You Need to Start Machining Metal
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- čas přidán 28. 09. 2023
- Many of us purchase a CNC solely for creating woodworking projects and products. But today's bench-top CNC machines are robust, ultra-capable platforms capable of machining various materials. This includes several types of metal. However, this provokes many questions and fear. How do I get started? What equipment do I need? Is my workholding strong enough? What speeds and feeds? And, on and on.
Here, we help you overcome your fear and confidently cut metal. Watch this, then machine something out of aluminum, brass or copper.
Also, Winston stops by.
Chapters:
Why Machine Metal - 0:36
What Do I Buy - 1:22
What Endmills - 1:48
What About Coatings - 2:18
The Myths Debunked - 2:54
What Z-Axis Do I Need - 3:25
What Software Do I Need - 3:40
Do I Need Lubricant - 4:11
How to Begin - 4:43
What About Workholding - 6:49
The Engineering Expert, Winston - 7:19
Links:
Making Coins Video: • Creating Coins with De...
Machine a Putter Video: • Custom Putter on a Sha...
Why Create Pro Video: • Why Carbide Create Pro...
5 Tools Video: • 5 Tools to Make with CNC
How to Machine Cheese Video: • How To: Machine Cheese
Carbide 3D - 278-Z Endmill: shop.carbide3d.com/collection...
Carbide 3D - 274-Z Endmill: shop.carbide3d.com/collection...
MC Etcher Diamond Drag Engravers: shop.carbide3d.com/collection...
Carbide 3D Print Library: carbide3d.com/3d-print
McMaster Carr Aluminum Page; www.mcmaster.com/products/alu... - Věda a technologie
I really love the practical "just get started" approach, and not worry too much about the technical details. That's actually something I struggle with, so for me it's good to hear that message.
Terrific!
Make sure you wear eye protection, as the machine will want to rip the part of the bed and throw it. Also, be ready to break end mills. Buy end mills in bulk. Also, get ready to listen to your machine run for hours and hours to make very small cuts.
I love these videos from Carbide 3d! This is the reason why I’m getting a Nomad 3 and not a tormach or bantam.
I've cut a lot of metal on my Shapeoko 3 and Pro. I've done a lot of aluminum, copper, and brass. ANY issues I had, were not because of the shapeoko (it's more than capable), it was my endmills and my clamps... The MC Etcher is excellent for engraving.... I've made a lot of coins (carving and engraving), brands, and lots of decorative stuff. I think the thickest I've cut was 1/4 in.... My recommendation starting out is, starts SLOW, and go really shallow. Eventually, try going deeper and quicker.... You can also do some pretty neat things with aluminum or brass and epoxy resin inlay... These pieces you cut, can be polished to a mirror finish (depending on the material)....
An idea for a future video (if it hasn't already been done) would be making rubber stamps. It's basically the same idea as making a brand, but on MUCH softer material. I've made some for block prints, stamps with my daughters names, and some Chinese characters. You can do some pretty fine detail, just using standard rubber stamp (or block print) material. You do that, carve a nice wooden handle/block, glue them together, and done!
I am but an embryo compared to them. Struggling to cut 1mm thick aluminum as a starting project.
This video was as interesting as it was educational for me
One of the first couple parts that I cut on my 5 pro was aluminum,
The reason I bought a 5 pro was to do primarily aluminum parts.
Hey thank you very much for putting this video together for the community. I am very appreciative of your concisely informative but not too boring style. We just put our Shapeoko 5 Pro together a couple weeks ago and after I broke 3 bits trying to cut a hardwood because I didn't turn on the router, I finally turned it on :*) I hope you get a laugh out of that. I look forward to being able to cut metal coins for board games, and I'm super excited about the world of possibility within this machine. Thank you all for the good work and innovation that you're putting forth. God bless you Carbide team!
We use a sweepie with a shop vac and cheap 5 gallon bucket dust collector. No problems pulling aluminum chips out of fairly deep pockets so long as the sweepie is engaging the work.
Also, the Create feeds and speeds are super conservative, but that’s great for getting started. Always good to see Winston in a video, he’s a wealth of good ideas.
Indeed he is.
