Hello All,
I have a few pieces I want to produce in the thousands on my 3-axis cnc mill. There are mostly 1/4" 6061, a few are 1/8" 6061, and dimensions of 3"x3" or 6"x4". They need to be planed on both sides and be milled and chamfer on one. They eventually will be anodized.
I am finding that bolting the pieces down is very time consuming and also does not make the pieces look so good as they have hold down holes in them.
My goal is to have a sheet of aluminum that I can put on an electromagnetic chuck and put a 1/8" steel plate where cuts do not need to be made. Plane the piece, flip plane, and then put steel pieces that are slightly inset of the part profile in position. Then I can proceed to mill the aluminum part out.
Cutting speeds will be pretty high, 40-70 inches per minute with 1/4" bit.
Is that even possible? Is there a more simpler way to eliminate hold down holes and speed up production.
Also any recommendations on good electromagnet chucks? My budget is 1500 and I want to get something with a window of 12x12.
Appreciate any input.
Thanks,
Steve