Working With Aluminum #7

Clearing Chips and Lube

• Tool: Generic 2 flute 1/8" up spiral bits
• Stock: 1/16" thick 6061 Aluminum
• Lubrication: Sta-Lub Soluble Oil

It became clear that I needed a way to apply the lube by just hitting a button.  The problem was that I also needed to clear the chips. The answer was a dual system.

Here I am using a cheap #10 mister to deliver the air to clear the chips. In addition I am using a Kool Mist system connected to a solenoid valve to allow me to dispense some lube.

I still have to do some fine tuning but its working pretty good.  Once I perfect my system I will do a write-up on it.

This cut was done at:

DOC: .03"
RPM: 24000
Cut Feed: 100IPM
Finish Feed 20IPM

Working With Aluminum #8

Pushing it a Little Harder

• Tool: Generic 2 flute 1/8" up spiral bits
• Stock: 1/16" thick 6061 Aluminum
• Lubrication: Sta-Lub Soluble Oil

It's time to push the bit a little harder. In these test I cut a circle out of the aluminum using the following settings:

DOC: .02"
RPM: 24000
Cut Feed: 40IPM
Finish Feed 20IPM

DOC: .02"
RPM: 24000
Cut Feed: 60IPM
Finish Feed 20IPM

DOC: .03"
RPM: 24000
Cut Feed: 60IPM
Finish Feed 20IPM

DOC: .03"
RPM: 24000
Cut Feed: 100IPM
Finish Feed 20IPM

On all cutouts both the cut and finish passes use a .25" ramp.

Because I do a finish pass at 20IPM, full depth there is no difference between any of the cuts. The only disadvantage of cutting deeper and feeding faster is that if something does go wrong, I probably wont have any time to correct it before the bit breaks.