Quote Originally Posted by m_c View Post
What width are the slots?

Chip clearance is key, be that flood or air/mist.

I'd be looking at trochoidal toolpaths and making more use of the length of the cutter.
Drilling is the most efficient method of material removal, but if you're recutting air in the drilled holes, there's no point in drilling holes.
Most of the slots are between 6.5 and 8mm wide. The thinking behind drilling the holes is that I get about half of the material cleared before the main slot cut op. It definitely helps, I saw a vid by NYCNC on youtube. Like I say, cycle time isn't really a big issue for me as I'm not making that many parts. I'm really looking for opinions as to how thin a profile cut can be when its made by an end mill. For example, if you were going to cut a 2d profile out of say 15mm thick Al, what's the best cutter to use? I quite often but a square of stock material and have to cut the shape out of it before I even start. Buying laser cut profiles is expensive and normally on a long lead.