Knowledge Base

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The advanced profile tab allows you to create your own YetiPilot profile, to suit your custom needs.

To select the correct power you need to fully understand how YetiPilot works!

YetiPilot aims to keep the spindle power balanced throughout the duration of the cut. The spindle reports its power consumption 50 times a second, and if YetiPilot sees that the spindle power is too high it reduces the feed. Or if the consumed power is too low, it increases the feed. 

Therefore the parameter that you need to adjust, to suit your material/cutter combination, is the spindle motor’s target load.

The target spindle motor load is made up of two components:

• Free load: The power required to spin the spindle in air (YetiPilot will automatically measure this by activating the spindle for ~5 seconds before the start of a job) - see “What is a spindle motor health check”

• Cut load: The extra power needed to keep the cutter rotating at the required spindle speed (RPM) as the tool cuts through the material.

To determine an optimal target load, run a job and adjust the motor load during the cut - watch the feed rate change (shown on the left of the screen, greyed out). Your aim is to achieve a feed rate which is suitable for your application.

Here are some helpful hints to help you pick the right target:

• Tool deflection (which causes inaccuracy) is directly proportional to target load. If you do not care about accuracy, and you have a strong cutter, you can use high power which will result in a higher feed rate.

• If you care about accuracy, you can pick from a range of strategies:

  • Run at high power, accepting deflection, and then include a finishing pass in the job file to clean up any inaccuracies. This can often be the best strategy. Learn how to include more finishing passes here.

  • Or, if first-pass accuracy is necessary:

    • Reduce the power to achieve a slower feed rate

    • Reduce step down for each pass

• High loads should not be picked for delicate cutters. 

• Low feed rates should be avoided, to avoid heat building up.

• If a high enough feed rate cannot be achieved, try reducing the step down distance.

• Note: spindle speed can be adjusted during the job using the controls in the dialogue

• Note: prior to cutting, it may be worth cutting specific “test trenches” to achieve the best experiments.

• Always ensure good extraction since this affects the chip load.