By bonamore 08.04.2021

Depth of cavities

Design hollowed areas to maintain a 3:1 ratio of the opening to depth

CNC cutting tools have a limited length and they work best (fastest) when the depth of the cavity to be cut does not exceed the diameter of the cutting tool by more than 3 times

Cutting out deeper cavities is possible (4 or more times the diameter of the tool), but also expensive and time-consuming. Account for increased costs resulting from the following:

  • Need for specialist tools
  • Long and thin milling cutters tend to vibrate and can only be used to cut small sections at a time, making the whole milling process longer.

If deeper cuts cannot be avoided, consider the following cutting clearances: