Yes, stock resizing is a time waster all right. Depending on the accuracy that you need, an investment in a "cold saw" might be good, although these things are not really cheap either. These are nothing more than a high speed steel blade driven by a worm drive gearbox, similar to a mitre cutoff saw.
I have a Bewo cold saw sold by Scotchman. I modified it by adding a variable frequency AC drive to it so I can optimize the rpms. The saw is built for sawing steel, so it is sort of low on speed for aluminum sawing, but I make do by running the motor 100% above the nameplate rpm (at 120hz) via the frequency drive.
It uses a hollow ground blade, up to 14" dia (.125 kerf width) and so the cut faces are pretty smooth and square. Different blade sharpenings are available for cutting different materials. For a lot of work, the saw cuts are good enough to call finished, and are square enough for good positioning in the milling vise.
With a 14" blade, I can cut off material up to 6" wide. This unit has a self-centering vise that is split in the center to allow the blade to descend through it. So, both the stock end and the cutoff piece are clamped for the entire cycle.
With some scrounging, you might be able to make up a machine like this for cheap. Depending on your slotting requirements (are you sawing heat sink fins?), you could also use such a saw for that purpose. A large diameter saw might leave an acceptably shallow radius at the bottom of your slots. You might want to have a custom blade made with a reduced thickness rim for sawing heat sinks.
__________________ First you get good, then you get fast. Then grouchiness sets in.
(Note: The opinions expressed in this post are my own and are not necessarily those of CNCzone and its management) |