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Colex aluminum cutting issue

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patriotpf

New Member
Has anyone in here figured out the secret for cutting 040 aluminum in a sharp cut Colex router?

We have tried and tried to cut this and wasted over $200 in bits trying everything. Went to the manufacturer site for the bits and ran with the proper speeds, rpm etc and just eats the aluminum up. I’ve also spent 30 mins cutting a sheet as it ran so slow. I’ve seen the tutorial of the cutter showing how easy it cuts through aluminum but not ours. Thanks in advance for any help here.
 
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nsm

New Member
Is the aluminum shifting side to side or is it getting chewed up?

If shifting then you need a grip style material. Ours is called VTX Premium Grip.

If chewed up the I suggest the below options;

Try a down cut. When you get to such a thin aluminum, it's going to want to lift and this is going to chew the edge.

I'm not certain how well the Colex bed levels or if it has table Z axis map capability. But another option is back side laminate with premask and set your depth so you cut through the aluminum but not through the premask. This is the best method if you can hold a tight tolerance Z in relation to the bed.

If you can't maintain consistency of cut to the premask due to the bed being unlevel then get some 1/2 in mdf and fly/skim cut it like you would with a traditional CNC router.

The mdf is now leveled to the milling head. But keep in mind this lasts a day or two as humidity will begin to shift the mdf. So plan on running this routine every morning before production.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it pans out.
 
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nsm

New Member
nsm said:
Is the aluminum shifting side to side or is it getting chewed up?

If shifting then you need a grip style material. Our is called VTX Premium Grip.

If chewed up the I suggest the below.

Try a down cut. When you get too such thin aluminum it's going to want to lift and this is going to chop the edge.

I'm not certain how well the Colex bed levels or if it has table Z map capability. But another option is back side laminate with premask and set your depth so you cut through the aluminum but not through the premask.

If you can't maintain consistency of cut to the premask due to bed being unlevel then get some thin mdf and fly/skim cut it like you would with a traditional CNC router.

The mdf is now leveled to the milling head. But keep in mind this lasts a day or two as humidity will begin to shift the mdf. So plan on running this routine every morning before production.

HOpe this helps.
Click to expand...
Forgot to add, that thin stick with a 2mm to max 4mm cutting edge diameter bit.
 
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patriotpf

New Member
nsm said:
Is the aluminum shifting side to side or is it getting chewed up?

If shifting then you need a grip style material. Ours is called VTX Premium Grip.

If chewed up the I suggest the below options;

Try a down cut. When you get to such a thin aluminum, it's going to want to lift and this is going to chew the edge.

I'm not certain how well the Colex bed levels or if it has table Z axis map capability. But another option is back side laminate with premask and set your depth so you cut through the aluminum but not through the premask. This is the best method if you can hold a tight tolerance Z in relation to the bed.

If you can't maintain consistency of cut to the premask due to the bed being unlevel then get some 1/2 in mdf and fly/skim cut it like you would with a traditional CNC router.

The mdf is now leveled to the milling head. But keep in mind this lasts a day or two as humidity will begin to shift the mdf. So plan on running this routine every morning before production.

Hope this helps. Let me know how it pans out.
Click to expand...
Thanks nsm. I’ll certainly try the down cut as I know our bits are up cut. It’s chewing the edges up after a certain amount of cutting and though it isn’t lifting, it’s like the bit gets hot and just melts the aluminum to the bit. We have had to slow it down to like 25-30 in/min and that is taking FOREVER!!! Don’t have time for that so trying to figure out why they cut so good in the video I’ve seen but not real life. Thanks again.
 
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rossmosh

New Member
Assuming the hold down is good, you want to cut aluminum at about 80-150ips. RPM will be about 18,000 on a o-flute. About half that on a 2-flute. I'd do a full depth of cut. .04" aluminum is not thick. I'd also go with a 3/16" bit or bigger. You can use 1/8" 2 flute bits but small o-flute bits suck. I always broke them almost immediately. 1/4" bit should work just fine.

One trick is to hit the bit with air. This keeps the bit cool, and most importantly, it clears the kerf. With aluminum, it's pretty easy for it to weld back onto the bit. Once that happens, you're cooked. So by clearing the kerf, you're going to do much better. You can either rig up an "air assist" or you can just manually hit it with an air gun every few seconds.
 
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