The Best Aluminum Milling CNC Machines for Hobbyists - home cnc machine aluminum
What are the implications of going far slowly on the feed (I would guess 100rpm 200mm/min is about as fast as I could crank). Should I reduce the rpm to match and to keep the tooth loading fairly constant, or just go for it?
Metallathecutting speed chart
Hot knife and butter came to mind and the surface finish is way better than I have been getting with my tentative approach.
I just experimented with a piece of aluminium ( to make HH's square tool holder for the grinding rest). New two flute cutter, WD40 lube, 2.5mm doc, 4000 rpm and crank as fast as I reasonably could. Probably 60-100mm/minute feed rate.
I just bought some cheap "aluminium" plate off e-Bay to make a belt guard. Thought I would cut front and back from sheet, 3D print the sides. Hopefully not pure Al but I am sorting through my fancy cutter box just in case…
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Next stage is to notice from the graph mentioned above that Aluminium cuts about 4x faster than mild-steel, Brass about 2x faster, Cast Iron, Medium Carbon Steel & Bronze about 20% slower, and harder steels cut at about 1/3rd the speed of mild-steel. Again, applying the correction for other metals as a multiplier produces an RPM reasonably close to the book answer.
A cut is to be made with a high-speed steel (HSS) tool on a 2-inch diameter piece of 1018 steel with a brinnel hardness of 200. Calculate the RPM setting to perform this cut.
Lathecutting speed chart PDF
Since the available spindle speed settings are generally not infinitely variable, the machine cannot be set precisely to the calculated RPM setting. Some judgment must be made in selecting the speed to use. Try to get to the speed which is nearest to the calculated RPM, but if you cant, consider these conditions. Are you roughing or finishing? If you are roughing, go slower. If you are finishing, go faster. What is your depth of cut? If it is a deep cut, go to the slower RPM setting. Is the setup very rigid? Go slower for setups that lack a great deal of rigidity. Are you using coolant? You may be able to go to the faster of the two settings if you are using coolant. The greatest indicator of cutting speed is the color of the chip. When using a high-speed steel cutter, the chips should never be turning brown or blue. Straw-colored chips indicate that you are on the maximum edge of the cutting speed for your cutting conditions. When using carbide, chip colors can range from amber to blue, but never black. A dark purple color will indicate that you are on the maximum edge of your cutting conditions. Carbide cutting tools are covered in much greater detail in other sections of your learning materials.
The depth of the cut and the feed rate will also affect the cutting speed, but not to as great an extent as the work hardness. These three factors, cutting speed, feed rate and depth of cut, are known as cutting conditions. Cutting conditions are determined by the machinability rating. Machinability is the comparing of materials on their ability to be machined. From machinability ratings we can derive recommended cutting speeds. Recommended cutting speeds are given in charts. These charts can be found in your Machinerys Handbook, a textbook or in a chart given to you by your tool salesperson. In Table 4 you will find a typical recommended cutting speed chart.
Such fun. But let's hope your "aluminium" is a more cut-able alloy with things like copper, manganese and magnesium added. Extruded bar cuts a treat.
Lathespeed chart
Experiment if the cutter chatters or finish is poor. Often reducing RPM and increasing feed gets rid of chatter, but much depends on the set up, the material, and the cutter. Although there's usually a combination of rpm, doc, and feed that delivers don't be surprised if it doesn't match what the book says. In particular, hobby machines don't have the power and rigidity needed to deliver industrial work rates, nor do they need to.
The mill (SX1LP) will do 5000rpm, but I don't think there is any way I can crank the handwheels (2mm/rev) at 600/750 rpm. Am I misreading the data, or are these really the sort of speeds production grade machines achieve?
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Thanks. I was a bit put off by the implied speeds. But I have clearly been being far too tentative – even on my little mill.
