I did an experiment with cutting aluminum which kind of worked, although there are things I would do differently next time.
I needed to cut a part which will go near a wood burning stove so it needs to be able to get hot and not be flammable so I decided to cut it from some aluminum.
I used on of the standard aluminum sheets from home depot that is about 1.5mm thick and I cut it in one pass at 500mm/min with a two flute router bit.
The machine seemed fine with that feedrate, but I should have cut a lot faster.
I had some issues with the router bit clogging with aluminum chips and then sort of melting its way through the metal leaving behind a jagged edge.
Next time I’ll try a single flue router bit and a higher federate (maybe 1,000mm/min) and I’ll use a bit of lubrication like WD40.
The jagged edges were relatively easy to clean up so this part will work fine, but I’d like to try again in the future. I think with a little tuning it should be possible to get nice clean cuts.
What if you used a cnc bit. I am sure you will find a shaft size to fit, and
these are designed to cut these materials
there isn’t much difference between a router bit and a CNC bit (other than the
CNC bits not having a standardized shaft size)
due to the maslow moving slowly, you want the slowest spindle speed and fewest
flutes you can get (and aluminum really had a tendency to melt onto your bit,
and when it does, stop cutting and see if you can clear it or if you have to
replace the bit)
Bar… I’ve cut a lot of aluminum. Oil steadily and consistently, it makes a huge difference between slicing through and burning through… and use a very sharp bit, carbide or better. You could probably cut thicker aluminum if you do it right.
