Will it cut it?

[akres15]

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=47158

Will that mill cut 5-9mm aluminum plate? I plan on using this machine for making small parts for Radio Control Cars and Boats. If not can you recomend a machine 500 or under that can?

Thanks

[SSfab]

44991 Harbor Freight. It's the X2, alot better then the X1 as you have there.

[akres15]

Will the X1 cut that type and thickness of metal? The x2 is nice but how much more would it cost to get me cutting?

[akres15]

Plus the X2 is a overweight item, so that is a extra $70-$80!

[sansbury]

The X1 will cut pretty much anything you can bolt to the table, short of hardened steel. Whether it will give you the results you want is another matter.

Compared to the X2, the X1 suffers the following disadvantages:
1. Smaller working area, especially in Y (under 2")
2. Poorer surface finishes due to lower rigidity
3. Required to take much lighter cuts to get acceptable results

Re 1, there are upgrades which give the X1 more working area than a stock, for a total price that costs more than a stock X2. You can buy them when/if you need them, so there is some advantage in terms of putting less cash up front.

Re 2, in aluminum, this won't be a problem unless you're trying for a mirror finish, but you will need to work harder and smarter to get good results.

Re 3, this depends on material and expectations. If you're not trying to hit .001" precision with showroom finishes, you should be fine. I found that I got the best results on my X1 using roughing endmills, and could easily take a half-width cut with a .250" mill up to .100" deep, cranking the wheels by hand. This would not give a good finish cut, but if you needed to remove material, it did it. Running in CNC, I'd scale back to a few hundredths or so.

[akres15]

Well, that is good to know. The biggest part i will be cutting will be about 2" by less then 1". The cut quality will be fine for me. I have the time to go at it with a file and dremel, etc. Presicion, i dont really care about! It doesn't need to be perfect as i can do the old file and dremel tool job. Thanks for all the help. Can you recommend any good end mills for cutting aluminum of my needs? Thanks for all the help!!

[sansbury]

My favorite endmill on my X1 was a 1/4" 3-flute rougher, or a 4-flute one when I needed a centercutting tool. The roughing mills allow you to take heavier cuts. I never tried 2-flute mills on the X1 but they might give good results too. I was able to use a 3/8" OK, but the 1/2" was pushing it too much. I bought a cheap 6-piece set but ended up using the 1/4" almost exclusively. So my suggestion would be to buy a few chinese cheapies in the size you'll actually use (you might want smaller ones to cut slots smaller than 1/4") and then get a couple of $10-$15 brand-name (OSG, Putnam, or other US-made) mills for finishing purposes once you've worked most of the "oops" moments out.

[akres15]

Thanks a lot, I'm excited to get one! It wont be til early summer as i am a student, so not much income, and i have a few R/C car projects that need money to finish. You were a great help! How about this set: http:/littlemachineshop.com/products/product_view.php?ProductID=2548&category=-1180321415