Perfect beginner end mills for Aluminium (CNC Router)

In this video I’ll test six low budget end mills for milling aluminium on a CNC router.

Affiliate links to the end mills:


(Tool 1 3:00 Tool 2 7:17 Tool 3 11:50 Tool 4 12:48 Tool 5 14:40 Tool 6 15:36)

After many hours of doing tests with cutting aluminium on my CNC router I reached a high enough skill level that that almost all of my operations succeed. Getting to this point has resulted in many broken end mills. Lately I am investing in high quality tooling to get even better performance when milling aluminium on my CNC 6040 router. The low budget tools that I used for all the testing where in the $0,50 to $5 dollar price range. The high quality tools that I recently added to my collection cost $35 or more. I have changed my work approach to prevent these expensive tools from breaking.

The main cause of tool damage is a mistake in the g-code. Testing new CAM settings, materials or workholding are still activities with a high chance of a mistake.The first part of my new work approach is that I only use the expensive tools on operations that I've tested with the low budget tools. The second change is the implementation of the fusion 360 CAM templates. With these templates it’s possible to save CAM operations that have work well. When starting on a new workpiece you can just regreate the operation on the new workpiece. With the use of the templates the chance of making a mistake is very small.

In this first end mill test video I selected six tools that were super cheap but still good enough to cut 6060 Aluminum on my CNC 6040 router. In future video’s I would like to test more end mills both in the low budget category (below $5) and the medium to high priced tooling.

Do you have suggestion on end mills I should test in my next video? Please leave a comment in the comment section below.

Affiliate links to the end mills:


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[brentonk]

Worked as CNC programmer operator, both milling and lathe, done my apprenticeship as engineering Toolmaker for a decade and half, I don't do it anymore, definitely won't work for a boss ever again, but I would'nt mind getting a little machine like that one for myself, I can't imagine it being highly accurate, but it seams to do alright for its size. Line left for finishing. Ti-Ni coated hss for aluminium. I don't need to test it, I know it works. For a machine that is Not ridgid, I have found line right can be helpful when roughing out to prevent the tools from digging in. Also The type of flood or mist coolant, cutting fluid you use is critical to achieve best finish, although you can cut dry, but it is more likely to fur up.

[DavidM]

I've been doing hobby CNCing for about 15 years now and recently went back to the basics. I experimented with end mills, feeds & speeds, etc.

But the one thing that I found that you will give you the biggest improvement on your finish is clearing out those chips. I use compressed air routed through LocLine flex tubing with a very fine nozzle. Just a few pounds of air pressure is all you need. Yes, coolant / lubricant and the right end mill are important but unless you get those chips out of there, they will just be ground between the cutter and the work piece.

One further step in that regard is when doing the initial cut, set your software to leave a finishing allowance - I leave about .030". Before you make your final cut to remove that finishing allowance, get every last chip out.

[motopreserve]

Very helpful. Thanks for posting such an in-depth review. I have had great luck with some of the cheaper end mills I've used, and horrible results with some more expensive options. Finding the balance between quality tools and proper feeds and speeds is a constant challenge. Appreciate your efforts!

[hsuteh]

Dear Sir
There is a problem in your tool route
Notice:
1. Go along
2. Go backward
When your spindle is rotating forward 4:02, it is going backwards (error in CNC), if it is in the traditional way, it is correct.

You can test with an inner circle and an outer circle using forward and backward walking, and you will be surprised.

THX~
Eddy

[guyincognito-]

Great video! Thanks for making everything nice and clear. I built an MPCNC last year and have got wood figured out and now I'm planning to move into milling aluminum. Subscribed!

[metalsliver]

Get rid of particle board, use a solid steel or aluminum sacrificial plate. To reduce vibration. Get a mist/air sprayer. Check out a book on feeds and speeds

[ulisescuellar]

I noticed some of the recommended tools are altin coated. Which is a huge no no - reason being is the aluminum part of the Altin coating, allows aluminum to weld to the coating, which decreases edge sharpness. Try zirconia coating and ticn

[cboyamg]

I have zero experience with CNC routing of any kind. However i have a decent amount with a table router... When routing aluminum, to get the smoothest finish i found slowing down the rpm of the router yields the best results

[servanetisne]

Hi
thank you for this helpful video and site
could you please give me the ref or link for the machine? I was not able to recognize te brand in the video.
Important for me because I mostly want to mill aluminium.
regards Servane

[mickamoi]

thank you very much here is only that I see your answer. I am new to this field but I would like to be able to engrave on aluminum later. is it possible to change the engine to put a more powerful one to work with aluminum?

[aaronfonseca]

1:05 what bit? Also, what feeds and speeds?

[opitknico]

Hi, thanks for video, i have a question, where you buy cnc 6040 please

[javiervillacieros]

Hi, Nice video, thanks for shearing!. CAn you tell how did you connect the limit switches cables to the CNC controller? thanks

[Olfox]

Hi Thanks a lot for the nice series of video. Thank to you, i bought the same setup and start aluminium few days ago. But i have a strange issue, i have a kind of step effect that is more and more the deeper it mills. I choose a really small layer deep (0.2mm) to avoid too much effort and go slowly into the material but it has no effect. I did the same part into mdf but i have not this issue. It is like the steper mottor loose precision with the time or with a more harder material. Do you have an idea may be ? Again thanks a lot for your job !

[aam]

Thanks - that's a really useful video and has saved me a lot of time, materials and broken bits.

[daxliniere]

What's the pink spray you're using? And the clear spray later in the video.

[szzkf]

you could generate bridges to support the component and avoiding the blade to hide on the edges

[robertzmigrodski]

When cutting aluminum, always climb cut. It makes for a much smoother finish. That is, if your machine is tite enough that there is no backlash. If that can't be done, leave a couple of thousands of stock on and take another cut to finish it off.

[CNCFloripa]

Great video, congratulations. To help. Usually Climb Milling has better finish for aluminum. Test. :)

[spudnickuk]

I love your videos and can relate to what you do, wish you could to a Cam setup tutorial :)