I’ve been setting up my Tool Library and really like how MillMage lets me define geometry, material, and so on. One thing I noticed: when I create a new tool, the Feeds and Speeds section pre‑populates with values (e.g. 600 mm/min feed, 120 mm/min plunge, 1 mm depth‑per‑pass, 40% stepover), but these don’t seem to change when I adjust geometry like diameter, flute count, etc.
I completely understand there’s no single “right” answer here and that machine, material, and cutter all matter. Still, it feels like a missed opportunity: the UI already has diameter, flutes, and geometry type, but the defaults look static, so it’s hard to know if they’re meant as real starting points or just placeholders.
Suggestion (non‑urgent, nice‑to‑have):
When a new tool is created, use the geometry plus a couple of simple assumptions (tool type, diameter, flute count, maybe a coarse material type) to generate editable starter values for feed, plunge, ramp, step‑over, and depth per pass, instead of the same fixed numbers every time.
Alternatively, a per‑geometry “default template” that users can set themselves would already be a big help, even without a built‑in calculator.
I’m really enjoying learning MillMage and I’m fully aware some of what I’m seeing is my own newbie experience on an entry‑level X‑Carve, not the software. This idea is just about making the Tool Library a bit more self‑explanatory for people bringing in a collection of router bits and trying to build up a good library from scratch.
In the meantime I have created a simple html app that I launch to serve as calculator.
I’ve modified the single page web app to align with Millmage naming conventions and sort order to make transposing a bit less hunt and peck. I have also added Runtime Tuning sliders to tweak spindle speed and feed rates. I realize this space very dependent environmental, material, machine, tool, etc… variables. My goal is to create some sort of parameterized tool that allows me to perform some virtual calculations prior to spending time and material performing live runtime tests.
Thanks for the interest. I should clarify that this is just a small personal prototype I run locally in my own shop as a single-page HTML file, not a hosted app or public service.
I only included the screenshots to help illustrate a MillMage feature/workflow recommendation from an end-user perspective. I’m a retired IT guy and hobby user, not a software vendor or service provider, and I’m not looking to get into hosting, support, or customer service around it.
At this point I’m using it strictly as a local “what if” helper to think through baseline feeds, speeds, and related settings before entering values into MillMage. So for now, I’m not planning to provide a public link or online access.
I do appreciate the community interest and the ideas people are sharing, and that feedback is useful as an end user.
You call it a feature, but it is more of a tool. I cannot tell if you are willing to share or not from your answer. But if having a place to park the web page is the only issue, you might ask @misken if he would be willing to put it on his more-than-appropriate website. Melvin sets the standard for sharing. https://diode-laser-wiki.com/
If you’d like to have it hosted, I can upload it here: https://tools.diode-laser-wiki.com/ That’s a page I created for this purpose, to upload small laser/cnc tools that are mainly vibe coded but still useful for others. I can add yours, if you like (with your credits, of course ). I have some small tools in the pipeline that I will add over time there as well.