Buying quality cutting tools is worth the money. I use the TiCN coated endmills and they really hold up in aluminum where coolant and lubricants are not used. The cheapo endmills might look good but they’re crap. A guy brought a part to my shop with a Chinese "carbide" drill broken off in it and I used a good name brand endmill to cut it out. It cut it like butter. The thing to watch out for when cutting aluminum is chip weld. A chip gets stuck to the flute which causes mor chips to stick and in a few seconds the whole cut is blob of aluminum with an endmill broken off in it. You definitely need to watch aluminum while you run it.
It would be great if Carbide 3D did some testing, or put together results from testing they likely already have done, and put out a chart like what was done way back for the Shapeoko 3 that includes feeds and speeds, but also have stepover and depth per pass recommendations. Not just for metals but also woods, plastics, etc. One thing that confuses a lot of people is they are told to use the chipload recommended by the manufacturer of the end mill but many times those numbers are based on using a much more rigid machine with a much more powerful spindle. Getting real world numbers for desktop machines like these where many people just have a 1.25 HP palm router is a challenge. People find discussions in your forums but even then you will see a crazy range of recommendations.
This is exactly why we have all that information in the tool libraries of Create. No more looking for that sheet of paper. Everything you mentioned is broken down by machine, material and endmill.
@@carbide3d Not everyone uses Carbide Create. Kind of a pain to install it then look up each tool one by for for each type of material and then what... manually type it into a document of some sort? Or is there a way to export the entire tool database all at once that I'm not seeing in the app's menu?
@@tornadokat its a pain to install a program and look up each tool wtf are you on about and how are feeds and speeds so difficult for you to comprehend, maybe you are out of your league here these things require computer knowledge nowadays grandpa
@@undeadducky7729 ease up keyboard warrior...and don't forget take your medication.
@@undeadducky7729 Hello Troll. Perfectly capable, simply pointing out how it would be nice if C3D provided their speeds in a document to save a lot of time extracting it manually. Many people who buy a Shapeoko are completely new to CNC and have no idea what proper speeds should be and a percentage of those people purchase different software such as something from Vectric. Unfortunate that you completely missed the point and feel the need to attempt to degrade someone, but really you just made yourself look bad.
I've always said, and made several videos showing how easy it can be, those who want to do this as a side hustle or otherwise to earn are leaving money on the table, not doing non-ferrous metal, especially aluminium. Partiuclarly with so many doing the same wood projects.
Agreed. There’s money to be made.
Great video, guys! Really dispels a lot of worries and myths! Thank you so much!
Right on Jeremy.
I really like your channel. Your videos are always full of great information taught with humor. Such a great teacher, you hold my attention from start to finish.
Lol at the rabbit hole. I’ve been down it a few times and that was just for wood. My first aluminum project I followed my golf mantra…hit it hard and see where it goes.
Good plan Lori. Let it FLY!!
It was a long time before I could get dry cutting to work well, and I still prefer lubricant because it mostly eliminates airborne metal dust. I use Anchorlube. It's water based so it cleans up easily, and you can add water to thin it out as needed (thicker will stick to vertical surfaces better, thinner will flow down into deep channels better). No trouble cutting aluminum chip soup, as long as you can clear enough chips between each pass to keep the bottom of the channel wet. I use a syringe with a piece of rubber tube on it for application.
Although I enjoy hearing "keep it simple keep it somple" It woould have been nice to hear some indicative numbers, Feed, rpm, depth per cut etc.
Thank you so much for this! You guys really are concerned about this community and I love it!
Great information! I would emphasize the work holding that Kevin mentioned is super important to reduce any chatter. Also, make sure you have a collet that has very little runout. This may not be as important for milling wood, but very important when milling metals. Thanks for sharing and encouraging!
Thanks for checking in and contributing Patrick!
Ok, I'm confused. You have a store that sells this stuff but I didn't see any lies to get me to buy it. Where's the click-bait? Are you going to sit there and tell me you just made an honest, entertaining, funny, and instructional video that didn't hard push your products?? Explain yourself!
J/K, it is refreshing to see this from a manufacturer and seller, thank you. And you're right, I own a Bridgeport mill, and two metal lathes but have cut nearly all my 2D and 3D CAD/CAM metal projects on a homemade CNC router. Proper setup, work-holding, and pacing yourself is the trick. Good video!
