Home Made CNC cutting aluminum clock gear 1/4" thickness Part 1

[ProbablyDrunkATM]

One of the nicest home made cnc machines I've seen.

[AtienzaLouie]

@ProbablyDrunkATM Thanks! I'm in the process of my next one, which will be all metal construction. My latest video is actually of a part for it!

[quickcooper61]

@AtienzaLouie I have been extremely interested for a while in making a metal mill and I have to say this is probably the highest quality diy mill I have seen yet. What router servos and program do you use? I noticed the Bosch tag.

[AtienzaLouie]

@quickcooper61 Thanks... The router is a Bosch 1617EVS, retrofitted for a SuperPID motor speed controller, though at this point hee it hadn't been installed yet. The drive motors are all stepper motors, 425in*oz and stepper drive, from xylotex. Using Mach3 and Vectric VCarve Pro 5.5.

I have since increased the rapids on the machine by double, and increased motor power, by upgrading the drive box. See my channel for more videos!

[bobdaugherty820]

I want this video on my S669 phone.

[krimskrams]

could this particular machine cut brass or something harder like iron?

[AtienzaLouie]

@krimskrams Thanks for looking. Brass shouldn't be a problem. Iron, possibly cast iron, very lightly. I might have to test it out sometime.

[123bugness]

It always amazes me that people will go through the effort and time to make something so cool and can't seem to get a dang lightbulb decent enough to take a video...lol. Nice work on the CNC tho!

[AtienzaLouie]

@123bugness I added light on this video; you should see my earlier ones! When I first tried machining aluminum, it seemed no one was willing to give advice on feeds and speeds for DIY machines, and in my videos, I try to demonstrate just that. Thanks!

[123bugness]

@AtienzaLouie No offense meant AT ALL, bro. I have respect for people who are able to build a machine like yours from scratch. I was more or less just commenting on these kinds of videos in general. As for lighting... go with Daylight or blue-ish lighting. Most lights are either cool (blue) or warm (yellow).

How have you found things to be with feed rates and spindle speeds on a "DIY", as opposed to recommended settings for a desktop or "less than commercial-grade" CNC?

[AtienzaLouie]

@123bugness No offense taken. I have both a 100w incandescent and a 40w flourescent overhead, but it just happens to be exactly overhead, and the darkness is mainly the shadows cast from the machine. My first machine had a Craftsman router with LEDs built in; adding LEDs to my dust shoe is another project wating.

In general, I'd expect a Taig or Sherline to have better precision and rigidity than my machine. But it's a tradeoff; a Sherline or Taig can't cut out a guitar body!

[AtienzaLouie]

@AtienzaLouie Also, desktop mill would probably have slower feedrate and spindle, but since it's usually cutting something small, that's not a problem. They're also ridgid enough to mild steel and even titanium. That said I get pretty decent feedrates in aluminum; check out my other vids on my channel!

[davidwatts007]

how do i build one of these cnc machines, im a carpenter and would like to build one for timber and aluminum work. please let me know or at least where i can find out how to thanks.

[AtienzaLouie]

@davidwatts007 I built the first machine with plans from Solsylva.com. After runnung that machine for about a year I used what I learned to build this one. Although I cut alumium with the first machine, it's not ideal (even with this one) as you need heavier duty spindle, drive, and bearings....

[davidwatts007]

how do i build one of these cnc machines, im a carpenter and would like to build one for timber and aluminum work.

[HeadShot360IN]

at 1:27, was that WD40 you sprayed?? For cutting stuff want liquid that promotes friction.

[AtienzaLouie]

@HeadShot360IN I think for my purposes, I need something more to keep the bit lubricated, which helps keep the aluminum from welding onto the bit. Even Amana recommends lubrication. I know some people use isopropyl alcohol with success, though I haven't tried it. On this video, I don't have the chip guard mounted, so the cool air from the router exhaust blows some of the cips away, and maybe keeps the bit cooler. I think a venturi-type mister or evevn a cold-air blaster would work fine too.

[AtienzaLouie]

@HeadShot360IN Check out the videos in the Glacern Tool website, they use WD-40 as well for milling operations on aluminum to prevent it from galling on the bit...

[riky22lou]

this is what people call as "cool", sir, nice upgrade

how much time did it need to complete this gear, sir?

[AtienzaLouie]

@riky22lou Thanks Riky... You are watching it in real time; took less than a minute to cut the center hole using pocketing, but add that to however long this video is, give or take 20 seconds...

[drogersgolf]

HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE???  I NEED SOME ALUMIUM MILLED!

[mtd091571]

Can't wait to see the next video. You've got that baby purring! :-)

[mtd091571]

I agree with you on the mass. Most all of my machines have been based on aluminum extrusion. I'm thinking the phenolic probably makes it pretty stout and dampens vibration better as well. Thanks for the 1/8" bit info, I'm going to order one from them and give it another try! Oh hey, have you tried cutting regular aluminum? I wonder if mic6 mills better? You have a online source for it? I've seen it here and there but it usually seems pretty pricey.

[AtienzaLouie]

@mtd091571 Good luck with the bit. I always like to keep my feeds as high as possible without the machine bouncing around.  I think 30-35IPM with a single flute bit should do, and adjust the depth to suit the ridgidity of your machine (I'm using .035, but I think I can cut .050 with a 1/4" bit.); I think the big machines cut at 125IPM with a 4-flute bit and flood coolant. Keep the bit cool with WD-40 or whatever you like (I want to try just compressed air next).

[AtienzaLouie]

@AtienzaLouie Check eBay for mic6. It is cast, and due to the molecular structure, makes small chips easily, which is what you want. I have not tried 6061 or 6063. But the harder the aluminum the better. I bvelieve 7050 and 2024 both machine well, so I'll try that next. Let me know how it works out for you!

[mtd091571]

@AtienzaLouie thanks for the tips, I will let you know what I end up with. Gonna head to ebay and see what I can scrounge up! Talk to you later!

[mtd091571]

Awesome work! Impressive dude. Is that the bit that has just one flute? I have tried a few but have never come close to gettign the results you have gotten here.  Good job!

[AtienzaLouie]

@mtd091571 Thanks! I'm using a 1/8" Amana upcut spiral-O-flute aluminum bit. Yes, it's a single flute, which I feel is a key ingredient to successfully milling aluminum with these high-rpm routers...

[AtienzaLouie]

@AtienzaLouie Also more imprtantly, having as little backlash as possible, and having more 'mass" to the machine....

[PauloInTexas]

Pretty impressive cutting aluminum. I was only planning on cutting wood, but I'll have to try some aluminum now.

[AtienzaLouie]

@PauloInTexas Thanks! I havev some ideas I want to turn to prototype, and this will enable me to see tehm through! Best of luck!