[firestorm1284]

I am BRAND new to milling, in fact I just got an X3 mill and the 8x14 lathe and just started making my first chips the other day. Everything seems to be going well so far EXCEPT for when I use the side of an endmill to cut a part. I believe this is called facing? I am cutting 6061 aluminum and I have tried both a 3/4" and 1/2' endmills, neither produce any kind of good finish and the machine does not seem to respond to this very well. I have adjusted my feed rate from fairly quick to very, very slow and everything in between with the same bad results. I have also tried climb and conventional cutting, both turning out badly. The 3/4 inch endmill is made by import and is brand new, it worked well for normal milling. The 1/2 inch endmill is a used, but sharp Putnam end mill. What am I doing wrong?!

By the way, in the pic, this was several different passes with different cutters at different depths of cut, but you can see that the quality of cut is very poor in all areas!

[Waldermac]

End mills not the best for a smooth finish, a fly cutter or multi-carbide surface finisher will give you better results. You might try locking the z axis during the cut as well.

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Something is obviously very loose - check your gibs, check for slop in the quill. Try using the locks on all unused axes.

Regards,
Ray L.

[firestorm1284]

Thanks for the replies guys, I tried locking all gibs down that I wasn't moving. (Leaving just one free). I also tightened up the gibs on all axes to the point where it is almost difficult to move the table. I tightened my vise down. I am STILL getting poor results. I tried running the cutter down the long way (X axis) following the vise jaws and the results were better. So when I am facing a part cutting in the Y axis is where I have problems. What is the deal?

Is 2000 RPM with a 1/2" cutter good enough? 2000 is as high as this machine will go...

Thanks for the help in advance!

[firestorm1284]

Also, Himy, how do I check for slop in the quill? I have it up all the way, I am just using the Z axis to get to the height I need, PLUS I have the quill handle locked in place. What else can I do?

[SCzEngrgGroup]

Also, Himy, how do I check for slop in the quill? I have it up all the way, I am just using the Z axis to get to the height I need, PLUS I have the quill handle locked in place. What else can I do?

To get a finish that bad, something has to be very wrong somewhere. Just go around the machine pushing, pulling and twisting on things, and figure out what moves that shouldn't. Could be lots of backlash in the screws.

Regards,
Ray L.

[sunworksco]

Did you figure out how to mill the 6160 ?

[firestorm1284]

Sun - No I didn't yet. I tend to agree with Himy that something must be loose, but I can't find ANYTHING loose at all. Could it possibly be my vise?