Thanks JRo. We’re happy you enjoyed this one.
Gotta admit, this video makes me a little salty. I bought an original Shapeoko 3 when they first came out. Way back then, the claim was also made it could cut metal. It was true in only the broadest sense. The original Z axis design didn't have enough rigidity at all, so chatter was a terrible problem. Also, the original "bed" was just a piece of MDF with a couple of spindly steel supports. You could deflect the bed 0.03" by pushing with your finger. Again, not great for rigidity. The palm router will do the job, but the "recipe" thing is kind of a crock. It is "choose your own adventure" because with a palm router the speeds are way too high and the torque way to low to line up with any "standard" cutters. So, yes with a bunch of trial and error (mostly error) you can eventually make some aluminum parts that are +/-0.02" of what you were after that might have okay surface finish. If you are making a skateboard deck, where that kind of tolerance is acceptable then maybe this is okay. If you are wanting something with some dimensional control (like +/- 0.005 or smaller) then this is the wrong machine for you.
I just hate to see them oversell the capabilities of the machine. It is a great machine, and I love their software and ecosystem they try to provide. It just isn't really right for cutting aluminum and they do everyone a disservice by continuing to claim it.
For roughly double the cost of the Shapeoko, you can get a small CNC mill running that will actually do everything you really want to do. And it does it in a way that is supported by the full might of the worlds machining industry. My $0.02 is that it is worth the extra money to really get what you want and save yourself a bunch of time.
We had LOTS of users cutting aluminum with the original Shapeoko 3 from 2015, and we did a lot of aluminum projects internally with them.
Every machine we make has been more capable than the ones that came before it. Our newer machines are more rigid and cut aluminum a lot better, but the Shapeoko 3 did well for lots of people.
I got a Shapeoko 3 in 2015 that I still use today. I’ve cut some aluminum since the beginning, but just at a hobby level making bottle openers, etc. I did the XL upgrade then the XXL then HDZ. Now I’d like to have linear rails and X and Y ballscrews.
thanks. Great help!
Waldo is top left behind the left blue tent and Winston is at the right, up and right to the red striped tent behind the cowboy on the horse.
BOOM!
Wish this was all available when I started out some 20+ years ago. Great tips on using 1 flute cutters and the short explanation of different aluminum types. One thing to remember is that you only know what you machine and endmill are capable of is when you have gone too fast or too deep and have broken a few. So if you buy endmills, start with one or two versions (I'd suggest 1/4 and 1/8) and a few of each. I now use a professional CNC machine and sometimes fairly expensive tooling but I will still do this and buy a pack of 5 of the same endmills because I know I am going to break a few of them - it's all part of the game.
It is indeed “all part of the game”. Well said.
I've been cutting aluminum, brass, and copper on my SO3 (HDZ) for a few years now, great to see some official support for it. Also, Aluminum speeds in carbide create? I need to update!
I'm very interested to know if the redENERGY G4 EP-Z Pulsed Fiber Laser can be mounted where the router/ spindle is fixed on Shapeoko 5 Pro? I'm also curious about mounting 3D printing extruders & other basic extruders in the place of the router.
I wanted to say thx for the video. I'm not in to cutting metal yet but this video was helpful in a wide variety of areas:)
Right on @jwannaapple. Hope we got you closer to giving metal a go.
I think going for a slower feed rate is a safer option than sticking to the ‘safe’ range of the end mill. Going deep should also be avoided. Though I did manage to cut through a 10 mm stock as my first ever cnc job. Though I did go at a very low feed rate.
As one gets more experienced, workholding techniques will take up more of your time
I worked in the anodizing department at a shop in Colorado, one day my boss dragged me out on the floor and told me to watch this cutting machine and make sure the machine didn't run low on lubricant. Simple job. So I sat there watching this machine cutting, a few hours later my boss returned and started yelling at me then ran into his office. I followed him in and told him I did exactly what he told me to do. Turns out he got called to leave the building for a meeting. The part I was Machining was a 50k prototype for Hewlett-Packard. It was destroyed. I walked out of his office with my job intact. Moral of the story, Don't tell a 20yr old kid to run a machine he knows nothing about! lol.
