual Page 8