Newbie- Milling Hole Patterns in Alumnium Sheet

[cgrice]

Dear all,

This may seem like a very amateur request, but I would appreciate some advice on creating cut-out holes in an aluminum panel (0.070" thick, probably 6061). We have a Roland MDX540 machine with no coolant system (and are unlikely to get one anytime soon). We primarily use this machine for small graphite pieces and the aluminum panels would only be done occasionally.

That being said:

-Could someone recommend a good cutting bit for this operation? We use McMaster as our main parts vendor.

-Any recommendations for cutting speeds? This is not a high-throughput item so long machining times are acceptable. My greatest concern is doing this without a cooling system.

I'm sure there is a quick and easy resource to find this type of information, but this field is new to me. Any suggestions for good reference material would be appreciated as well.

Thanks!

[sp1nm0nkey]

You don't need a cooling system. Is there air in your shop? If you're super concerned, get a vortex tube and aim it at your end mill. Frost will start to form on it. I never run coolant, it's gross if you're not running 24/7. I just keep a container of tapping fluid by my machines to brush on once in a while, especially on stainless or titanium. For aluminum sheet? Nah. As for what end mill, go for sintered carbide, TiCN, 3 flute. I like niagara, design rite, whatever. The diameter, feeds, speeds, all that will depend on the part and the machine. On my own machines, for aluminum I just run the spindle as fast as it'll go if the end mill dia is less than 3/8ths of an inch or so. http://www.niagaracutter.com/solidca...speedfeed.html a chart like this is good for determining actual feed rates. Good luck!

[laka]

You'll probably have a heck of a time holding on to this piece of material if you want to use and endmill. How about a plain old hole saw and just deburr the edges when you're done. Endmill is going to want to pull up on the piece of material, if you use a hole-saw with some plywood underneath you'll just have to keep the work from spinning.

[sp1nm0nkey]

Oops! I didn't see you were trying to make holes. Yep, either a hole saw, or use greenlee punches.

[A1CNC]

I rout aluminum on my router frequently with no coolant. If the spindle speed is in the router range (10krpm or more) Use either an onsrud o-flute 1 flute cutter, or a micro 100 1 flute cutter, Mcmaster sells the Onsrud I am pretty sure. These are great,

[A1CNC]

I rout aluminum on my router frequently with no coolant. If the spindle speed is in the router range (10krpm or more) Use either an onsrud o-flute 1 flute cutter, or a micro 100 1 flute cutter, Mcmaster sells the Onsrud I am pretty sure. These are great,
just use double sided tape to hold the material down.