Routing Maxmetal ACM with No Cleanup - Possible?

[learning]

Hi all,

We have:
Printer: HP R2000
CNC: Colex Sharpcut.
Flow: Print then cut.
Products: most are between 0.5 and 1 square feet, various shapes

Historically, we've produced only plastic products that are knife cut on the Colex, which is pretty much labor free. Customers would prefer metal over plastic for outdoor durability.

We'd love to be able to offer Maxmetal. The material cost is within budget. The additional time to route instead of knife-cut is tolerable. But our price points don't allow for labor on individual piece cleanup, or time to inspect for defects as a result of metal scratching the print surface.

My initial tests have revealed these issues:

- Routing will eat up spoil mats faster than we'd like, so I will likely opt for a separate CNC with spoil boards just for routing Maxmetal.
- I may not have the perfect bit for the job, or may need a better debris vac and/or dust boot, but we got metal shavings and plastic debris all over the prints.
- The polyester coating on the Digital Print maxmetal leaves some 'hanging chads' but they are easily wiped away (and I have not yet tried other bits or climb milling)

The metal shavings are the biggest concern - brushing them off scratched our print, even though the overcoat on our prints makes them fairly scratch resistant. I feel like the hot shavings are likely to affect the latex inks even if we blew them off instead of brushing them off.

I'd be willing to buy another high end CNC for this purpose if our goal of almost-perfectly clean products is attainable.

I asked AI for some recommendations and got:

ShopSabre - but it looks like the optical registration, production workflow is a bit clunky. Also seems we wouldn't be able to use it as a backup for the knife cuts on PVC foam (if Colex goes down).

Adding the knife cutting requirement produced:

1. AXYZ (Trident or Infinite series) — Best overall match for you
2. MultiCam (Celero or 1000/5000 series hybrids)
3. Zünd (G3 or S3 series with routing module) — Premium “cleanest output” choice

I'm hoping to find a machine that can achieve our goals that doesn't require a 9 month lead time, and ideally, isn't $200K (these are estimates from the AI on the Zund) -- but if it eliminates the labor I'd consider it.

Pipe dream or achievable?

 

[Grizzly]

We have a Zund L2500 and can get clean routes off of ACM. I've only used Black MaxMetal so I'm not sure if that's the same as their DP version. ACM brand can have a huge difference on clean cuts. Like, same print, same bit, different brand ACM with totally different results. We have a standard shopvac on our zund and most of it gets sucked up to the point it's not an issue with it scratching our prints. If it's a large order 100 or more of 12x18's or so we'll put a brand new bit in so we don't have to worry about it. If it's larger prints, we like to file for smoother handling edges. Not that the Zund doesn't produce finished work to industry standards, we just like it better that only hand filing can obtain. Watch your feed and RPM speeds. Too slow and you prematurely wear out your bit and cause the bottom side of the aluminum face to flare out. Too fast and you don't get good chip cleanout. We also have a bit changer so we have a dedicated bit only for ACM that doesn't see any type of other material. Going back and from from plastic, to wood, to ACM can affect how well it routes.

 

[White Haus]

You could add a Summa F series to your shopping list, would definitely come in less than a Zund. We have one and regularly cut ACM with the standard router and get nice clean edges with very little debris.

You just need enough suction from the dust extraction and don't want the dust boot rubbing over the surface.

Router bit makes a huge difference too - have you tried experimenting with different ones? I don't remember off hand what we're using for ACM but it's likely an LMT Onsrud bit.

Not familiar with the Colex units, but on our Summa we'll either use a routing mat (expensive but works well) or 1/8" thick MDF sheets as our spoilboard. MDF makes a bit more a mess with the fine dust but is much cheaper per sqft than the routing mat/underlay.

 

[Superior_Adam]

I run a lot of MaxMetal ACM and route with a Zund. There are no metal shavings from MaxMetal you will get some of the core left behind but not scratching any prints. There is no need to hand file anything after as there are no sharp edges to worry about.

 

[ProColorGraphics]

I too route a fair amount of maxmetal on my Summa. It has very minimal cleanup that is done with a separate shop vac I keep next to it.
I like to fine tune the cut depth so that it barely kisses the sacrificial cutting mat. So mine has lasted years! I really like this blade suede mat from VTX Tools:

Underlayment – VTXTOOLS.COM

vtxtools.com

These are the bits I like for cutting:

O Flute Router Bit for Aluminum and plastics

AstraHP Coated, 1/4" shank. Best CNC O Flute router bit to use for milling and routing plastic, acrylic, PVC, aluminum and fiberglass. Made In USA.

bitsbits.com

Amana Tool 51446-K CNC Spektra Coated SC Spiral O Single Flute, Plastic Cutting 1/8 D x 3/4 CH x 1/4 SHK x 2-1/2 Inch Long Up-Cut Router Bit with Mirror Finish

Get clean cuts and superior surface finish with Amana Tool's CNC Spektra Coated SC Spiral O Single Flute router bit. Perfect for plastic cutting and more.

toolstoday.com

 

[Bonzai901]

We run .040 aluminum every day here and sometimes 3mm ACM, we use the T00525 bit, don't let the brush around the router bit to press against the media just barely enough to pull the shavings

 

[LarryB]

We route MaxMetal everyday on our Kongsberg with no issues. We have fine tuned it over time and have minimal clean up. Edges just have a little bit of white flakes on it but come off easy.

 

[KDean]

We run a Kongsberg as well and lately seems like we are not getting very many sheets out of a bit. When the bit gets dull clean up becomes a pain.

 

[LarryB]

We run a Kongsberg as well and lately seems like we are not getting very many sheets out of a bit. When the bit gets dull clean up becomes a pain.

We use a coated bit and get around 13-15 sheets per bit depending on cuts per sheet.

 

[KDean]

We are running

BIT-MUS06-4012-50C2​

Have you found a better bit than this? I will update all of my settings here shortly. Most recent tweak has given us a slightly better yield but nothing like you are getting.

 

[LarryB]

We are running

BIT-MUS06-4012-50C2​

Have you found a better bit than this? I will update all of my settings here shortly. Most recent tweak has given us a slightly better yield but nothing like you are getting.

I'll send a dm

 

[Notarealsignguy]

Run a real spoil board for routing, the mats suck. We just get 1/2" MDF from home depot, it's a game changer and will save you a pile of money on cutting mats.
With that said, we have to run a chisler around the edges as the bits, no matter what we try, leave a bit on the unprinted areas. The material makes a difference too, some ACM routes cleaner than others. But take what I say with a grain of salt, we don't have the experience of many others on here.