The impossible! Machining with 1/32 endmill

[TeccBoxx]

I was wondering if anyone has any tips on machining 6061 aluminum with 1/32 endmill. Basically it is all going to be on a finish pass but will have to go at a depth of no more than .05 and the max RPM spindle speed I can get on the Haas is 7500.

 

I have only messed with a 1/32 endmill and told myself I would never use it again. However with the project that I am doing it is needed. So if anyone has any ideas I would love to here them.

[Greg Williams]

Hi,

 

We machine 316 stainless mould cavitys with as small as .005" Ballnose cutters with no problems. In fact I have broken off more cutters in my fingers while setting them in the tool arbours than I have in the job.

I would recommend that you buy a speed increasing head for your machine as 7500 RPM will not be enough to successfully complete this job, Use about 0.01mm per edge feed and no more than 5% of diameter for the depth of cut, With coolant.

Good Luck

[Hardmill]

What kind of cut are you taking?

If your profiling take very shallow depth

of cut w/ multiple passes. I would also use

Some sort of cutting fluid (not coolant).

If you can use the Ramp toolpath in contour

set the ramp angle as shallow as possible.

PEACE

[cadcam]

I have used the - EM on haas at least times.

 

If I am sloting I usally go about .005 deep per a cut and about 5 to 8 feed.

 

Works weel oh and I take it to the 7500 there is not enough spindle there but it will do the job.

[DrewG]

We use this size endmill everyday in our Haas's, both the 7500 and the 10,000's. It does run faster in the 10,000's, however we usually don't have any problems in either. Make sure you have plenty of coolant on the endmill, and you might try running the mixture on the heavier side. It helps alot for us. It won't be the fastest, but if you don't have alot of work for it, don't bother spending the money on a spindle rpm increaser. If you plan on doing this job alot, the increaser is the way to go.

 

One last point, alot of the time's when we break these small endmills it's because a chip got stuck in the spindle. If you have the standard Haas rotary tool changer(not the outside, swingarm optional changer) and run alot of aluminum at high feeds and speeds like we do, you will undoubtedly get chips up in the changer that will stick to some of the tools taper, and end up in the spindle. Make sure you clean the spindle frequently.

[Chris Rizzo]

We run down to .020's on our Haas, with only a 6000 rpm spindle...Just keep the ipm's down it will work, 3-5 ipm.

 

What kind of spindle speed multipliers are people running? I've debated buying a cheepo turbine ($500+), just to see how they work...anyone else with experience with these or others?

[skeetboy25]

heres how I do it, figure your "corect" speed and feed, max the spindle, divide the depth cut by about five and the step over by about two, divide your feed ipms by about ten and your plunge by about twenty. Saturate surface with rapid tap or K1 and go to town!

[Noel]

quote:

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What kind of spindle speed multipliers are people running? I've debated buying a cheepo turbine ($500+), just to see how they work...anyone else with experience with these or others?

__________________________________________________

We had a turbine in on demo.I sent it back.It had no torque plus this one went in a tool holder so it limited me to one tool (not to mentionm the extra 5 or6 inches of overhang)and most times I need to put detail cuts on most cavities.Luckily we have 15000 Rpm on one of our mills with 10000 on the others.

Noel

[Greg Williams]

Hi,

quote:

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What kind of spindle speed multipliers are people running? I've debated buying a cheepo turbine ($500+), just to see how they work...anyone else with experience with these or others?

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We don't use them any more as we are lucky enough to have a machine that does 35K and another with 20K on the spindle.

 

However we used to use spindle increasers all the time and we found that the only one's worth having were BIG. There not cheap but it is a case of the old story, "You get what you pay for"

[TeccBoxx]

Thanks guys for all the tips. I had my school order about 20 1/32 for this project.

[Marty A]

tazzer

 

when i used to cut alluminum (fancy gages)i would put crisco on the part. i also used wd-40 alot when cutting allum. i found the chips wouldn't stick to the cutter. this was done on 6000 max machine also. hope this helps.

