Cutting 1/8" aluminum

[StephenN (Stephen Nemeth)]

I have a few simple rectangles I need to cut out of an 1/8" thick sheet of aluminum, rather than cutting with my jigsaw I figured this might be a great job for the shapeoko.

Looking into some of the threads here I am a little unsure as to how it’s going to go when I pull the trigger… This thread shows there’s somewhat of a glitch in the software when it comes to feeds and speeds. Does anyone know if this is still the case?

Here is the thread: Cutting Aluminum - #2 by Julien

It also shows the rectangle which is roughly 15 x 9" will take 75 mins to cut…

Here are the specs it is showing me:

[fenrus (Arjan van de Ven)]

those F&S look … not right.

In the “Select Tool” button, did you pick from the Aluminum set ?

I get a depth per pass of 0.015" and a 48 IPM feedrate…

[Julien]

@fenrus

In the “Select Tool” button, did you pick from the Aluminum set ?

Yes he did, but from the Nomad category:

for a Shapeoko that would indeed rather be:

EDIT: also, when in doubt, check the MaterialMonday videos from @wmoy:

#MaterialMonday on YouTube

@wmoy has begin a series of YouTube videos on #MaterialMonday. For the full list: https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/materialmonday A central tenet of this series is an acknowledgement that the hobby CNC routers need different numbers for different sorts of paths. Thus far he has done: Aluminum: Shapeoko 3: [Aluminum Feeds and Speeds for the Shapeoko - #MaterialMonday] [Machining Aluminum with the 278-Z on the Shapeoko - #MaterialMonday] Nomad 883 Pro: [Sing…

There are recommended settings for both the Shapeoko and Nomad, in aluminium (and much more)

[Vince.Fab (Chippy McChipload)]

If that aluminum isn’t 6061 sheet then consider lowering the doc to 0.010ish and be prepared to used a wd40 or airblast.

[StephenN (Stephen Nemeth)]

I didn’t even realize I have been selecting from the Nomad category the entire time I’ve been using the shapeoko

Is this the annoyance you were referring to in the previous thread?

thanks to everyone who responded

[Julien]

@StephenN

Is this the annoyance you were referring to in the previous thread?

I had to go back and check what I was annoyed by
It was the fact that at the time, CC had no adequate Shapeoko-compatible recommended feeds and speeds in its library. This was fixed long ago, so it’s all good now.

[StephenN (Stephen Nemeth)]

Great! thanks

Seems like I should be ok with the carbide tip bits I already have and keep the surface lubricated?

Should I be tensioning my belts more than what they already are? I already went through the trouble of tensioning them just right with the app that measures the audible noise of the belt when I flick them…

[LiamN (Liam Newcombe)]

If you’ve already tensioned them up to a ‘normal’ tension then no, adding more tension won’t make anything better and does have downsides.

Just enough is just right for belt tension.

[3DGG (Graham Gerhardt)]

I use Estlcam to generate all of my 2D or 2.5D work.

75mins seems long to me - so I drew up a 230mm X 380mm rectangle, put it in Estlcam to generate my gcode with my typical settings (used a 4mm end mill in this case), and I could do that in under 13 mins, with trochoidal roughing pass and then a finishing pass - both full depth.

Here is a screen shot of the tool paths and timing:

I highly recommend Estlcam if you don’t know of it. Reasonably priced, and there is a Shapeoko post processor built in, very easy to get it going. I have no affiliation - just a big fan.