Sod, interesting. Your depth of cut seems a bit shy, but the rpm=. 10000/ cutter dia gives 1666 rpm, the presto data for slot drills gives 1592 rpm – very close. – with a feed of 0.023 mm per rev but only 73 mm/min . So your figures give a very good speed basis for a 10 mm cutter, yours, = 1000 rpm, presto 955 Feed 92mm/min So your easy calculation is sound, but gives a speed just a bit too high
Home › Forums › Beginners questions › Milling Feed Speeds. This topic has 14 replies, 10 voices, and was last updated 28 April 2021 at 14:13 by Peter Cook 6. Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 15 total) Author Posts 27 April 2021 at 14:24 #541865 Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6 I have just acquired a new 10mm two flute slot mill for cutting aluminium. Looking at the vendors (APT Tools) website they quote speeds for slot and side milling of 5000 rpm and Feed rate of 1200mm/min (slot) 1500mm/min for side milling at doc of 5mm (slot) 10mm(side). The mill (SX1LP) will do 5000rpm, but I don't think there is any way I can crank the handwheels (2mm/rev) at 600/750 rpm. Am I misreading the data, or are these really the sort of speeds production grade machines achieve? What are the implications of going far slowly on the feed (I would guess 100rpm 200mm/min is about as fast as I could crank). Should I reduce the rpm to match and to keep the tooth loading fairly constant, or just go for it? Edited By Peter Cook 6 on 27/04/2021 14:25:18 Advert 27 April 2021 at 14:24 #10816 Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6 27 April 2021 at 14:29 #541866 Thor ??Participant @thor Hi Peter, Seems to me that the cutting data you quote are for industrial size milling machines, not a small SX1. My milling machine will not do 5000RPM, only about half of that and I still get a good surface with slower feed rates. Don't let the cutter rub, I would say go ahead and try on a piece of scrap aluminium and get some experience. Thor 27 April 2021 at 14:59 #541872 not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet First question before you even try to crank that fast: Would your mill motor drive at that material removal rate? Somehow, I think you would stall the motor and likely break the cutter. Your reading skills are likely accurate – it’s just the understanding/interpretation parts that you have not thought through. 27 April 2021 at 15:04 #541875 Anonymous Those are fairly conservative numbers for aluminium in industry. The feedrate for slotting works out at 0.24mm per rev, ie, a chip load of 0.12mm. The feedrate for side milling is higher because the width of cut will be smaller, usually 0.1D in examples, and chip thinning will apply. Running at a slower rpm and with a proportional feedrate will be fine. At high speeds and feeds the biggest problem will be getting rid of the swarf and stopping it sticking to the cutter. Andrew 27 April 2021 at 15:49 #541888 SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer What I do is set the rpm to recommended speed and the depth of cut (DOC) to about 10% of tool diameter. Then I feed as fast as seems reasonable by ear. I listen to the motor and cutter for sounds of trouble. I like to hear the motor loaded but not labouring, the machine cutting rather than forcing it's way through the metal and definitely not rubbing because that blunts tools outrageously quickly. I don't like to stress my hobby mill by pushing it very hard even if the motor sounds OK: hobby mills are a bit bendy, and their innards may not take kindly to a gorilla at the controls! With carbide, I avoid red-hot chips even though this indicates good cutting because flaming metal is anti-social. Red-hot swarf coming off an HSS cutter is too hot; slow down. Experiment if the cutter chatters or finish is poor. Often reducing RPM and increasing feed gets rid of chatter, but much depends on the set up, the material, and the cutter. Although there's usually a combination of rpm, doc, and feed that delivers don't be surprised if it doesn't match what the book says. In particular, hobby machines don't have the power and rigidity needed to deliver industrial work rates, nor do they need to. My rule of thumb RPM = 10000 / diameter in mm, which is roughly right for mild-steel and HSS. Slower for Silver Steel and Stainless, bit faster for Brass, much faster for Aluminium. However, cutting speeds aren't all that critical provided the alloy is machinable. Take account of the material. Machinable Mild steel like EN1A is markedly more tolerant than ordinary mild-steel, which cuts OK but tends to smear – poor finish. Certain metals, like some