Aluminum Engaving


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Thread: Aluminum Engaving

  1. #1
    Member kolias's Avatar
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    Default Aluminum Engaving

    The 8.5"x21" control panel for my cnc is made presently out of 1/4" plywood and I will replace it with one made out of 1/8" aluminum. My cnc is made out of 1/2" thick aluminum plate, 3 axes, with 2 motors on the Y (A & Y)

    I did a few trial cuts on MDF to assure that all dimensions / letters are ok and today I did the final cut

    All square / round openings came out perfect but the letters which describe the function of each switch / pushbutton did not come out as my MDF sample.

    For the engraving I used a 1/16" 60 degrees V carbide bid, feed rate was 10"/min, plunge rate was 5"/min and the spindle was set to 8000RPM. Used same settings on MDF and the letters were all perfect.

    I used MastercamX5 and although its not perfect for engraving because you got to get the Art package, but it did a nice job on MDF and I was expecting to have the same results on aluminum.



    Anyone has done engraving on aluminum to tell me what I did wrong?

    Similar Threads:
    Nicolas


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    Registered Dolphin USA's Avatar
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    Default Difference

    What happen to the letters in the aluminum? Are you machining all the way through the aluminum and did you machine all the way through the mdf? What was the thickness of your mdf?

    Dolphin CAD/CAM Support


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    for aluminum, i believe you could use somewhere 1" per min.. counting on its a sharp point bit..

    the almost zero dia on the tip, the rpm can be the max of your router..
    if you watch videos about metal engraving they are spinning 50-70K rpm.. ..

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cugaYJzeIg]DATRON CNC Engraving Steel 3D Mold - YouTube



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    Member kolias's Avatar
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    Thanks for the help Dolphin

    The engraving was done at a total of 1/32" deep in two passes, each pass 0.01562"

    The control panel aluminum is 1/8" thick

    Here are some pics. The MDF comes out perfect and the trial aluminum piece also is good. The final I did today has some good parts and some bad and I wonder why.

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum Engaving-_1st-aluminum-cut1-jpg   Aluminum Engaving-_1st-aluminum-cut3-jpg   Aluminum Engaving-dsc04121-jpg  
    Nicolas


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    ok.. try this... example capital A....

    set toolpath as inside profile...
    set ramping continous.. (spiral)
    set passes to 0.03 MM !!!

    and feed to 1 inch per min about..

    just make one letter test.. im curious because mdf shows your router makes the rigth geometry..

    edit...
    i forget to sya use simple arial font..



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    Member kolias's Avatar
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    Thanks Victorofga but cant do the sample right now because all the wiring is un done and in process replacing the control panel you see in the picture

    But I noticed that you say to use 0.03 MM / pass which is the same as I did but the feed is 1" and I used 10" which is too fast.

    I always use Arial fonts cause I like them

    Yes the machine produces good results and I was surprised with the final results of my engraving

    Will do the sample you saying as soon as the machine is working again and post back

    Nicolas


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    Member kolias's Avatar
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    The new aluminum control panel is now installed and did the engraving shown on the attache pic. used 2"/minute feed rate but since my 1/16" V engraving tool was not good anymore I used 1/16" single flute end mill.

    The results are much better especially now with the lower feed rate there are no chips flying around and can here that the cutting is not stressed at all. I will always use 1-2"/min feed rate.

    On the attached picture, only the top letters were cut today

    Also used a 4 Flute 1/8" end mill and cut the square shown on the 2nd picture

    Can also see the engraving video here

    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Aluminum Engaving-_6th-engraving-jpg   Aluminum Engaving-_6th-square-cut-jpg  
    Nicolas


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    Seems like you have a backlash issue?



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    Quote Originally Posted by BAMCNC.COM View Post
    Seems like you have a backlash issue?
    Perhaps but I can't find any.

    I can see that the lettering is not perfect but it could be my program. MastercamX5 is not good for engraving, must get the Art Package to do engraving, and I can only do now engraving in capital letters.

    The squares and circles I did are perfect so if I had a backlash issue it would have shown there too?

    Nicolas


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    MDF is not nearly as hard to cut as aluminum, can i see a pic of your cnc? sounds like machine is flexing or something is loose. When you cut the MDF its very little load so it doesnt show up, but when you cut aluminum it brings the cutter down, also looks like you had a different bit one could be dull?steppers look like they are not skipping because its all lined up.
    i also use mastercam x4 without the engraving and it does nicely. i just replace the bit with a larger one.



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    I think Sharpen is right.

    What I would do is turn my machine on so the steppers keep all the axis locked in place. Put a dial indicator on the machine and test each axis by hand by pushing/pulling on the gantry and Z plate and see if you can get the dial indicator to move. Otherwise if all axis are rock solid you are missing steps. Check that your machine is returning to the same XYZ zero after running the program.



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