Speeds and feeds for 1/16 single flute in aluminum?

What’s a good starting point for 1/16" carbide (not coated), single flute, flat end mill for working in aluminum?

It seems 0.0005-0.0007 chip loads are recommended (e.g. from here: Origin/consistency of chipload recommendations - #15 by Julien) …

So I was going to do 7IPM, 10k RPM.

But then I came across this which gives me a great deal of doubt: https://buildyourcnc.com/item/endmill-singleflute-upcut-!0625-1-flute

They recommend:
(16,000 RPM):
Chip Load: .002 to .004
Suggested Low End Feed Rate: 32 IPM
Suggested High End Feed Rate: 64 IPM

Winston says 10k / 10ipm a 2mm:

Also, I would take a recommendation for a chipload in aluminium that is double the one they recommend for MDF…with a grain of salt, let’s say.

3 Likes

Yep, like he said.

I’d also start with shallow DoC and let your ears tell you if the cutter and machine are happy. Taking even just 1mm depth passes and slowly increasing depth of cut or the feed rate will let you hear when the machine gets unhappy. It’s quite easy to clog up or snap a cutter that small, suction or air blast to blow the chips out would also be your friend.

2 Likes