Stainless Steels, need to be close to target, usually because if not treated correctly they work-harden and damage the cutter. In my opinion unknown scrap is best avoided by beginners because so many metals don't machine well at all – some are truly horrible causing massive trainee confusion, especially if self-taught. You can guess how I know scrap can be uncooperative, but not that it took me months to realise my collection of cheapskate metal was total carp. All of it! Problem fixed by buying the right thing. Dave 27 April 2021 at 15:56 #541890 JasonBModerator @jasonb I doubt the small mill will like a 0.12mm chip load, more likely it will be happier with 0.02mm or even less depending on DOC so that 1200mm/min soon comes down to 200mm per min. On my KX3 I tend to run a 10mm Ali 2-flute at 4000rpm and feed of 300mm/min and it will happily run like that, bit less if slotting.. 27 April 2021 at 16:50 #541899 Peter Cook 6Participant @petercook6 Thanks. I was a bit put off by the implied speeds. But I have clearly been being far too tentative – even on my little mill. I just experimented with a piece of aluminium ( to make HH's square tool holder for the grinding rest). New two flute cutter, WD40 lube, 2.5mm doc, 4000 rpm and crank as fast as I reasonably could. Probably 60-100mm/minute feed rate. Hot knife and butter came to mind and the surface finish is way better than I have been getting with my tentative approach. More learning undertaken!! Isn't this hobby fun. 27 April 2021 at 19:06 #541927 ZanParticipant @zan Sod, interesting. Your depth of cut seems a bit shy, but the rpm=. 10000/ cutter dia gives 1666 rpm, the presto data for slot drills gives 1592 rpm – very close. – with a feed of 0.023 mm per rev but only 73 mm/min . So your figures give a very good speed basis for a 10 mm cutter, yours, = 1000 rpm, presto 955 Feed 92mm/min So your easy calculation is sound, but gives a speed just a bit too high the recommended depth of cut is 1/2 diameter (slot drill diameter for end mill) but that of course depends on your machine. No probs in my Bridgeport, but too much for my Sieg sx2+ cnc conversion my numbers refer to an HSS cutter, for carbide, the numbers would be 3988 rpm With 0.038 cut per tooth = 285 mm/min. So it seems the op quoted numbers are a quite a bit on the high side! As I also have seen from the vendor Edited By Zan on 27/04/2021 19:26:29 Edited By Zan on 27/04/2021 19:30:32 27 April 2021 at 20:06 #541938 John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848 Little Machine Shop has a nice feed/speed calculator: **LINK** 27 April 2021 at 21:32 #541953 Anonymous Posted by Peter Cook 6 on 27/04/2021 16:50:11:
Note that in the R.P.M. calculation, we used the diameter of the drill and not the workpiece. This was done because the cutting takes place at the diameter of the drill, not on the outside diameter of the workpiece.
That's a valuable lesson. One doesn't need to run at industrial speeds and feeds but it is surprising what can be done. Being too cautious can be worse than being gung-ho as the tool rubs, and that's a surefire way to damage a cutter. Of course some people (no names. no pack drill) will say my advice is irrelevant since my manual vertical mill is a Bridgeport. But consider this – it's only 1.5hp, or 1100W. That's on a par with many of the mid-size hobby mills. Another important lesson is that cutters are consumables. Pussyfooting them to extend life often has the opposite effect.
If you are planning to cut any distance at one particular depth remember that the aluminium oxide surface layer is grinding paste which will cut a groove in the edge of your tool if you localise it.
Lathe feeds and speedsChart
The lathe R.P.M. must be set so that the single point cutting tool will be operating at the correct cutting speed. To set the proper speed we need to calculate the proper revolution per minute or RPM setting. We stated earlier that cutting speed or surface speed would change with the size of the part. So to keep the surface speed the same for each size part we must use a formula that includes the diameter of the part to calculate the proper RPM to maintain the proper surface footage.
my numbers refer to an HSS cutter, for carbide, the numbers would be 3988 rpm With 0.038 cut per tooth = 285 mm/min. So it seems the op quoted numbers are a quite a bit on the high side! As I also have seen from the vendor
Cutting speed chart for turning
Lathecutting speed formula
This simplified version of the RPM formula is the most common formula used in machine shops. This RPM formula can be used for other machining operations as well.
