vise and aluminum end millls for noob, need recommandations!

[JinMTVT]

hi all,
looking for a vise and tooling for our new cnc router

thought we'll mainly work on sheets hold by the vacuum and clamps,

we'll also work some aluminum and plastic parts
and i would like to invest only once on quality VISE

so far from searches on this forum and on internet i've found the following :

kurt 6" regular
glacern premium 6" ( can possition on vertical which is good option i believe )
quick lock ( approx price? ..i like the quick jaw attachment..but no vertical? )
nonmaes on shars.com and some quality taiwan ones

don't need to change parts fast at all, will probably never see real production, moslty one off or few part with no time restrictions

but i want a quality vise
i have bad experiences with cheap ones on manual mill


up to now, the glacern with their aggressive pricing seems like the best option, but i'll let you pros decide on that




end mills:

was looking at carbide endmills for aluminum machining
machine is a heavy router ( 5X10 table ) with a 12hp hsd spindle
will be able to take light cuts to be more gentle on the machine and the tools because we probably won't have much time restrictions again ..

what kind of toooling should i be looking for ?
this is a full 3d machine, that will probably get a 4th axis pretty soon
mostly aluminum, some plastics

alot of wood ( but i'll post the endmill questions in the wood working forums )

was looking at
SGS Tool Company - A Leading Manufacturer of Precision, Solid Carbide Cutting Tools.

looks like quality products
any comments?

i would like to invest in quality tools, since i will not purchase a large quantity
and should be able to have the tools last long
( if i don't make too many mistakes )

which sizes should i be looking for ?
what about ball end mill for 3d functions ?
should i get roughing and finishing endmills or purchase 1 that do it all ?
we have a 6pos ATC on this machine


thanks all for your time

[JinMTVT]

also i will need to look for a drillikng/tapping tool/holder

what information do you need to recommend me ?
i would like simple products, but high quality

the machine has ATC, i will need to verify what is supported in terms
of tapping ( only need spindle off and reverse ?? ")

[fizzissist]

I think SGS solid carbide mills suck.

Kurt is good. Glacern looks like it's quality. Mounting on side, can be good. Vertically? Why? Likely your spindle won't clear.

Tapmatic.

[JinMTVT]

I think SGS solid carbide mills suck.

Kurt is good. Glacern looks like it's quality. Mounting on side, can be good. Vertically? Why? Likely your spindle won't clear.

Tapmatic.

sorry but i really meant on "side" as you mentioned
( the part will be vertically...was all clear in my head!! haha )

SGS sucks ? ok could you please explain why
and tell me which tools you would point me to then ?

Kurts are double price of the Glacern ...
i'd prefer getting a side mount 6" for the same price then a regular
and they do look like quality tools ..but are they ?
i have no experience at all with any of those 2
but i know Kurt has been around and are reliable equipment

anyone has first hand experience with Glacern vises ?

[fizzissist]

I was using SGS on 304SS, with lousy tool life.
One day I broke a brand new one on the first slot of an O-ring groove, not far into the cut..replaced it with a Dataflute, finished that slot and the rest of the job. Never went back.

For high speed alum 3D profiling, I don't have much to compare with.

Helical Solutions is supposedly the exact same formula, by the Dataflute originator (according to local tool rep, not confirmed). I stuck with Dataflute just 'cause.

I've heard some talk around here about the Glacern, but I'd like to hear too some direct comparison between it and the Kurt.

For drilling, I love the Albrechts. For tapping, Tapmatic. Pricey, both, but good.

[JinMTVT]

no more input ?
have i used the wrong forum section ?

anyone has exp. with the glacern vises ? at the price , seems like the best option

then what about endmils from companies such as :

- Fraisa
- Emuge/franken

????

What do i need to know about my machine to determine which kind of tapping tools i need ??
thanks all

[JasonR]

I am running 3 of the Glacern 6" double vises on my VF-3.



They were considerably cheaper than the 6" Kurt double vises. So far I am very happy with them. They are on a machine running production parts 10 hours a day being cycled every couple hours. I also have a couple Kurt D688 vises on my other machines and would put their quality on par with each other. Keep in mind that all my vises are less than 3 years old. Will the Glacern vises still perform like the Kurts when they are 10 years old? Not sure, but so far they have been fine.