I have been using my shapeoko to cut parts for my next CNC,

General CNC CNC Routers
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I have been using my shapeoko to cut parts for my next CNC, the KR33 mini CNC with plans/brackets from @Neo7CNC More videos to follow. Looking forward to completing the build. BTW, any of you looking for a FANTASTIC aluminum bit, this one is great: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CYKFGU/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUjASMuyLA

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Thoughts on these (metric) for Alu-cutting: http://www.amazon.com/Niagara-Cutter-Carbide-Finishing-Diameter/dp/B00A0PIMJG/ref=sr_1_5?s=industrial&ie=UTF8&qid=1423316135&sr=1-5&keywords=niagara+cutter+metric ?

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@Michael_Jacobsen they certainly look the part. The 30 degree, 4 cutting head bit that I posted above is the only niagara that I have but it is by far the best performer for aluminum that I have. The other bits I have tried, which seemed to more “melt” the aluminum as opposed to cutting it (even at low 10k rpms), did not have cut and remove the chips like my niagara does.

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What speeds and feeds are you cutting at? What grade of aluminum. I have a Joe’s 2006 I built a few years ago. Finally gave the parts gathered up to build an all metal machine and was planning on cutting some parts out of aluminum. I’ve only cut wood, plastic and foam up until this point.

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@Oliver_Paine I went VERY, VERY slow on this as I did not want to destroy the bed (this is my first forray into aluminum too). Bed is 1/2in cast Mic6 aluminum (http://www.ebay.com/itm/MIC-6-CAST-TOOLING-ALUMINUM-PLATE-1-2-x-12-x-12-/310345366353) My depth per pass was .1 mm (.004in) and feed rate was 127mm/min (5in/min). I havent yet pushed my machine to see where the limits are with aluminum, but I have no doubt it could make much quicker work of these holes the next time around.

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@Oliver_Paine I took another crack at .2mm passes and it was beautiful: http://youtu.be/TLjjlv6Twi8

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Cool, thanks for the info. Guess I have to order a bit and give it a shot.