Cutting speed Chart for milling
The bar I was using was sold to me as 6082 alloy, and it does appear to machine well – now that I have got a bit more aggressive with it!
Which wheel traveled farther? The larger wheel traveled farther because it has a larger circumference and has more surface area. Cutting speeds work on the same principle. If two round pieces of different sizes are turning at the same revolutions per minute (RPM), the larger piece has a greater surface speed. Surface speed is measured in surface feet per minute (SFPM). All cutting speeds work on the surface footage principle. Again, cutting speeds depend primarily on the kind of material you are cutting and the kind of cutting tool you are using. The hardness of the work material has a great deal to do with the recommended cutting speed. The harder the work material, the slower the cutting speed. The softer the work material, the faster the recommended cutting speed (Figure 2).
the recommended depth of cut is 1/2 diameter (slot drill diameter for end mill) but that of course depends on your machine. No probs in my Bridgeport, but too much for my Sieg sx2+ cnc conversion
Feb 26, 2024 — In general tool wear is loss of material from a cutting tool. Wear entails a loss in the volume and geometry of the tooling.
The hardness of the cutting tool material has a great deal to do with the recommended cutting speed. The harder the cutting tool material, the faster the cutting speed (figure 3). The softer the cutting tool material, the slower the recommended cutting speed.
Running at a slower rpm and with a proportional feedrate will be fine. At high speeds and feeds the biggest problem will be getting rid of the swarf and stopping it sticking to the cutter.
There are rules and principles of cutting speeds and R.P.M. calculations that apply to all metal cutting operations. The operating speed for all metal cutting operations is based on the cutting tool material and the hardness of the material to be cut. In this unit we will concentrate on cutting speeds for single point tooling.
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A cut is to be taken with a (HSS) turning tool on a 0.75 inch piece of 1045 steel with a brinnel hardness of 300. Calculate the RPM setting to perform this cut.
Take account of the material. Machinable Mild steel like EN1A is markedly more tolerant than ordinary mild-steel, which cuts OK but tends to smear – poor finish. Certain metals, like some Stainless Steels, need to be close to target, usually because if not treated correctly they work-harden and damage the cutter. In my opinion unknown scrap is best avoided by beginners because so many metals don't machine well at all – some are truly horrible causing massive trainee confusion, especially if self-taught. You can guess how I know scrap can be uncooperative, but not that it took me months to realise my collection of cheapskate metal was total carp. All of it! Problem fixed by buying the right thing.
There were a good range of X axis feeds and selected those that worked after trialling. Still work with DOC=cutter diameter and stepover = 1/4 cutter diameter.
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My rule of thumb RPM = 10000 / diameter in mm, which is roughly right for mild-steel and HSS. Slower for Silver Steel and Stainless, bit faster for Brass, much faster for Aluminium. However, cutting speeds aren't all that critical provided the alloy is machinable.
Cutting generates a lot of heat, making oil based coolant preferable. Many machining spindles require 2000 rpm or more, to provide adequate cutting torque, ...
First question before you even try to crank that fast: Would your mill motor drive at that material removal rate? Somehow, I think you would stall the motor and likely break the cutter. Your reading skills are likely accurate – it’s just the understanding/interpretation parts that you have not thought through.
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Those are fairly conservative numbers for aluminium in industry. The feedrate for slotting works out at 0.24mm per rev, ie, a chip load of 0.12mm. The feedrate for side milling is higher because the width of cut will be smaller, usually 0.1D in examples, and chip thinning will apply.
