[eli2410]

Originally Posted by apples000

W're cutting 3/8" plate in three 1/8" passes with an HSS 3/16" 2 flute end mill using flood coolant. The CNC machine we're using isn't a super-heavy-duty one, but it isn't that wimpy either. We are considering going with a feedrate of 8 or so IPM, and a plunge rate of 5. The spindle rpm will be maxed at 5300 rpm, which I may decrease because I'm worried some aluminum will melt.

We're also curious as to how people make their toolpaths. We have MasterCAM, and a free solidworks plugin, and this is the first year we've used MasterCAM (we have just upgraded from x2 to X4). MasterCAM has many more features, but takes a little bit of getting used to. The software feels like with was written in the early 90's. The "undo" feature only works on certain things. You can't undo a change to a toolpath.

We plan on using climb milling, where outside cuts are clockwise, and inside cuts are counter clockwise (I think), but we'd like some input from other teams as to what works best.

So, last year we used MasterCAM to cut our aluminum, which I believe was 6061. Great product. We switched to EdgeCAM, which is not nearly as good.

Anyway, we use 1/8" and 1/4" inch end mill bit. The 1/8" is an Onsurd 62-606 (or 63-606 can't remember) and the 1/4" is an Onsurd 62-622 (or 63-622, can't remember, I'll check tomorrow and post it on here). We use a spindle speed of 14000 and a plunge of 6 for both tools (no ramping because it makes the part wrong. We plunge straight in). We use a feed rate of 42 IPM for the the 1/4" and 24 IPM for the 1/8". We do depth cuts of .15 for the 1/4" and .05 for the 1/8". We add .02" to the plate thickness to make sure it goes through the plate. We have a Techno 4896 with mist coolant, which we use on the aluminum. If you do use these feeds and speeds, make sure to use the coolant.

If you have any other questions, please post. I'm happy to help out. I'm curious, what machine do you have?