Cutting Aluminium

[djh82uk]

Hi Guys

Im cutting out some Aluminium motor brackets from 6082 Aluminium on my Taig with a 8mm 4 flute Carbide End mill.

Should I be using lubricant? I have not bought a pump setup etc yet as I cannot figure out the best way to set it up (tray to catch the coolant etc, and does it need to be filtered?)

where the plate is being cut out (1/4" flat bar) im getting nicks in the side wall of the piece that runs all the way down. I will try an attach an image as soon as I can resize it.

Should I be able to cut aluminium dry? My problem may partially be that my spindle will only go as low as 10,000 rpm (Kress 800FME).

What sort of IPM would I need to work with that? and what depth of cut?

Any help uch appreciated.

Thanks

DJH

[dertsap]

you need some type of lube , use some wd40 or a spray bottle with soap . motor oil works ok as well
or you can go to home depot to the pipe section and buy thier theading oil , its cheap and it works well
you'd be better off using a 2 flt end mill if you have one

[Geof]

ATF. Automatic Transmission Fluid works like a charm on aluminum. Just brush it on.

Also as mentioned a two flute cutter is best.

[Sillo]

Hi
I use a parrafin on my lathe apply with brush
Cheers

[djh82uk]

Heya

ok, so I deffo need lube? Is it worth going down the coolant flood road?

As I don't want to sit their all day applying wd40.

Also is the 2 flute better as it creates less heat? (less surface area of the tool on the material?)

Thanks

DJH

[dertsap]

2 flute wont pack up with chips and cause a meltdown , coolant would be the best choice , oils are the alternative

[CalG]

Parrafin is kerosene!

If you don't want to be tending the machine with a brush or spray bottle, Flood with water soluable oil (coolant) is best. Misters are unhealthy unless you have a "smog hog" ;-))

I like the squirt bottle with sol. oil for milling alu. a squirt across the work piece, and then a bit more up high on the cutter so it runs down. repeat as required!

Cal

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Heya

ok, so I deffo need lube? Is it worth going down the coolant flood road?

As I don't want to sit their all day applying wd40.

Also is the 2 flute better as it creates less heat? (less surface area of the tool on the material?)

Thanks

DJH

Get a mist coolant sprayer - all the benefits of flood, without all the mess. I use it on my knee mill, and it works great - virtually no mess, no smell, and uses VERY little coolant. I've been working through the same gallon of KoolMist for several years. I rarely use more than about 1/2 gallon of diluted Koolmist in a full day of *heavy* milling.

For aluminum, use only 2-flute, or special 3-flute "aluminum cutting" endmills. 4-flutes will clog up very quickly in aluminum.

Regards,
Ray L.

[scudzuki]

I worked on knee mills and engine lathes for years without flood coolant. We used flood type coolants dispensed from spray bottles. Of course this wouldn't do for a 3 hour contour milling job but it will get you by in a pinch. I am surprised at the number of posts I see discussing milling aluminum with carbide... although I see that carbide tooling has come down in cost considerably, the low spindle speeds available on hobby mills make HSS a more appropriate choice. HSS tooling can be dressed with standard grinding wheels as well. Also, the suggestions to stick to 2 or 3 flute end mills are good advice (3 flutes are stronger and deflect less but concentrate heat more).
Joe

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I worked on knee mills and engine lathes for years without flood coolant. We used flood type coolants dispensed from spray bottles. Of course this wouldn't do for a 3 hour contour milling job but it will get you by in a pinch. I am surprised at the number of posts I see discussing milling aluminum with carbide... although I see that carbide tooling has come down in cost considerably, the low spindle speeds available on hobby mills make HSS a more appropriate choice. HSS tooling can be dressed with standard grinding wheels as well. Also, the suggestions to stick to 2 or 3 flute end mills are good advice (3 flutes are stronger and deflect less but concentrate heat more).
Joe

I have a knee mill with a 3HP spindle, that I run up to 8200 RPM. Mist provides all the cooling that machine requires, even when run to it's limits (~4 cu. in./min. removal rate in 6061). Neither my tools nor my work ever get more than warm to the touch, even when pushing a 3/4" HSS endmill as hard as it can be pushed. Flood really seems like serious overkill to me on a hobby machine - good for bragging rights, but not much else. All the talk about the alleged health problems with mist I think come from using it improperly. If you're getting enough in the air to give you breathing problems, you're using too much. I just finished spending the whole day making a mountain of aluminum chips, and used about a quart of KoolMist mix.

Regards,
Ray L.

[FlyingElectron]

I'm running a CNCed X1 Micro Mill with flood cooling and I think it's a worthwhile upgrade to do. My opinion is that the tiny mills like the X1 (maybe the taig too) don't really have the HP or the rigidity to maintain proper speeds for the cutting tools in aluminum so end up being really hard on the cutting tools and creating poor cuts. After adding flood cooling, the cutting tools are lasting longer, the chips being cut are nice and shiny and the surface finish of the cuts are much improved.

Plus flood cooling forces you to build an enclosure which really cuts down on the mess and the noise so you get some side benefits too.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I'm running a CNCed X1 Micro Mill with flood cooling and I think it's a worthwhile upgrade to do. My opinion is that the tiny mills like the X1 (maybe the taig too) don't really have the HP or the rigidity to maintain proper speeds for the cutting tools in aluminum so end up being really hard on the cutting tools and creating poor cuts. After adding flood cooling, the cutting tools are lasting longer, the chips being cut are nice and shiny and the surface finish of the cuts are much improved.

Plus flood cooling forces you to build an enclosure which really cuts down on the mess and the noise so you get some side benefits too.

Yes, but you never tried mist, did you? I can guarantee you mist would've given all the same functional benefits, without the enclosure, and the mess of flood. Flood works just fine, and makes perfect sense on a production shop VMC, but it's overkill on a small machine. You must have an enclosure, you must deal with the unavoidable mess, potential biological problems, and the extra expense of the coolant. That all goes away with mist, and you're left with just the benefits.

Regards,
Ray L.