My dad, being a cabinet maker as a VAST collecetion of lovely tools for me to play with. Last night we ended up getting onto the subject of CNC'ing. (As you do) And due to my dads latest aquistion of a nice new second mortiser (With removable box chisel), we began to ponder the thought of using said mortiser with the drill bit of a milling machine and give milling, a little shot. The reason we think this could be possible, is due to the fact that the table moves along both horizontal axis's and the drill can move vertically so you could do some nifty stuff with it, however precision could concievably be an issue. We recon the drill moves at high enough speed's to at least cut through Aluminium. And obviously for doing very precise details on parts, it could be done by file. So really, my question would have to be wether this system would be viable. And if so, what bits do you recomend me getting for some basic practise with it. Regards Inafinus
Not an expert on these matters, but I can see the lateral force on the bearings being an issue, especially with aluminium not wood.
I imagine if you were moving the piece of metal slowly enough, this wouldn't be an issue. Then again, maybe I will be disatrously wrong ^_^
How fast, is fast, if its a wood router its probably too fast to be using with aluminum. If you feed it slow, but the spindle is high speed, it will only take off very tiny slivers with each flute of the mill, but the heat generated makes it very easy to melt/weld up the cutter. Even with coolant it could still happen with a feed rate too low. Feed in aluminum can range from .003-.015 inchs per tooth, obviousley it can go beyond those for special applications. If it has a variable speed, slow it down, put an endmill in and see how it goes.
Wood working tools don't make good metal working tools. As already said, the bearings aren't meant for the higher side loads that they will see (it will work, but not for long term use). Also, as already mentioned, most wood cutting tools turn at very fast rpm's compared to metal working. Something like a wood router spins at 30,000 rpm where as using an engraving bit in a cnc machine, your speed (all dependant on chipload) is generally around 10,000 rpm and the speed for a 3/8" bit could be 4,000 rpm. Try to use a metal working bit in a wood working tool and the aluminum will quickly melt rather than cut and you'll wind up with a dulled bit with large chunks of aluminum chip welded to it.
Its not a router. Its a mortiser. And they turn at alot slower revoloution. The one I plan on using spins at only 2850RPM though, which it would seem, is probably going to be too underpowered... What do we all recon?
how i remember a mortiser working is, it drills a hole and then a chissel kinda tool squars up the hole. This wont be possible in alu you wont get any kind of force nore will the tool be sharpe enough, also if you are thinking of using a drill as a cutting bit it wont work its just not designed to cut sideways plus 2850rpm is no where near as fast. A job i did recently was to cut a 10mm channel in some extruded alu bars, using a CNC machine was slow and expensive so bought a router to do the job and had a custom bit made to use in it. The bit and router ripped through the alu like it was made of butter but then the router i have spins at 30,000rpm and cost £500+. Your best option is to get a fast drill press and some cheap CNC bits off ebay and trying with that and going slow with lots of lubricant.
I mentioned in my post that it has a removable chisel, and a working "bed" that moves in various axis's. And I am planning on buying a set of milling bits, which I also mentioned... Not using the current drilling bit inside the tool. I already have two routers, a drill press and another mortiser at my disposal. The reason I want to use this mortiser, is because it has a reasonably good amount of precision in the axis movements of the bench, which is more than I can say for the routers, because the DO spin at such a high RPM. And the reason I dont use the drill press, is because it is a massive floor standing 3 phase jobbie, that I really dont fancy modding just yet...
ok I figured the mortiser was similar to most rotary woodworking tools very high RPM... if its designed to run at 2850 RPM and its peak power is around there, you probably could mill with it, as long as it can handle the lateral loads. That is the big IF then. I'd definitely throw on a piece of aluminum and an endmill and give it a whirl and see what happens.
Sounds like a plan too me! I shall report back as soon as I get me some end mill's. Thanks for the help all!
