CNC Mill/Router?

[Andy A.]

Originally Posted by amesmich

Oh Ok gotcha. Yea we reduce our feed rate below what I think is optimal on the cutter but what the machine can handle.

Do you know what a typical cut recipe ends up being?

In general the 1.5hp limit of the 1100 isn't the first limitation I run into with the machine. Working with 6061 aluminum, carbide tools, high speed machining tool paths and not pushing anything hard you can expect about .4 cubic inches of material removal rate without getting aggressive; pretty good for FRC world.

A quick cut recipe that I use as a starting point for roughing small parts in aluminum;

1/4" 2 flute carbide tool, .75" stickout, .25 DOC, .2 WOC, 5100 RPM, at 17 IPM. That yields a MRR of about .87 ci at about .2hp from the spindle, and a chipload of .0017" per tooth, which is enough to keep the tool happy. Naturally YMMV, but this seems to be a happy area for my series 3.

The limiting factor is usually spindle speed; you just run out of RPM for most cuts, hence the higher spindle speeds of the 440 and 770 models, and the various options for getting more RPM out of the 1100.

Another quirk of the 1100 to be aware of; peak torque comes at about 3000RPM in high gear.