[LSX]

I have a Pcnc1100 S3, I bought a 3 flute 2" face mill to use on some 6061, It looks like I could run about 475rpms at 2ipm feed rate? does that seem about right? I don't know at what depth of cut.

[soofle616]

HSS or carbide?

Fwiw I run my superfly (single carbide insert, roughly 2.6" diameter as currently configured) at 2500rpm. I get decent results from 12ipm at .075 DOC but if I want a really nice finish I come down to 10ipm and do a finish pass at .01-.005" DOC.

[jwatte]

For 475 rpm 3 flutes that sounds like a reasonable feed rate.
For carbide inserts I think you should be able to spin faster, and increase feed rate to match, although it does matter whether you're skimming or hogging.
Horsepower will limit how deep you can cut, and you get less of that the slower you spin. Then again, as speed and depth go up, torque goes down, so on small spindles, it generally needs some tuning to the specific setup, no matter what.

475 rpm at 2" diameter is only 250 sfm, which is fine for tool steel in 6061 but you can push much faster with carbide. Try 2000 rpm and feed at 8 ipm, if you're surfacing/skimming, and using carbide inserts.

[CL_MotoTech]

What geometry/type is the face mill?

[AUSTINMACHINING]

I have a Pcnc1100 S3, I bought a 3 flute 2" face mill to use on some 6061, It looks like I could run about 475rpms at 2ipm feed rate? does that seem about right? I don't know at what depth of cut.

Aluminum I ran max spindle speed with a 2" ripper mill. A good starting point would be max speed at .05 deep 1.8" step over at 30ipm. Flood cool if you can.I was using a solid r8 holder, not TTS