Originally Posted by TOTALLYRC  The correct inserts for aluminum will make the a world of difference. The cutteres should be very sharp, as opposed to slightly rounded like cutters for steel, if I remember correctly, I did a test cut with the face mill I picked up and I got a very shiny, very smooth finish that wouldn't be to hard to polish.
I will post pics if you would like.
Mike |
Aha maybe that's why the face cutter didn't do as well as I expected. The inserts have a radius at the point which I thought would be better for getting a smoother surface. So I now have to get some pointed inserts too.
I am having a difficult time tramming the mill though so the face cutter will still leave a slight edge. It only needs one little piece of paper as a shim and the head goes too far. So I'm moving the paper up and down to vary the position. I suppose I'll have to get some shim stock as well.
I can't believe all the slop that is in the column if the gib isn't tight. I need to work on that also to give the normal machining a better finish. What the problem is there is that when I adjust the gib to the specs I can live with the Z has a hard time getting back up the column all the way. I have added a gas strut to the system recently and that has help considerably. I even tighten the gib lock up a tad while 2.5d milling.
If you have pics handy I would like to see what I should expect to get. Thanks.
Thanks Mike.
Rick