I want that mirror finish

[CORBIN92087]

Ive been face milling this block of aluminum all day trying to get a mirrored finish and im not making progress. Im working on our manifolds and the ones we used to buy had a nice, smooth, mirrored finish and i cant make it happen. right now im using a 2 in. 3 flute indexible face mill and have run anywhere from 1500 rpm to 5000 rpm along with different feed rates and no luck. Are there special face mills for aluminum? where can i find them?

[tobyaxis]

Originally Posted by CORBIN92087 Ive been face milling this block of aluminum all day trying to get a mirrored finish and im not making progress. Im working on our manifolds and the ones we used to buy had a nice, smooth, mirrored finish and i cant make it happen. right now im using a 2 in. 3 flute indexible face mill and have run anywhere from 1500 rpm to 5000 rpm along with different feed rates and no luck. Are there special face mills for aluminum? where can i find them?

Use Polished Inserts (I Like Cermit) with a .03 Radius.

Feeds and Speeds will vary depending on the set-up and machine rigidity

[PixMan]

PCD (PolyCrystalline Diamond) and very high speed is the best assurance of results. It is NOT cheap to tool up, but it is something you only buy once and never look back.

I have a friend who bought one of these in a 3" 6-insert version. He went from running a 3-insert carbide face mill at 45 inches per minute to running this one at 225 inches per minute. The surface finish went from a 24~32 Ra range to 4~6Ra. With a wiper insert, he could be getting a 2!

http://valenite.com/internet/4558/In.../vflashcat.pdf

[RICHARD ZASTROW]

PixMan mentioned the magic word, WIPER. It will actually burnish the surface.

Dick Z