Here's my first ever cut out of 6061 aluminum.

General CNC CNC Routers
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1

Here’s my first ever cut out of 6061 aluminum. I still have a lot to learn about speeds and feeds. I have to figure out how @Brandon_Satterfield ​ got that mirror shine cut edges on the parts he sent me.

0.6mm DOC
5mm/min plunge
250mm/min feedrate
4mm single flute carbide cutter
Spindle RPM (played from 10,000 to 13,000)

Everything went well, but during plunge on the holes it made a very high pitch squeal.

Any advice is more than welcome.

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11a27d1c15c9b10dc1a477273e38b335.jpeg4128×3096 2.79 MB

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501712f5e2120d20dccbff66e5baac4a.jpeg4128×3096 3.39 MB

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cd4560c9516d5268b82a128d1cb9a8ba.jpeg4128×3096 3.49 MB

2

All the online calculators say I should be going WAY faster on feedrate. Also I need to learn what a GOOD chipsize looks like. I would hate to dull my cutters playing around blind, cause I have Zero experience machining and only cut one would piece on this machine before jumping in to aluminum.

3

Nice work Eric!

4

@Eclsnowman Thanks for sharing the machining details.

5

So I usually run .030-060" DOC around 30-40 IPM. Your running around 4. With your spindle you should be able to run much faster. What RPM are you running?

6

I was at 10,500 RPM by the end at my feed rates above.

7

do you have a picture of your chips?

8

I will get some. I cleaned up already.