Looking for good end mill for cutting acrylic

[SatanKlawz]

I want to be able to machine cast acrylic. I need advise on good mills to buy to do this. Thanks

[groov]

Originally Posted by SatanKlawz I want to be able to machine cast acrylic. I need advise on good mills to buy to do this. Thanks

I had the same question on another forum and here is the reply;

"1/8" O-flute, Onsrud 63-515, RPM at 13,000, feedrate at 130 ipm, and 0.05" depth per pass."

Got a pair of these cutters but haven't tried them yet...others may have different experiences.

Hope it helps.
groov

[ImanCarrot]

Depends on your RPM- it cuts fine for me with a 1" end mill, 2 flutes at 1000 RPM (millinng). High speeds tend to melt the stuff hence the 2 flutes- gets rid of the chips.

Use spray mist although you can get away with just air.

Cut CAST acrylic, not EXTRUDED, cast machines better.

The man to ask is Geof though, he knows a lot more about it than most (inc me!)

[ger21]

Use a single flute "O" flute, larger diameter the better.

[louieatienza]

Originally Posted by groov I had the same question on another forum and here is the reply; "1/8" O-flute, Onsrud 63-515, RPM at 13,000, feedrate at 130 ipm, and 0.05" depth per pass." Got a pair of these cutters but haven't tried them yet...others may have different experiences. Hope it helps. groov

I've been testing my 1/4" and 1/8" spiral O flute cutters on cast acrylic with success. To me they work great with routers and their higher RPMs... I have the Amana brand that are made for aluminum, but they cut acrylic just as well.

[ImanCarrot]

I've just ordered 10 Solid Carbide, 2mm dia, two flute, end mills TiAlN coated to cut some acrylic. They cost about 10 quid each.

I'm cutting hundreds of small (17mm dia) disks out of big (70mm dia) disks about 6mm thick.

I know from experience that 750 RPM and 200mm-min is about the fastest my mill will go without breaking the HSS tools that I previously used. DOC= 0.5mm, full engagement along the 6mm flute length.

Hopefully the Solid Carbide tools will last longer- and I wont need to use coolant, just air :P

I'm expecting to be cutting early next week so I'll ramp the speed and feed up till I break a tool and post the results.

[SatanKlawz]

750rpm? my router will not go that slow. I was thinking more in the 20k range.

[ImanCarrot]

Ah, you're gonna have problems with melting... I don't know anything about cutting at that speed. Anyone else?

[Signmaker]

Single flute cutters are the way to go.

As far as RPM's go the sweet spot for good quality cast acrylic is between 16- 18k.

If you want to chop out extruded acrylic use the same RPM's and feed rates just make sure your router bits are sharpy sharp.