Questions on using a moving gantry style mini-mill...

[Davek0974]

I left 0.1mm from the roughing pass.

The 2mm cutters are spec'd to 3mm DOC but I still have concerns where they hit the rads from the 5mm tool and also have to plough into the corners a bit to create the sharp internals. Maybe my option 2 above would work?

[Davek0974]

Looking at figures there is a fair difference between the finishing pass and the sharp corners -

Lets go for a 2.5mm DOC this time, just below the cutters limit and half the final depth...

Finishing the edge wants 23,000rpm and 670mm/min feed
Ploughing out the rads and creating the sharp corners - basically a slotting cut - wants 18,500rpm and 180mm/min feed

So quite a change, all other parameters being left fixed, sounds like a path rule in SheetCam might work there?

That would be a 25% speed reduction and setting feed to 28%.

[Davek0974]

The machine made it's first saleable parts today :)

I did sacrifice two 2mm cutters, here's how...

On the part in the OP, there is a little square notch, first from the left along the top edge, it's about 4mm square and as such was not roughed out by the 5mm tool on the first pass. I set the code for a 2.5mm deep cut on the finishing pass with the 2mm tool and added a reduction to feed with CAM rules, it worked nicely until the tool reached that notch when it died.

I then increased the before and after feed change in CAM so the rate slowed well before and after the notch - ping went another tool. I then reverted back to 0.6mm per pass and 450mm/min rate as before and it sailed through. Still got that slightly poor surface finish though.

So, it seems despite what HSM says, even on severely reduced settings, you cannot slot 2.5mm deep with a 2mm tool.

Now, in light of the slow finish passes and the fact that it did seem to handle the 5mm rads with a CAM rule and 2.5mm DOC, is it worth singling that feature out and running a pre-finish run on it like I did with the loops??

Apart from that, I'm not happy with the paraffin/oil mix, seems to be affecting my hands a bit, I have found a suitable retail item - MilliCut J40 from Cutwell, its a veg oil based product.

Has anyone got there mill in an enclosure? I'm finding the floor is covered in chips about a 4' radius around the little bugger from the roughing passes - the 2mm tool just makes dust.

[lucan07]

The machine made it's first saleable parts today :)

Next step get the processing nailed down and make them profitable too, let the bugger start earning its keep!

[Davek0974]

Yep, already on that ;)

I just revisited the original plans for the part with the notch in it and it appears it's non-critical so I have altered it from 4mm wide and square to 5.1mm wide and half-round so the roughing tool will rip out most of it and I can try the 2.5mm DOC on the finish pass again - the 0.6mm cuts were where most of the time was eaten.

While it was running today I was also making other stuff so the time taken is not critical to a tight degree, once I get going I can finish one set of parts while the next is running - there are holes to drill and tap etc. Demand is not massive for these but crucially it means I don't have to send them out for laser cutting anymore.

I can also move another part I make from the plasma cutter to the mill as the quality is higher and finishing/clean-up time would be far less as plasma leaves a very rough edge on aluminium.

Just need to sort out a better bucket for the cooling water, possibly some sort chip management, and some better cutting fluid.

I might also try some low-speed tests just to see how low she can go.

[lucan07]

As regards your enclosure I don't use an enclosure as such but have screens in Acrylic for certain jobs to control chip/coolant ejection etc, very easy to cut and weld together using Dichloromethane.

I should mention got a great deal on load of 5mm acrylic, less than 30p a square ft.

[JAZZCNC]

I can also move another part I make from the plasma cutter to the mill as the quality is higher and finishing/clean-up time would be far less as plasma leaves a very rough edge on aluminium.

I would combine them and let the Plasma rough them out and finish them with the router using full depth finish pass. May need a Jig if cutting lots but will be worth the time to make in long run.

What's Max thickness Ali can you cut with plasma.?

[Davek0974]

Hi Jazz,

Can't combine, one is 5mm and the other is 3mm plus the bed is too small to take both parts ;)

The parts i have been getting working in this thread were never plasma'd - too much detail and the heat would warp them, laser cutting does distort but not as much, costs though - that's why I wanted to bring them in-house.

I could pre-cut the 3mm parts on the plasma, would save metal as i can only order square-cut sheet or blanks and these parts are triangular. Would then need to be a two-step fixing on the mill - fix through the internal aperture wastage and cut the outside then fix clamps and finish the internal details. Would still work though, these are simpler parts to make.

I can plasma 9.5mm if it needs piercing or 19mm if I can edge-start the cut. It's not the favourite flavour of metal for plasma cutting though.