Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan View Post
All done with single flute carbide cutter and 1mm DOC. The first part at 540mm/min and the rest at 600mm/min. Due to the aluminium bar not being flat (even though it's called flat bar!) the cutter on the first pass went up to about 2mm depth of cut at the same feedrate. It was still perfectly happy at that, though a little more noisy.
Nice job there mate(Jonathan), bet luke's getting well excited not to mention Dad. :heehee:

Here's what I cut @ with Ali.

Using a 10mm single flute HSS/Cobalt, (mainly because thats the only size I have with 19mm flutes, other wise normally 6mm) I cut full slot @3mmDOC(33%-Dia) 1000-1200mm/min, 7-10,000rpm depending how happy she's sounds.
If side cutting 0.25-Dia Step, DOC 75%-Dia, similiar feeds/speeds or slightly higher depending how it cutts. Always adjusting feed over-ride on how it sounds or cutts.

Blown air for cooling and chip clearence with the odd squirt of cutting fluid if sticky Ali or hard spots. (Messy as hell with flying chips but no nasty lumps on surface from re-cut and cutters last much longer.)

Then finish with 0.2 full depth finish pass @ 800mm/min 10,000rpm.

Makes me laugh to think that when I first started used to cut 0.3-0.5 max and if really brave I pushed it upto 0.75mm at a scary 500mm/min. . . It was mostly the noise that scared me and I soon found out that I was actually scratching it away rather than cutting and the cutters actually performed better and lasted longer when pushed harder or more to the point at or nearer to there intended chipload's. . . . Much less heat.