 

motty

[Keith Graydon]

All of the above plus this little tid bit. CONCENTRICITY of the tool and spindle. make sure you got a good holder or collet. Keep run-out to a minimum.

[Rekd™]

I ran a mold core on a HAAS a while back using a 1/64" for finishing. The company wanted to try machining it after the heat treating. (Seemed like a good idea at the time, I guess...)Tooling was not our problem. 2 spindles burning out over the 6 day cycle time was our problem. (I actually beleive the second spindle got toasted because of a bad break-in program when the spindle was installed.)

 

Now when I'm running one of the HAAS' at high RPM for more than a couple hours, I point one or 2 of the coolant nozzles at the spindle. (This also helps with thermal expansion to a point.)

 

In fact, that core was part of the mold for the picture in my avatar. It was the inside half of the handle you see being machined, where the switch blade action components went. I'll dig up a picture of it.

 

Keep the rpm's up and the feeds/depths of cut low.

 

'Rekd teh Destroyer

 

[ 05-27-2003, 09:43 AM: Message edited by: Rekd ]

[CAM-mando]

Pricy Avatar

[TeccBoxx]

Crisco Are you talking about the spray or the thick fake butter stuff. Then I imagine you turn the coolant off then and frequently spray it on.

 

I never heard of this sounds pretty cool thanks for the tip

[Rekd™]

The pricy part was the powers that be deciding to machine that POS after heat treat. HAAS, if I remember correctly, picked up the tab on both spindles.

 

Here's the part. The picture was taken between spindle number 2 and number 3.

 

 

'Rekd teh Bad planning and poor judgement in your department does not necessarily constitute an emergency in mine!

[jspangler]

Hi

Haas actually paid for something breaking on one of their machines????

 

 

Amazing.

 

 

John

[Marty A]

yea the thick stuff i dont use coolant

[chris m]

quote:

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Haas actually paid for something breaking on one of their machines????

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Uh-Oh

 

The scab has been removed

[Rekd™]

It's not like HAAS didn't put up a fight. The only leg they had to stand on was the fact that we re-routed our coolant lines to run air. They said the spindle uses the coolant to help cool the spindle. Then we informed them that we were aware of this, and that the mods we made ensured coolant still traveling through the spindle.

 

'Rekd teh Been there, wrecked that.

[Chris Rizzo]

That's one of the other reasons I was thinking about the spindle multipliers, to save use on the machine spindle...i.e. running full tilt on a turbine for a day or so, or running the machine spindle for a couple of days at max rpm. But it sounds like those turbine's are pretty trashy..

[Trevor Bailey]

I use a couple of different turbines fro Air Turbine Tools. They are 45 K rpm's. For a complete kit, I paid $2500 plus each. They work great for me though. Granted I cut wood, however, I do cut/use them all day long. I got the ones rated for metal cutting.

 

web page

[DrewG]

That Haas design for cooling the spindle is a joke!!!!! We run nothing but aluminum, and almost always at full rpm, either 7500 ot 10,000 depending on the machine, and the spindle gets real hot. Been thru 2 of them already. You have to do just like Rekd said, point a nozzle or two directly on the spindle to keep it cool. God forbid your running a 60RC mold and want to use air and no coolant with small tools, the thing would probably glow red. Haas should have some sort of refrigerant chiller like almost every other comapny has. I mean even Fadal has a chiller for their spindle and ballscrews. It can't be that expensive!!!

[Trevor Bailey]

I have a chiller on my VF-3 with 15 K spindle. It works great. I must admit though, I do wish the HAAS guys would find a better way to cool their spindles. Even on the toolroom.

[Noel]

Let me just start by saying I hate fadels as much as the next guy but I got saddled with 3 of them a few years back. I run them up to 10000 rpm all of the time (Lots of cavity finishing)and have only had one go south in 3 0r 4 years.Didn't cost a whole lot to fix.That being siad I still hate them.

 

Noel