[Stuff-Builder]

Hi all,

I've been admiring those tricko single-flute router cutters made for aluminum by Onsrud and others.

I was wondering since my Taig will go to 10K rpm, would this type of cutter be useful? Or is that still too slow a speed for these critters?

I do almost exclusively aluminum cutting, and most of it is just appearance stuff, not close tolerance.

Thoughts?

Scott

[warpedmephisto]

Thing you have to watch out for is that as your RPMs increase your torque drops off severely and you won't have the power to pull through a cut. That is if you're running the stock motor/pulley setup. I stick with 2 flute high helix HSS cutters and run at 4800 rpm and have no complaints on aluminum. It also really depends on your DOC and what type of cut you're making.

[Stuff-Builder]

Warped,

Thanks for the reply. I wondered about the torque as well. I'll have to do some more research, but it looks like companies are routing aluminum aircraft parts.

What feeds and depth of cut are you running?

I do a lot of cutting with 1/4" end mills in aluminum and manage about 16-18 ipm, with a depth of cut of around .050". This has been with a 3-flute HSS end mill. I just got a 2-flute solid carbide cutter from Enco. Haven't cut with it yet but I'm interested to try it.

According to Microcut (http://www.microcutusa.com/slotcuttingcond.html) I should maybe be backing off on the speed a little bit, but they recommend an 1/8" depth of cut.

Scott

[warpedmephisto]

For general hogging I use a 1/4" HSS high helix 2 flute 0.100" deep, 50% chip load at 20 IPM at 4800 RPM. For 100% chip load I slow it down to 10 IPM. I also use a 3/16" HSS high helix 2 flute quite a bit, but I have to run it at 0.050" or so deep 50% chip load at 10-15 IPM otherwise the flexing in my Taig makes for a sloppy cut. For 100% chip load I have to slow it down to 5-6 IPM.

I have not tried carbide yet simply because they say they actually cut nicer at double the feed of HSS. I'm afraid my machine just can't handle that type of force, so I stick with HSS. I have thought of making a new head and spindle assembly to get some more rigidity out of it, but haven't done anything yet. I also run flood coolant which helps with removing the chips and keeping things nice and cool when making heavy cuts.

[Stuff-Builder]

What exactly do you mean by 50% chip load? I have never heard that measurement expressed as a percentage.

How are you getting 4800 rpm? Do you have a different motor or speed control? The stock pulleys give 4200.

I'm in the process of setting up a flood coolant system. What coolant do you use? I picked up a gallon of the Kool-Mist 78 - probably will last me the rest of my life...

Overall though, it appears I'm not too far off from where you're running.

I'll let you know how my carbide tool works out.

Scott

[warpedmephisto]

I meant that only 50% of the cutter is cutting. Meaning that if you have a 1/4" end mill, only 1/8" width is being taken off (climb milling). It makes it a lot easier on the machine from what I've experienced. My manual says 4300, not 4800, just got it mixed up.

Right now I'm running some cheapo Enco coolant. I didn't know exactly what to use so I just went for the cheap stuff to start out, and check for leaks with. I have some Astro-Cut B coolant on order and am going to see how that works for me. Like you, it will probably last me the rest of my life.