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Switched from a 4-flute to a 3-flute for aluminum and cut my cycle time by 40%
I run a Haas VF-2 at a small shop in Akron and for two years I used 4-flute carbide end mills on 6061 aluminum because that's what the old guy who trained me always grabbed. Last Tuesday I tried a 3-flute uncoated cutter with a 45 degree helix and the chips finally came out like they should, big and curled instead of dusty. Same spindle speed, same feed per tooth, but I bumped the feed up because there was way more room in the flute valleys, and a bracket that took 11 minutes now runs in about 6 and a half. Finish looks better too, no more chatter marks on the walls. I still keep the 4-flutes around for steel and for finishing passes where I want more teeth in the cut. What are you guys running on aluminum, and do you slow down the spindle or just feed it harder when you drop a flute?
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aaron_perry19d ago
Wow, only took you two years to discover what the rest of us knew.
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