Ran my first batch of parts by hand for 3 weeks, now I let the CAM software pick my feeds
I used to dial in every speed and feed by feel on my old Bridgeport, and I swore the calculator was for guys who didn't know their machines. Three weeks ago I was cutting 6061 plate for a bracket job in my garage and snapped two 1/4 inch end mills in one afternoon, so I finally pulled up the speeds and feeds chart and let Fusion 360 spit out a number. Turns out I was running about 40 percent too fast on the rpm the whole time, and the finish came out cleaner than anything I got by ear. Has anyone else switched over to trusting the software numbers, or do you still tweak them by feel once the chips start flying?