Plywood/OSB High Production

[hep]

My company is just getting started with our ShopBot. We manufacture reinforced plastics bathtubs and showerbases. The ShopBot is for cutting OSB (7/16" & 3/4" thick) parts that go onto our units. I have a variety of sizes and shapes and I'm experimenting with cutters and feeds and speeds. Is anyone else out there attempting a similar task?
My router knowledge is limited and today I broke a bit, sheared it off where it meets the collet. I don't want to do that again! No injury, but no fun. I think my blade was getting dull and it was an inexpensive bit from a local hardware store. No longer will I use those. If anyone has some advice that may prevent me from hurting myself in the near future, I would gladly listen.

[phil]

My suggestion regarding a bit would be a spiral bit with teeth on the spiral (also known as hogging bit) as I assume that the edge finish is not as critical as fast cutting speed. This would be the fastest cutting bit. You can use a down spiral to help hold the sheet material down or an up spiral. An up spiral requires that the sheet of OSB be held down securely.

As far as speed and feeds start with your best guess and go up or down from there, if you start slow you can always speed up. You want to cut as fast as possible without burning the bit or the material. Router horsepower and RPM are other factors to consider. A 3 HP router should give good results. Also try to use a router which accepts 1/2" shank bits. The bits will last longer with a 1/2 shank and you get less vibration and you can push them a bit faster.

[jimt]

Another suggestion for a bit is a stagger tooth type. They have two flutes, but each is only half the length of the cutting length. they are made for fast cutting and clear chips well. also less costly than the spiral bits.

[maax@nas.com]

Phil & Jim: thank you for your responses. I just acquired a stagger tooth bit and I hope to try it today. The roughing bit (hogger) sounds like it might work best for me. I'll try that one as well. I'll let you know how it went. Thanks...

[hep]

To avoid confusion, my last message shows my identity as "maax" which is the company name...