Aluminium Profile Type Router - Initial questions

[CNCRY]

Cheers Jazz - will give it a once over and remember I actually need to grease it..
Ha, well I've managed to bend one bit so far - luckily a cheap one, but amazing how easily the 5.5Nm bends it like a twig..!
Maybe I'll give the Aztec a go in MDF first - does that count:)

[JAZZCNC]

Cheers Jazz - will give it a once over and remember I actually need to grease it..
Ha, well I've managed to bend one bit so far - luckily a cheap one, but amazing how easily the 5.5Nm bends it like a twig..!
Maybe I'll give the Aztec a go in MDF first - does that count:)

Wait until 5.5Nm rips the material from the bed and throws across the room or you program 100 instead if 10 on a Z move and in blink of an eye it's punched a nice neat hole thru your bed(not that I've done this before.)

Regards Aztec and MDF then don't do a small one in MDF because it doesn't hold the detail good enough. You need a harder material that holds nice edge for smaller ones like 6" to get the full affect and see all the tiny details.

[CNCRY]

I've been cutting and engraving a few test pieces, mainly MDF or softwoods while I learn more on the CAD and tool-paths. And remembering to zero Z after a tool change.!
First "proper" project is to make a dust shoe - I figured it'll end up slightly cheaper then buying and be interesting working with cutting plastic.
So the one I'm making is the Avid CNC one, using magnets to allow removal of the brush https://www.cncrouterparts.com/unive...hoe-p-396.html.
Helpfully they provide the fusion design with parametric value, so it can be edited to hose/spindle size. I'll be making it out of HDPE plastic.

I'm also thinking about trying some aluminium and wondering do I need a mister, or at least air blast to do anything more than minimal work in aluminium? Or would the dust collection remove chips enough?
I have one of these basic eBay misters https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/f..._Collar_02.png but no compressor yet as most things I read suggest you need a fairly decent tank size to prevent overheating.
I also looked at silent "dentist type" however the price goes up a fair amount!
Any advice from those who have "been there and tried that" :)

[RobC]

You dont 'need' to have anything for aluminium providing you don't slot too deep or you risk welding to your tooling, it does help massively to have chip evacuation but I get away with it just!

[Clive S]

I'm also thinking about trying some aluminium and wondering do I need a mister, or at least air blast to do anything more than minimal work in aluminium? Or would the dust collection remove chips enough?
I have one of these basic eBay misters https://cdn.thingiverse.com/assets/f..._Collar_02.png but no compressor yet as most things I read suggest you need a fairly decent tank size to prevent overheating.
I also looked at silent "dentist type" however the price goes up a fair amount!
Any advice from those who have "been there and tried that" :)

Different grades of alli will cut differently. 6082T is generally ok or 7 series and cast alli . just spay a bit of WD40 or equivalent helps but if you get the feeds and speeds correct it will cut fine.