If a tool is rotating inside a material, but stationery, it is not going to heat up, bcos, there is no material to rub against.
Same way, I dont think a slow moving tool rubs against the material and can cuase rubbing and heating and melting etc. But several videos say that this will happen, if the feedrate is too slow.
If slow moving tool can rub and heat, then by the same logic, a stationery tool (but rotating) inside the material shud rub and heat up a lot more. Does this happen ? Can someone explain this ?
Good stuff to know thx
I love this. I got the 2nd cheapest 3018 I could find and Ive been loving this process. I have a forge and ive been melting pop cans in a crucible and pouring them into small brick molds. Last night I clamped one in and used the mill to surface the top down flat. Wonderful process, and really nice finish. Figuring out the proper feed rates and spindle speeds will take some work.
What about stone (rock)? MY granddaughter found a neat rock at the beach and just HAS to keep it. I want to carve her name in it as it has one very flat surface. What kind of bit would I need to carve into an average skipping stone? I look forward to shopping on your site and getting some better bits and clamps.
I don't know anything about this cutting stuff, but I do work with Tile installation. Cutting stone I'm guessing a diamond bit would work but use lubrication. Water will work, You want to keep the bit cool.
I tried a small diamond bit made for a Dremel tool. It didnt hold up very long at even the slowest of speeds. The diamond dust coating is fine, but the glue holding it to the bit doesnt hold up.@@RailyardProductions
all i have right now is an old roland mdx-40 but i need to make some aluninum molds for diy plastic injection molding. i know its 'possible' to use the mdx-40 to mill aluminum, and i've seen a few videos of people doing it, but i've always been worried about frying my motor or something. replacement parts are getting hard to come by now
I already started cutting metal as soon as I got my Shapeoko 4. It does alright, but honestly has some issues with the rigidity and I've messed up countless parts because of chatter and skipping the motor. I know it's due to the plastic wheels used for motion. I easily solved the problem by purchasing an HDM. It's set to arrive in two days and I can't say enough how excited I am to get it and see how hard I can push it.
Hey Bryn, With the Shapeoko 4, adjusting your V-wheels is critical. If you are getting chatter, dial in your DOC and speeds and feeds. It's possible to get excellent results with any Shapeoko machine when all the factors are in balance.
Enjoy that HDM......😉
One thing they fail to mention in the video about coatings. If you're cutting aluminum stay away from coatings that contain aluminum. Aluminum likes to stick to itself. That will increase the chances of chips welding to the end mill. One thing that I disagree on is using a single flute tool. 3 flute end mills are the best option for cutting aluminum. The are more rigid than a single flute yet they have a large enough chip gullet to take a large cut without getting packed with chips. Avoid using "down cut" tools in metal as well. You'll have all kinds of issues with recutting chips.
A more advanced topic they didn't touch on is radial chip thinning. The smaller your radial step over on your tool the thinner the chip will be. If you use a tiny step over then you can go MUCH faster feed rate to achieve the proper chip thickness. This is more advanced than what the video here covers, but is also a reason why you could be putting excess heat into the work piece.
this video makes me more comfortable with buying a nomad
I’ve been running across this channel on my search for cnc how to videos. I’m not exactly new to it but it has been a long time. I would consider myself a beginner because of the length of time. I just recently purchased a V1 Engineering Lowrider DIY CNC. Still in the process of building it. I am still unsure about programs to use for the cnc as far as creating objects, parts etc. Also what to use to convert everything to Gcode. There is a lot out there. Any advice to help steer me in the right direction would be grateful.
If you’re running a third party machine you’ll need Carbide Create Pro. Even for people with higher end CAD programs, Create has a place for quick 2D design and cut.
You’ll need Pro for the ability to output G Code, but it also comes with a raft of handy features. Check it out here: czcams.com/video/0W-5nv4izqA/video.htmlsi=bnZIsQLJaZsvgMvv
I appreciate the super honest and no-gimmick approach in this video. But, I don't know what type of machine to buy as a beginner? Unless I missed it, I didn't catch that important detail. Any suggestions anyone?
