If you are serious about learning how to cut aluminium, there are many (many) threads about where to start and how to improve, from folks like Vince who master this from A to Z, but I’ll tell you what my personal takeaway from all those threads was:
- chip evac is indeed key. Recutting chips leads to all sorts of problems. An air jet and possibly a little lubrication with a mister go a long way to minimize the problems.
- Using three-flute endmills like the # 201 to cut aluminium is tricky, and is definitely a trap for beginners. I highly recommend you get some single flute cutters (like the #278Z), they are virtually un-cloggable and are much, much more tolerant to sub-optimal feeds and speeds and chip evacuation. Really, they’re like training wheels, it becomes 10x easier to get good cuts.
- For feeds and speeds, the magic chipload value is 0.001". Period. Target that, and you’re in the safe zone. Once you know your RPM and number of flutes, the feedrate can be computed from:
feedrate = 0.001" x RPM x nb of flutes.
There are lots of variations around this, and many more tips I’m sure other folks will add, but do that and the nice little aluminium chips will start flying.
And as usual, when in doubt, go back to Winson’s MaterialMonday videos for excellent starting points for all metal cutting situations. Start with the one about single flute cutter and why they rock.
EDIT: I’ll add that one thing that may hold you back if using Carbide Create is the lack of advanced toolpath entry strategies, like linear and helical ramping, which help a lot when cutting aluminium. But if you keep your plunge rate to a conservative value, there is absolutely no reason why a CC-generated toolpath cannot grant great results.
EDIT2: and once you are deep down the rabbit hole, there’s trochoidal milling/adaptive clearing, which also helps a lot when cutting metals.