Newbie looking at 6040 (China CNC) for polypropylene 15mm sheet

**Zeeflyboy** · 12-04-2017

interesting, few design tweaks from mine - they are using a different kind of alu for the side arms (mine doesn't have that channel in the front edge) and looks to be using HIWIN, or HIWIN copy I suppose, carriages where mine was using something else.

Glad it all arrived safely, have fun!

Monster thread on CNCzone about that machine, has some good info in it.

**JOGARA** · 12-04-2017

Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

interesting, few design tweaks from mine - they are using a different kind of alu for the side arms (mine doesn't have that channel in the front edge) and looks to be using HIWIN, or HIWIN copy I suppose, carriages where mine was using something else.

Glad it all arrived safely, have fun!

Monster thread on CNCzone about that machine, has some good info in it.

Not read threw that thread yet. On my todo list :p

Cut some wood this evening to test it all out.

(Obviously not cleaned it up or used a 2nd op to chamfer it. "Dog Shed" is what we call my workshop fyi, because the dogs live in it)

Worked really well. Went from Fusion 360 to this in no time.

Water got a bit warm. Using 15L of Halfords de-ionised battery topup water.
What temp should I be concerned at? A few places are saying 30-35C max. I have another 15L worth but I need some for my laser (obviously can go get more).

Thinking I might make a single 60L system with 2 pumps (one for each tool) and also a radiator with fans on to circulate the 60L tank with air cooled water.
Wont really be using both at the same time, but rather have one large tank of water than the two if it is okay to do so.

My Ecocast from Aliwarehouse also arrived. Had some concern about these guys from reading a few threads on here but this lot came in 2 days without a blemish on them.

**Zeeflyboy** · 12-04-2017

Downcut bits will avoid that rough edge that you can get on wood like that, might be worth picking some up. Work well on plastics too for the same reason.

I've always found aluminiumwarehouse ok.

I wouldn't over-think the cooling... there isn't that much heat to dissipate. Mine works fine with a small closed loop system (basically a single PC water cooling radiator and pump). Certainly no need to have a 60L system AND a radiator.

If you want to have a big combined cooling system for both your laser and your CNC then sure, why not. Seems to be over-complicating things though.

**Boyan Silyavski** · 13-04-2017

Cheers on the machine!. Sth is not right with that wood cut. Try 16000- 17000rpm, bit diamenter depth of cut and 60IPM / 1500mm/min. That generally will work on any machine, even a flimsy one. 16000-17000 on soft wood, 17000-18000 on hard wood. Mdf and similar.

**JOGARA** · 13-04-2017

Just got my new vice. Decided against the 2 cheap ones from China that cost £100. Went with a single one for £80 that is built for "light milling". Feels solid enough for what I need.

Holds my 150x100 aluminium perfectly and there is room to put bigger bits in there.
Will work on the mounting of it to the base though.

Only getting 1-2 hours a night to play with it all atm.
Got to finish a load of uni work :/

Also need to work on my speeds and feeds...

**Zeeflyboy** · 13-04-2017

looks like it should be fine.

Just beware that your bed won't be level, so bolting the clamp directly to the bed won't give you a level surface either.

Ideally you need to bolt on a spoil board of some description and use the machine to skim it down. That will give you a flat surface to screw the clamp down into.

**JOGARA** · 13-04-2017

Originally Posted by Zeeflyboy

looks like it should be fine.

Just beware that your bed won't be level, so bolting the clamp directly to the bed won't give you a level surface either.

Ideally you need to bolt on a spoil board of some description and use the machine to skim it down. That will give you a flat surface to screw the clamp down into.

Yea I heard about that being a problem and looks like it is a bit off.
Wood enough for a spoil board when working with aluminium?

**Zeeflyboy** · 13-04-2017

MDF or similar would be ok as long as you aren't using much coolant. If you have any moisture resistant lying around that is a bit more stable in terms of dimensions and changes in humidity etc but far from essential.

You could also just bolt down a small piece where you intend to put your vice, rather than the whole bed. You would just have to re-skim it if you remove it but that's not a big deal for a small piece like that.