Engraving Ritchey Cattle Ear Tags

[Hangin J]

Hello All,

Are there any members that have engraved the Ritchey Cattle Ear Tags. I am new to the CNC world so my learning curve is pretty steep right now. These tags are a softer plastic.. Looking for suggestions for what bit would work best to get a clean engrave.

Thanks
Jeff

[Claderholt]

Hi there! I'm trying to dial in settings for Ritchey tags also. Did you ever find good settings or have any tips and tricks?

[Rando]

Claderholt (and belatedly Hangin J):

I'd treat it like HDPE, even possibly LDPE (Low Density Poly-Ethylene). Otherwise known as cutting-board material.

You should be able to cut it fast (100+ ipm) at relative low RPMs (90-degree engraving bit at 10k RPM).

The thing to watch for is melting of the plastic, and you can check that by looking at the chips....or if plastic collects on the bit.
If you see melting, which is unlikely given the amount of cutting in each tag, it will be that the cutting bit is getting hotter,
so lower the RPM 5-15% to make the chips bigger and thus have them carry the heat away better. But, with a v-bit for
engraving, the very tip is pretty much always going to generate **some** heat.

I'd go with a cut-depth about 50% deeper than the thickness of the colored-plastic layer so that variations in the flatness don't affect it.

Now, how you'll hold the cows down to get them in the CNC, well that's YOUR problem

Hope that helps,

Rando

[ita47]

I know this is an older post, but did you guys ever get this figured out? I just purchased a used (but basically new) HD 3.0 and I would like to also be able to carve Ritchey tags. How are you holding them down, what bit are you using and what speeds?