Anyone know of a good site to find feeds and speeds for unknown tooling?

[rk9268vc]

Im pretty new to cnc milling and dont really have the 'feel' yet for feeds and speeds

Does anyone know of a good site/ manufacturer/ resource to find general feeds and speeds for HSS endmills?
I am just looking for a good starting point for HSS in aluminum.

Everyone says to use manufacturer's suggestions, but I'm using cheap Shars tools which I cant find info for, as well as using a bunch of used tooling I acquired.

Thanks!

[tblough]

Look at FSWizard https://fswizard.com/

I have the full HSMAdvisor https://hsmadvisor.com/ but I find I just use the Wizard app most of the time. It's the first speed/feed calc that I've use that gave workable feeds and speeds for micro endmills (1/64"/0.5mm and below).

Buying the app (Pro version) give you access to a huge amount of additional materials. I believe the free one (and the web app) have 6061-T6

[ShawnM]

I know another guy who uses the FSWizard site also. When you start buying tools check out toolstoday.com
I buy Amana O flute carbide end mills and they eat aluminum like nobody’s business. And they give you feeds and speeds charts for all their bits.

[Richards]

I use the Machinery's Handbook for general reference on feeds and speeds. I'm also fortunate to have a salesman at the local supplier who is an expert machinist. He's given me good advice on tooling, feeds and speeds. I also have a neighbor who recently retired who was a 5-axis vertical mill operator. He is a walking encyclopedia. As last resort, I turn to the Internet.

[suntravel]

Im pretty new to cnc milling and dont really have the 'feel' yet for feeds and speeds

Does anyone know of a good site/ manufacturer/ resource to find general feeds and speeds for HSS endmills?
I am just looking for a good starting point for HSS in aluminum.

Everyone says to use manufacturer's suggestions, but I'm using cheap Shars tools which I cant find info for, as well as using a bunch of used tooling I acquired.

Thanks! touse max.

Despite many hobby users, I do not prefer HSS for anything but for kitchen knives

On most mills you will not have the correct spindle speed for aluminium, if you are not using a high speed spindle. So try to use max. rpm and start with easy depth of cut and feed and bring them up till the surface shows chattering. Manufactures suggestion are made for perfect rigid machines...

Dont use cheap tools, a cheap mill can work better with pro tools than a pro mill with cheap tools.

Kind regards

Uwe

[polaraligned]

I am just looking for a good starting point for HSS in aluminum.

Do you have flood cooling? Going to be difficult to avoid chip welding to tool. WD-40 works well to help eliminate welding, but you are going to have those fumes burning off into the air you are breathing. ZrN coated tools resist welding better than other coatings except diamond. And yes, you can mill aluminum dry, but some endmills will be a LOT better than others at avoiding welding. Finding the feeds and speeds to avoid welding is going to vary from endmill to endmill. Generally, a smoother and polished flute is much better. HSS is fine for machining aluminum. Only reason to go to carbide is to get a desired coating and/or get a cutter that has 3 times less deflection in material.

[Muzzer]

In my experience, chip welding is about the only reason I end up with broken cutters. That's not about cooling or lubrication (not required for carbide really), it's about evacuating the chips from near the cutter. This is most likely to occur when machining a pocket or slot and I find that coolant can actually increase the risk, as it often prevents the chips from being flung clear.

I now run my cutters (up to 12mm or so) as fast as my machine will allow (7000rpm in my case) with the exception of face cutters. This does most of the job of clearing the chips. To keep pockets clear from buildup, I use manual air blasts and have considered fitting a HVLP powered nozzle - I don't have / want a large noisy compressor just for that.

It's worth measuring or calculating the actual spindle power being used for roughing operations. You might be surprised how little of your spindle power is actually being used. Apart from speeding up the job, the chips are chunkier and may be flung clear more easily

[polaraligned]

In my experience, chip welding is about the only reason I end up with broken cutters. That's not about cooling or lubrication (not required for carbide really), it's about evacuating the chips from near the cutter. This is most likely to occur when machining a pocket or slot and I find that coolant can actually increase the risk, as it often prevents the chips from being flung clear.

I respect your opinion, but there is a reason every single professional shop uses flood coolant for aluminum in their machining centers - because it is the only sure way to prevent welding. The coolant when streamed at the cutter carries the chips away and prevent them from being re-cut, and that recutting is the worst thing you can do. Recutting causes heat to rapidly build up and the aluminum welds to the endmill because it becomes plastic from the heat, but the coolant is not there for the heat (when using carbide anyway) but rather to carry the chips away from the cut. It just works the best and if anyone doesn't believe me just speak to people on a professional machinist forum like The Practical Machinist. Lots of hobby guys use WD-40 because it helps prevent chip welding, or at minimum an air blast to keep chips cleared. Keeping chips cleared is no guarantee that you won't weld aluminum to your endmill. Too high of a SFM can cause excessive heat which causes welding. Many endmills are more prone to welding than others due to geometry and how sharp of a cutting edge they have. For hobbyists not using flood coolant, it just takes a lot of experimenting to see what works- including cutters, SFM, IPT, radial and axial cut widths, your tool paths, etc. Also one needs to be mindful of the aluminum alloy you are cutting and the temper. Some aluminum is just gummy. When I find a combo that works, I write it down so I can go back to it in the future. I use an Accu-lube system with 2 nozzles. It blows away the chips and lubricates at the same time. WD-40 works so good with aluminum because it is a lubricant that helps stop the aluminum from sticking, so yes, a lubricant is helpful with aluminum.

[Muzzer]

I'm not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing - I could read it either way in places. At least we seem to agree that chip evacuation is key at least.

You should write to this outfit and tell them what they are doing wrong. They seem to do a pretty good job with dry machining
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC80DK3 ... fl8OtVAYcw

[polaraligned]

I'm not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing - I could read it either way in places. At least we seem to agree that chip evacuation is key at least.

I disagree with you that flood coolant is not a good choice for machining aluminum. This is flat out wrong as flood coolant is used in nearly every shop on aluminum, because it works the best. The spec sheets of endmill manufacturers tell you to use it with their aluminum specific endmills. There has been a slow transition to dry machining aluminum as newer and better coatings are becoming available, namely diamond coatings. As I stated earlier, it is quite possible to mill aluminum dry, but you need the proper coated endmills and carefully dial in the feed and speed. I don't think the OP is looking to purchase expensive endmills.

You should write to this outfit and tell them what they are doing wrong. They seem to do a pretty good job with dry machining
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC80DK3 ... fl8OtVAYcw

Why would I write them and tell them they are doing something wrong when they already know they are doing it wrong. Read the last sentence of this screenshot from one of their videos.