BlueCarve Bluey v2

About the Machine

BlueCarve no longer sells this model, but it remains fully supported in Easel. The Bluey v2 was sold in four rail sizes: 1000 x 1000mm rail with a 750 x 750mm cutting area (base), 1000 x 1500mm rail with a 750 x 1250mm cutting area (portrait), 1500 x 1000mm rail with a 1250 x 750mm cutting area (landscape), and 1500 x 1500mm rail with a 1250 x 1250mm cutting area (half sheet), all with 100mm height clearance. It shipped with a bare 65mm spindle mount for a Makita trimmer or an optional 1.5kw air-cooled spindle, 340ozin closed-loop NEMA23 steppers, a GT3 belt-and-pulley drive, and a genuine GRBL 1.1h controller on an Arduino Uno. BlueCarve stated about 1 hour to assemble the kit's 5 main parts.

Cut Settings on this Machine

Every cut starts with one formula: Feed Rate = Spindle Speed (RPM) x Chip Load x Number of Cutting Edges (flutes). Chip load is the thickness of material each cutting edge removes in one revolution of the bit. This number comes from the manufacturer of the bit, which publishes a chip-load chart for each bit diameter and material. Look up your exact bit and material, start from the middle of the published range, and you have the third number in the formula. The chart below shows the recommended spindle speed for each material and bit type.

BlueCarve did not state a maximum RPM for the Bluey v2's spindle mount, since it shipped bare for a Makita trimmer or an optional 1.5kw upgrade spindle, so check the plate on whatever spindle is installed. The Bluey v2 ran on GT3 belts and pulleys rather than the ball screws or rack-and-pinion of BlueCarve's other machines, so it has less rigidity: a truly rigid, powerful machine can cut as deep as the bit is wide in a single pass, but that takes real spindle torque, a drive train and clamps that hold firm, a gantry that will not flex, and enough mass to soak up vibration. This machine falls short of that bar, so take shallower passes, especially on the larger 1500mm-rail sizes. Push too deep and the bit deflects and chatters, leaving scalloped edges, or it rubs instead of cutting and burns the material. The fastest way to dial in a cut is to see what has already worked for other people.

Worked example for feed rate: 1/8in (3.175mm) two-flute solid carbide end mill in hard wood. The chart says 16,000 RPM. BlueCarve did not state a maximum RPM for the spindle installed on a Bluey v2, so keep the example generic and check the plate on your own spindle. With the bit maker's 0.025mm per tooth (0.0010 in): 16,000 x 0.025 x 2 = 800 mm/min (31 in/min) feed. For depth per pass, start shallow and check Community Cut Settings in Easel for what works on this machine. If the cut sounds strained, reduce the depth, not the feed. Slowing the feed below the chip load makes the bit rub instead of cut.

Community Cut Settings shows the spindle speed, feed rate, and depth per pass other makers actually run for your machine, material, and bit.