Cut 1st pc if aluminum

[scheek]

I just cut my first pc of aluminum. It was .25 and I was cutting out a 10" wheel. My setup was about .3 mm increments and 8 inches a minute. I used WD-40 as a lube. From what I could tell the chip was okay. With a DYI-CNC I didn't want to push anything.

Is this about right for speed. I think I was running about 8-10K rpm. Too, how will I tell if my .25 mil bit is going bad?

Thanks

[scheek]

This is just for anyone cutting their first aluminum stock. I successfully cut a 10" wheel out of .25 plate. I did change to a HS bit-single flute. It cut smoother. However my 4 flute did well too.

My table top is fairly close but when I screwed my aluminum plate down in three places, I realized that my first pass was not hitting the surface everywhere. On the second pass it did.

What I learned was that I need to slow the machine down on that first pass so the bit avoids biting too deep in any surprisingly non level areas. Once the router made a good revolution and I was getting good chip, I increased the Feed until I was comfortable.

I never increased more than 12 inches/min and I did that on the last few passes. I ran most of the job at around 9 with a 12000 rpm.

I probably am using 6061 aluminum, not sure, but it did cut good. I understand from other post that 5000 get hard.

Anywho, that is what I did and happy.