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Routing with the Roland MDX-50

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Roland’s MDX Series mills can be used right out of the box for engraving, routing, drilling, and milling operations.

We commonly see educators teach students a variety of routing applications, such as wooden plaques, simple signs, and even custom gift boxes.

In this step-by-step guide, we’ll show you how to use the Roland MDX-50 for routing.

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  1. Mount a sacrificial piece of material to the center of the milling bed. This piece should be the same density of your cutting stock.
  2. Secure the routing stock to the sacrificial material.
    • Note that you will be cutting through the tape so use a thin double sided tape like banner hem tape (3M XQ series).
    • Also, take a caliper measurement of the routing stock thickness as you will use this to set the tool depth later.
  3. Load the machine with a 1/8” square end mill.
  4. Set the XYZ Origin.
  5. For this project, we are using Roland’s easy-to-use software Engrave to load a file, set the conditions, and perform the routing. Select File → Cutting Setup then edit the artboard to represent the routing stock dimensions. Import or create your paths into the program and position them on the artboard accordingly.
  6. Select File → Print, choose the intended mill from the pick field and select “Properties”. Then select the Tool Tab and choose a material profile that corresponds with the routing stock.
  7. Change the “Z Down Position” to the stock thickness plus 1-3mm to make sure the tool completely cuts through the routing stock.
  8. Click “Okay” and send the job to the mill.

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Once complete, you should have a path cut through the entire depth of the routing stock. The double-sided tape will have kept the desired piece secured throughout the process and can easily be removed for finishing.

Read a set of full in-depth tutorial instructions + tips for this project here.

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author avatar
Christine Archer

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