Glad you enjoyed it. Our Shapeoko 5 Pro is intended to be a full package solution to your machine needs. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced bench top CNC operator.
We do offer the Shapeoko 4 and Pro 4 as well.
If you reach out to sales@carbide3d.com they will be happy to talk you through the process with the same no pressure, full transparency attitude.
We’d love to have you join the family.
Great video. Gave me more encouragement to CNC aluminum. What was the name of that site does that precision work? Thank you.
Terrific Rick. Hope you’re cutting aluminum sometime soon. Kern Precision is who you’re looking for.
They just put out another space telescope inspired mirror finish project. Mind blowing stuff.
Is vacuum not something used or that works? Why air blowing? Too heavy? Is the hdz needed for 1/4” aluminum? I have the 3xxl
Winston, long ago, accomplished his skateboard project with the stock Shapeoko 3 z-axis. You can do it; you'll go slower and shallower with each cut.
Removing chips must be done when cutting metal. Your cutters will dull significantly faster or break if they regularly encounter pre-cut chips.
If you were going to cut metal all the time, you could look into putting on air assist, buying an HDZ or upgrading your machine.
I've had very good lucky with Sweepy and the shop vac to remove aluminum chips -- as long as you can place Sweepy low enough to touch the surface of the aluminum.
I just watched a video of a shapeoko doing thread milling on aluminum here on youtube (nyc cnc). I believe he was using fusion 360. I have yet to try carbide create pro, can ccp do thread milling ?
We do not have thread milling in Create Pro. But there are other valuable features: czcams.com/video/0W-5nv4izqA/video.htmlsi=bnZIsQLJaZsvgMvv
Great content.
How can I get the shape of something I want to engrave downloaded into the program.
There are a variety of options depending on the file type you want to import. You can read all about Carbide Create and Carbide Create Pro here:
Carbide Create: carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/
Carbide Create Pro: carbide3d.com/carbidecreate/pro/
Any pointers for anodizing aluminum after machining it?
It’s something we’d like to explore. At the moment we don’t have the capability in house.
Ashley Anodizes It on IG will give you some wild ideas!
How about annealed 416 SS? If a Sherline can do it, why not the Nomad?
Hi Harold, This video may help you plan that project: czcams.com/video/Ta_KiG_5etU/video.html
There's also this one featuring Stainless on Shapeoko 3: czcams.com/video/QYkDKkfUuFs/video.html
Thanks for responding, I’ve viewed both videos many times. The reason I requested 416 SS is because the 303 SS is unable to be hardened via heat treatment, whereas the 416 SS is. Keep the videos coming.
...and a workshop, and some noise insulation, and some kind of vacuum system, and tons of money for material and mills xD
What website or channel
For this people doing the disco ball?
We said don’t do it!!! 😂😂 Kern Precision: instagram.com/kernprecision?igshid=MTUyYW93OXJydWhzcg==
last time I checked your software, the missing ingredient was - metric . Frankly, outside of USA - nobody cares about imperial in machining (which ironic, since I write this from the original imperial measurements land). So please fully support it.
Metric has been fully supported from the very start.
which cnc machine would you recommend to get started?
The 4x2 Shapeoko 5 Pro is an excellent place to start. We offer video training and all the resources you need for success at My.Carbide3d.Com
Also visit the Community Forum and the Unofficial Shapeoko and Nomad Users page on Facebook. Tons of people willing to answer questions and inspire your creativity.
Here’s the Shapeoko 5 Pro 4x2: shop.carbide3d.com/products/shapeoko5?variant=40249287704637
16:38 what is that account name?
We told you not to follow 😂, but………. instagram.com/kernprecision?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
@@carbide3d me? Never... just impossible 😉
Imperial measurement bits? No, thanks. I don't use ancient measurement systems.
🙄
Now do this with ferrous metals.
Honestly I am sick of seeing aluminium cutting, how about some copper for a change.
We mentioned copper coin creation. Here’s that video: czcams.com/video/RSTxiYeJsaU/video.htmlsi=YGhe9tvPwFhgCQBP
"People will try to sell you coatings, you don't need any of them, but here's OUR coating." LOL... Too funny. You guys need someone professionally trained in marketing, me thinks.
Hahaha came to the comments to say this….