Seems to me that the cutting data you quote are for industrial size milling machines, not a small SX1. My milling machine will not do 5000RPM, only about half of that and I still get a good surface with slower feed rates. Don't let the cutter rub, I would say go ahead and try on a piece of scrap aluminium and get some experience.
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Advice I was given at the time was for 1/2" HSS 4 flute milling cutter was DOC = Diameter, stepover 1/4xD. Spindle speed was max spindle speed in ally and around 600 for mild steel.
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Oct 14, 2024 — This formula indicates how surface speed (SFM) is affected by the spindle speed (RPM) and cutter diameter. How to Calculate SFM in Machining.
A 1-inch (HSS) drill is used on a 4-inch diameter piece of 1012 steel with a brinnel hardness of 100. Calculate the RPM setting to perform this drilling operation.
The magic! It happens that a sensible a sensible cutting speed for for mild steel is about 30 metres per minute, so in millimetres:
Cutting speed chart for different materials
A turning operation is to be done on a 3.00-inch piece of 4140-alloy steel with a brinnel hardness of 200. A carbide turning tool is to be used. Calculate the RPM setting to perform this cut.
What I do is set the rpm to recommended speed and the depth of cut (DOC) to about 10% of tool diameter. Then I feed as fast as seems reasonable by ear. I listen to the motor and cutter for sounds of trouble. I like to hear the motor loaded but not labouring, the machine cutting rather than forcing it's way through the metal and definitely not rubbing because that blunts tools outrageously quickly. I don't like to stress my hobby mill by pushing it very hard even if the motor sounds OK: hobby mills are a bit bendy, and their innards may not take kindly to a gorilla at the controls! With carbide, I avoid red-hot chips even though this indicates good cutting because flaming metal is anti-social. Red-hot swarf coming off an HSS cutter is too hot; slow down.
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Much easier to remember than to look up surface feet per minute and plough through the maths properly especially as practical cutting speeds depend so much on the machine and it's condition. As the working range of cutting speeds is bigger than the mathematical error caused by the approximation, 10000/dia is a quick off the cuff way of getting close without a lot of faff.
If you are planning to cut any distance at one particular depth remember that the aluminium oxide surface layer is grinding paste which will cut a groove in the edge of your tool if you localise it.
The tip about the surface layer is something that I had not realised – again thank you, and all the rest of the helpful people on this forum.
Sod, interesting. … the rpm=. 10000/ cutter dia gives 1666 rpm, the presto data for slot drills gives 1592 rpm – very close. – with a feed of 0.023 mm per rev but only 73 mm/min . So your figures give a very good speed basis for a 10 mm cutter, yours, = 1000 rpm, presto 955 Feed 92mm/min So your easy calculation is sound, but gives a speed just a bit too high
The lathe must be set so that the part will be operating at the proper surface speed. Spindle speed settings on the lathe are done in RPMs. To calculate the proper RPM for the tool and the workpiece, we must use the following formula:
I doubt the small mill will like a 0.12mm chip load, more likely it will be happier with 0.02mm or even less depending on DOC so that 1200mm/min soon comes down to 200mm per min.
On my KX3 I tend to run a 10mm Ali 2-flute at 4000rpm and feed of 300mm/min and it will happily run like that, bit less if slotting..
Let's hope your "aluminium" is a more cut-able alloy with things like copper, manganese and magnesium added. Extruded bar cuts a treat.
Let's put this formula to work in calculating the RPM for the machining example below. Use the recommended cutting speed charts in Table 4.
Looking at the vendors (APT Tools) website they quote speeds for slot and side milling of 5000 rpm and Feed rate of 1200mm/min (slot) 1500mm/min for side milling at doc of 5mm (slot) 10mm(side).
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My first mill was a Victoria U0 universal horizontal with a vertical head driven from the horizontal arbor point, the VH doubled the speed from the arbor drive but then it was only 1000rpm.
On another matter when quoting speeds and feeds for slotting in softer materials such as cast iron and aluminium and copper alloys manufacturers often use a depth of cut of D, reducing the depth to 0.5D for harder materials such as steels.