Need Help!- What's the best CNC Cutting machine for Aluminum?

[MMonster]

Hi Everyone,

We are located 'Down Under' and would really appreciate some information and feedback on what would be the best CNC profile cutting 'type' machine for 3mm & 5mm Aluminum. Not that happy with the cut by Plasma we've seen so far.

Any assistance on the ideal machine would be excellent.

Cheers

Brandon

[zoeper]

Brandon,

I have parts cut by waterjet and they come out OK. i think it also makes a big differance at what speed they run the machine. For my own parts i cut it all on the cnc mill and prefer vacuum for holding plate down - i'm a sucker for surface finish.

I know Unabiker does a lot of parts from ali sheet on his home made cnc router and he's got a good way of keeping the plates down also.

Hopefully he would come on board and give you some tips.

Good luck
Pieter

[ozcomponents]

Hi Brandon

i cut a lot of aluminium on a multicam cnc router.
From 1mm to 20mm sheet. I have found it is all about the cutters you use and the fluid used for coolant. I have been using Multicam routers since 2001 and I couldn't be happier. If you need more info. reply to this,More than happy to help. I'm based in Bairnsdale Victoria
Cheers Mick

[Steveb1307]

Hi, I have had 100% success having it water cut and extremely accurate. contact me if you are in Sydney and I will give you a phone number of who I use ... Steve

[jimcolt]

Brandon,

Don't lump all "plasma" cut capability in one category! There are entry level air plasmas that many use on CNC machines....then there are mid level conventional industrial plasmas....and on top of the performance curve are high definition class plasma. Further...the cnc machine and the z axis (torch height control) are critical to providing good cut quality on aluminum or any material for that matter.

Air plasma....on a machine with decent acceleration and accuracy, and a good height control system can cut aluminum very fast....but with typical cut accuracies in the plus or minus .025" range (sorry for the imperial measure)....where high definition plasma can hold tolerances down to .010", and will provide better metalurgy on the cut edge.

Best regards, Jim Colt Hypertherm

[frenzal]

Hi Brandon,

I use a homemade cnc router for cutting ally plate from 2mm to 20mm thick. A high feed rate (1000mm/min) and a small stepdown (1mm) works well for us with single flute carbide endmills. We could probably increase both of these if we installed some sort of coolant or misting system. This gives a much squarer cut than waterjet cutting that we have had done. Will leave pretty sharp edges though and you will need some way to hold the parts down (or leave tabs when you cut them out).

Regards, Leigh

[PRADEEP R.KHARE]

Originally Posted by MMonster Hi Everyone, We are located 'Down Under' and would really appreciate some information and feedback on what would be the best CNC profile cutting 'type' machine for 3mm & 5mm Aluminum. Not that happy with the cut by Plasma we've seen so far. Any assistance on the ideal machine would be excellent. Cheers Brandon

Dear Mr.Brandon
Laser cutting or water jet cutting will be the best.
Thanking you
Pradeep R.Khare
INDIA

[rgammage]

Hello Brandon

I have little experience in cutting aluminium but recent parts cut in brass with both water and laser cutting suggest that water is better when the parts are harder and laser can be very accurate but if the parts is hardened by rapid heating and cooling (as high carbon steel) then it is unsuitable. The water cut brass sufered from a tapered cut which I estimate to be close to 5 degrees, I would check for something similar in aluminium.

Regards

Richard

[rc123456]

Originally Posted by frenzal Hi Brandon, I use a homemade cnc router for cutting ally plate from 2mm to 20mm thick. A high feed rate (1000mm/min) and a small stepdown (1mm) works well for us with single flute carbide endmills. We could probably increase both of these if we installed some sort of coolant or misting system. This gives a much squarer cut than waterjet cutting that we have had done. Will leave pretty sharp edges though and you will need some way to hold the parts down (or leave tabs when you cut them out). Regards, Leigh

Leigh, are you using a Porter Cable type router for a spindle? I have a small K2 machine with a PC router on it, I want to try cutting ally but I'm kind of scared to.

[diycnc]

we use a turret on alum in that range. you will see nibble marks but the speed and accuracy is great.

[jimcolt]

Attached aresome pics of various thicknesses of aluminum....as cut with plasma. Very fast speeds....virtually no dross. A slight oxidation effect on edges, and a slight taper.....but the speed cannot be beat if you need parts fast!

From left to right..3/4", 1/2", 1/4", 1/8" and 1/16".

Jim

[frenzal]

Originally Posted by rc123456 Leigh, are you using a Porter Cable type router for a spindle? I have a small K2 machine with a PC router on it, I want to try cutting ally but I'm kind of scared to.

Hi there. We used to have a GMC router on our machine (straight from the hardware store) and cut a lot of aluminium with that. We have now upgraded to a Chinese water cooled induction type spindle with a VFD for speed control (much quieter). The new one works a lot better with tiny cutters (0.3mm engravers and small single flute endmills) due to reduced runout but the old one was fine with anything 5mm or larger. If you take small cuts and keep a little lubricant up to the tool the router won't be under all that much load. Give it a shot! I'd definitely recommend the single flute endmills though. They seem to work a lot better on our machine than any others when cutting ally.