I'm looking for a way to mill some aluminum for some projects, a maximum of 1/2" thick. I was wondering if it's cheaper to have a CNC machine and upgrade or to build my own. I'm fairly new to CNC milling and looking to learn and experiment! Any help regarding the rail system, spindle, and the rest will be greatly appreciated!
Hi,
milling metals, even soft metals like aluminum requires a very rigid machine.
Many of the cheap Chinese CNC router deals that abound on the internet are likely not rigid enough to do aluminum, at least with good accuracy and surface finish. I don't mean to
disparage the cheap Chinese routers, although I can be pretty scathing about some Chinese made products, they are by and large good for wood and plastics and very modest
cuts in aluminum, and are very fair value. I suspect you would be disappointed with them if doing aluminum.
May I suggest you look at the Rong Fu 45 drill mill and the clones of it. Here in New Zealand $2000NZD ($1200USD) would get you a basic drill mill, single phase of say 2hp.
They are rigid enough to do a good job in aluminum, and a fair job in steel with suitably cautious machining. Even if the idea of buying one of these units either new or secondhand
and then converting it to CNC does not appeal, you will at least see what a commercially available machine is, and looks like, and most importantly is rigid enough (just) to do the
job you want.
If you were buying either new or secondhand, either converting or upgrading to CNC or building your own from scratch it will have to be at least as rigid as a drill mill like a Rong Fu 45.
CNC Milling Aluminium
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Re: CNC Milling Aluminium
