Aluminum is most often alloyed with other metals to enhance specific properties.
Cnc router aluminum feeds and speeds.
When milling or drilling or creating a tool path for a cnc machine the feed rate must be determined.
What s the 1 reason cnc routers fail to cut aluminum.
The five big challenges i have had with cutting aluminum various routers i have had are.
Wanted to share the results and feeds speeds used and compare to what others have had success with.
Start off using an rpm derived for the chip load for the material being cut see charts.
Optimizing feed rates and speeds.
It s a matter of using the right cutter or bit the correct feeds and speeds and avoiding various other pitfalls described in this article.
If the material you need is not listed let us know and we can help you find the right speed and feed for your piece.
Calculate feed and speed for cnc cutting tools machines and projects with our free calculator below all you need are the speed rpm number of flutes material and tool diameter.
Materials have rated surface speeds for a given type of cutter.
This speed is termed spindle speed and is directly related to the feed rate or surface speed which most machines are capable of doing up to about 200ipm.
Most spindles the term for the router attached to your cnc router will go from about 7 000rpm to 18 000rpm.
The harder the material the slower the speed.
I used an o flute 1 8 bit and i have the pro4896 and pap spindle from cncrp.
Feeds and speeds is generally used to refer to feed rate slew rate plunge rate and spindle rpm.
Either way there are a few starting points that might work for you.
Given the diameter of the tool and the surface speed the rpms of the spindle can be calculated.
The feed rate represents how fast the machine will move the router bit though the material when cutting and is critical to get right for leaving a good quality cut edge.
Tried out a complex part in 6061 the other day.
Lack of lubrication is the 1 reason cnc routers fail to cut aluminum.
This works particularly well for routers.
The textbook cutting speed for aluminum using a carbide tool is about 1 500 surface feet per minute at the high end and 1 000 at the lower end.
An overview can be found here.
16500 rpm 25 ipm 05 doc wd40 as lube.
What type of aluminum.
Increase the cutting speed feed rate until the quality of the part s finish starts to decrease or the part is starting to move from hold downs.