Since I’m not rubbing, the finish is even nicer… love it.
Brandon, are you using the plastic bristle brush to get that finish?
Feed rate, spindle, spindle speed, doc, end mill size/flutes??? I want answers! Is that with an r7? Looks great man.
@Mark_Leino Yes sir! R7. :-). I’ve never been a dust boot kinda guy. My cuts are good but I’ve always recut chips even with the mist block blasting on it. These are kinda remarkable though. And this is on a untrammed machine as well, guess I’ll actually tram the spindle and see if I can get it to a mirror.
4mm single flute carbide, the one we sell.
600mm/m
6mm/m dive
.6 DOC I could get much more aggressive but tool life here is forever, now I’m not recutting, think I’ll hand this end mill down to my kids… haha.
Slot at cutter, second pass at 40%.
@Kevin_McNally no sir, thats the dust boot. Previous cuts “rechopped” the shavings. I don’t like all the noise but seems it may be worth it.
I really need to get a dust boot, and upgrade from a router to a dedicated spindle. That’s a beautiful finish. That’s pretty much exactly what I have found for feeds and speeds, but constantly re cutting chips is not good for finish or tool life
@Brandon_Satterfield When is that dust shoe going to be available?
You are talking about the slots Brandon, not the top surface, yeah? They look truly nice! Please state the mm/tooth, please. I am so curious!
@Colin_Kaminski I’m just about ready brother. Will soft launch them on HF and only let you guys know.
@Alex_Paverman I don’t work in mm/tooth brother sorry. Assumed you are speaking about chip load. Think it can be derived from above info.
@Brandon_Satterfield I am used to think about “cutting” in chip load terms; 600mm/min its clear, “single flute” it’s also clear, for the rest… If I would have known the rpm, I could do myself the math… 
A “regular” spindle can do 24000 rpm but I don’t dare to assume you are working with a 4mm mill @ that speed. That is why I botherd you with my question. Sorry.
@Brandon_Satterfield what is your ramping angle? the 6mm/min would make such a ramp take forever I think.
I don’t think he uses a ramp, just straight down.
The single flute bit does not have much strength to plunge. I don’t go quote as slow as Brandon but slow helps when you make a straight plunge. I have been using 60mm/min
I straight plunge at 5mm/min. Keep in mind is only plunging the depth of cut which is only .5 or .6 mm so it doesn’t take that long.
Got it! Of course it wouldn’t take too long due to the small depth.
I just cut my first pieces of aluminum yesterday and it didn’t go well. I used a 1/8" (4mm) single flute at 2450mm/min @18,000rpm with a ramp down. Unfortunately, I forgot to set it to climb milling which from what I understand is critical for milling aluminum. It produced some chips but mostly a gummy looking side. The first pass (.5mm) went fine. The second pass got bogged down and then the end mill broke. I actually used the setting provided in this video here. I have a feeling that if I use climb milling, the cut will actually turn out ok. I’m also wondering if there should be a finishing pass after each ‘rough’ pass where I just repeat a lap. Any thoughts after watching the video below? This guy is dry cutting the aluminum but he is also using a 1/4" single flute and probably has a torque-ier router doing the work rather than the chinese spindle that comes with the R7 which in my experience doesn’t have a lot of torque and can get stuck.
I would slow down a lot. My experience is I am not stiff enough to cut that hard. I am running at about 2/3rds motor speed and 600mm/min. I have been running 1mm step downs but I am going to try less next time. I like Brandon’s .6mm step. I don’t do a finish pass. Make sure to blow out the chips.
Thanks Colin. What do you mean 2/3 motor speed? If the Chinese spindle runs at a max of 24,000 rpm, then you are running at 16,000 rpm?
It’s likely closer to 12,000. I set it be sound. I want as large of a chip as I can make without chatter. If it chatters I speed it up slightly. If the chips stick to the sides or the bit you are making too much heat.
Thanks again. I’ll give this a try.
@Kevin_McNally also remember no one has mentioned the type of aluminum either. Different alloys require different feeds and speeds, just to add more confusion hah
That’s a good point. I think all my plate is an odd one. 3003. I get it locally and I believe 3003 is more useful to them than 6065 which is the only other possibility. The shipping on plate is more than the cost of the plate for me. I get 2x4 foot sheeted plates in 1/4” for $30.