How to cut any material on a CNC router
The feed & speed calculator gives you the numbers; these guides give you everything the numbers can't - which bit, how to hold the work, how to clear chips, and how to read the cut when it goes wrong. Each guide embeds the calculator pre-filled for its material, so the tool and the teaching live together.
Start with the material you're cutting. Every guide cross-links to the exact feed & speed page and to the troubleshooting pages for when a cut misbehaves.
How to cut softwood, HDPE and foam on a CNC router
The forgiving group - softwood fuzzes, HDPE gets gummy, foam collapses.
Read the guide →How to cut hardwood on a CNC router
Downcut/compression, watch grain and density, burning means feed faster.
Read the guide →How to cut plywood on a CNC router
Compression bit for clean both faces; glue lines dull bits fast.
Read the guide →How to cut MDF on a CNC router
Cuts easily, but the fine dust is a hazard - extract hard, use carbide.
Read the guide →How to cut acrylic on a CNC router
Single-flute O-flute, evacuate chips, ramp in, cast cuts cleaner than extruded.
Read the guide →How to cut aluminium on a CNC router
Single/two-flute carbide, shallow passes, make chips not powder, lubricate.
Read the guide →How to cut brass and non-ferrous metal on a CNC router
Brass grabs the cutter - climb-mill risk, near-zero-rake tooling, light cuts.
Read the guide →How to cut PCB and FR4 on a CNC router
Glass-fibre abrasion destroys tooling - diamond-coat/carbide; dust is toxic.
Read the guide →