Drilling on the small CNC - Possible? Advisable?

[gordoa40 (Adam Gordon)]

For reference, here’s the results of a time it happened in the past from drilling 5mm holes in maple plywood:

I started a fire on the big cnc and removed the spoilboard

[20241211_181003] [20241211_181019] A big lesson to learn from this, if you smell smoke or suspect a fire please turn the vacuum off immediately.

Here’s some advice @AlexSchoedler had when it happened then:

I started a fire on the big cnc and removed the spoilboard

Couple of thoughts for anyone reading, I’m not exactly sure what speeds and feeds were running, the vacuum certainly didn’t help but I don’t think it’s all about the vacuum. 1.) I’ve had success across the board using 1/8" compression bit end mills meant for CNC and doing a pocketing path with a ramp, compared to a drilling path. Primarily for a heat dissipation standpoint and also to help get chips out of the pocket. Something like 1/4" of thickness per pass at ~110 ipm feed rate, and 25-35 ip…