i vs ChipSense CNC
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
i
This utility app assists machinists with CNC calculations, including cutting speed, RPM, and feed rate. It also provides databases for hole and shaft tolerances, as well as detailed thread specifications.
- Cutting speed calculation
- RPM calculation
- Feed rate calculation
- Hole and shaft tolerance database
- Thread data
- Milling, drilling, and turning operations
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iMachinist is a simple to use CNC calculator app that calculates for you the cuttings speed, RPM, feed rate and more for your milling, drilling and turning operations. iMachinist also includes a database for Hole and Shaft Tolerances and different Threads. Threads Data: - Outer Diameter (max/min) - Pitch Diameter (max/min) - Core Diameter (max/min) - Thread Height (max/min) Tolerance Data: - Zone (Shaft/Hole) - Grade (Shaft/Hole) - Diameter (Shaft/Hole) Cutting Calculator: - Tool Diameter - Cutting Speed - Spindle Speed - Number of Teeth - Feed per Tooth - Feed Rate
ChipSense CNC
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ChipSense turns your iPhone into a real-time cutting coach for your CNC router or mill. It does something no other app does: it fuses AUDIO and VISION. ChipSense listens to the cut through the microphone to detect the acoustic signature of regenerative chatter and rising tool load, and at the same time reads the wood grain through the camera to spot knots and hard, figured areas before your bit reaches them. It combines both into a single, live Cut Risk — and tells you exactly when to ease the feed, and when to stop. WHY IT MATTERS • Chatter and overload are how bits dull, snap, and ruin a workpiece. They almost always announce themselves in the sound of the cut — a few seconds before the damage. • Hard grain and knots are visible before you hit them. ChipSense sees them coming. • Catch either early and you save bits, save stock, and get a cleaner finish. WHAT YOU GET • Live cut-state read-out: Idle, Nominal, Heavy load, Chatter, Critical. • Chatter detection tuned to reject spindle-synchronous tones (it knows the difference between the normal cut and self-excited chatter). • Camera grain map that highlights knots and hard grain as a live heatmap. • A fused Cut Risk that combines what it hears and what it sees. • A clear feed advisory — ease off, hold, or all clear — with a suggested feed-rate override. • Built-in demo scenarios so you can see exactly how it responds to a knot, chatter, or a clean cut, with no machine and no setup. HOW TO USE IT Prop your iPhone near the cutting zone with a view of the workpiece, start monitoring, and cut. ChipSense advises in real time. It is a monitoring and advisory tool — it does not control your machine directly. Patent pending. Built by machinists, for machinists.
Screenshots
Verdict
i and ChipSense CNC are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | i | ChipSense CNC |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.6 (9 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 33.3% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 9 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 8 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ilan TETRUASHVILI | The Giving Stump, llc |
In-app purchases
i
No in-app purchases
ChipSense CNC
No in-app purchases









