Hi all,

I'm new to the whole CNC scene, and have a Series 1 CNC Bridgeport. Does anyone have any suggestions on a decent tool that will allow me to do "v channel" engraving? I need something with a shank diameter of about 3/8" or 1/4 inch and that will work well with aluminum and acrylic. Thanks in advance for the help!!

Ian

Bits & Bits sells engraving cutters in 1/4" size, maybe larger. I've used their 1/8" bits on acryylic with good results.

https://www.bitsbits.net/index.php?main_page=index

Mike

Thanks Mike, they look like a very comprehensive source. I'll give them a try. Any suggestions on the best RPM for engraving 6061 T6 aluminum?

I can't really help much on speeds and feeds as I'm still learning about that myself. For carbide, I'd start with 600 fpm and 0.002 ipt chip load and play around from there.

However, I purchased ME Consultant Professional and ME Threadpal a while back as a package and am finding that it usually provides a good starting point for speeds and feeds as well as being a source for a lot of other useful info. What has me me confused a little with engraving is figuring out what diameter to use when a V-cutter is used. On a 1/8" V-bit with a 0.010 DOC, the diameter of the cutter will be much smaller than the shank diameter and I suspect that the smaller diameter is the one that should be used.

Getting speed/feed data on plastics seems to be harder to come by than for aluminum. ME Consultant Pro has an editable data base for feeds and speeds and I'm gradually collecting data for that.

Mike

Thanks for the input everyone!

Ian

I do quite a bit of engraving on my Fadal. The best thing i've come up with is from Harvey Tool Co. http://www.harveytool.com/

For aluminum I suggest at least 9000 RPM, 5 IPM entry FR and a 30 IPM mininmum FR for engraving.

we use a #1 center drill for all of our engraving works well in aluminum and stainless 5000 rpm feed .010

Spin it as fast as you can and start out with a slow feed for the 6061. Use a lubricant.

Good luck!

Scott

These micro 100 engraving tools are very good, but a little costly www.micro100.com