This video is the only video on the whole of the internet that actually explains everything in detail about relief carving brass for stamps. Absolutely love the content. Keep up the amazing work. Huge fan.
Glad you found it useful. Im experimenting with engraving some embossing plate too at the moment and will make a video for that as there isnt much info on it for home printers
Great advice for hobbyists - which was me 14 years ago. Took me into professional engraving, and the business is now 12 years old. We produce around 10,000 to 15,000 engraved items a month - from industrial asset tags to embossing dies. We sell all over the world and have over 2500 corporate customers and nearly half a million sales to private consumers. It is a great industry to be in and the really attractive part is that practically every company - indeed most people - at some point need something engraved. Of course to day we have very sophisticated machines, but started out with just the sort of kit being shown here. There are good business opportunities for people who learn how to do this with care and precision. I managed it - so lots of others can too. While these end mills are relatively cheap - even the better quality ones, their geometry is often not suitable for precision metal engraving. A "flat tip" is not recommended for fine precision... the tip should be angled about 7 degrees, and there are other angles and cutting edge geometries to consider (which for example, allow for swarf - the engraved-away flakes of metal - to not clog up the engraved groove. To grind the end mill (engraving cutter) to the correct geometries requires a professional cutter grinder - and good ones aren't cheap, unfortunately - but for us (who have around 1000 end mills and engraving cutters) it is essential - as when cutters get blunt or break - and ours often do break! - being able to sharpen them to the correct angles is a massive cost saving. (Some of our mills / engraving cutters cost £100 a piece... so being able to sharpen them in-house is important). End mills and engraving cutters should be micrograin tungsten carbide steel - particularly for brass, copper and bronze (which is harder than brass). Bear in mind that there are LOTS of alloys of brass (and aluminium) and not all alloys lend themselves to being precision-machined. You need to look for suitable alloys for the job you intend doing. (We have used around 20 different aluminium alloys and nearly 30 different brass alloys - depends on what you are trying to make). Engraving is a very rewarding hobby - and for those who are prepared to learn, it can be a very rewarding business too.
Those aren't end mills. They're engraving bits. When using very small diameter cutters, where there may be some height variability on the surface of the material, I first resurface the material with a 1/8" end mill. To do the engravings, I use 1/32 inch, 2 flute end mills. You can get smaller if you wish but they get pretty fragile and you have to go pretty slowly. When cutting aluminum, use single flute end mills and you will get far better results because they clear the chips much better and don't re-cut them / grind them into your work surface. The air blast is absolutely mandatory; it made a huge difference in my results. I don't use coolant / lubricant any more. My work stays cools to the touch with single flute end mills. I found that the liquid creates too much surface tension and that means that the finer chips stick to the work and get ground back in creating that awful surface that we all try to avoid. Great video and thanks for taking the time to share.
For you information, the reason the fine points snap is that whatever speed the spindle is running at the centre of the cutter is always effectively moving at zero relative to the spindle. It therefore acts like a drag engraver with the predictable result. This is also the case with ball nosed end mills whatever size they are By having a slightly flattened point your recommended cutters do not have a cutting edge at the centre so do not act like a drag engraver. When working with plastics this dragging point stirs up some plastic so heats it up and ploughs it as it goes with the result they don't usually snap in plastics. The coarser points are stronger and able to resist these drag forces better.
Cheers Martin, very helpful info. I heard the same thing mentioned about the center point effectively not moving on a NYCNC video about trepan drilling :)
Very helpful. My interest is clock dials (brass) where the alloy matters. I think that means engraving, rather than relief carving, but breakage has still been a problem. Brass 260 isn't ideal, but 360 isn't available in sheets. Now trying 1/16" end mills followed by V-tips to clean up edges. Can you comment on pass depths, RPM and surface speeds?
I swear by the spiral V Varve bits, usuall 0.25 mm but often that is used after roughing out. For Copper and Aluminium I also use Metholated Spirts for a lube. The sudden heat change causes the ship to eject from the bits and not gum up as badly especially in aluminium. the rapid evaporation also helps cool things but dont forget that Meths is also flamable so no smoking.
What helps with leveling as well, is to make an height map. Most CAM programs can do this. This is especially easy with metal surfaces. For non conductive surfaces, I just simply use some aluminum foil over the surface
@@ThisDesignedThat yes, but possiblities are really wide) Even if it would be able to do just simple shapes. Your video is really unique) Thanks and good luck!
Super interesting, thanks. Given that it's been 3 years now, and that I see that you're also into laser engraving, do you think that laser is getting close to CNC for 3d engraving?
From my research, a 50-100W fiber laser will be able to engrave fine details in steel plates so it is possible. Unfortunately, these machines are costly so I haven't been able to test them yet
I know this is a long shot since the video is 3 years old. I am after some advice on engraving names onto pen clips. I don't have a laser yet so I am trying to either engrave or relief carve a name into the pen clip. Trouble is, they are mostly curved and I am struggling to work out how to do it. I am not sure how to hold the pen/clip to get it at the right angle. Any tips would be absolutely awesome.
Have a look at Estlcam software, it is both CAM and CNC controller in one. Very easy to use and setup for just about any machine. Very cheap to buy and free to use for testing indefinitely. Many videos online, mostly in German.
@@ThisDesignedThat Got backup plan, it came with 2.5w laser. Acrylic spray paint, laser it off then etch, ferric chloride or electro. Will need air assist when lasing to blow residue away. Plan C is Dremel 30,000 rpm. Might need handpiece mods to tighten up run out. Plan D is DIY high speed precision spindle. Plan E is Brushless motor, Plan F is 300W. So many things to try, include 12mm slides. Or use the 3018 to make parts for linear rail mill. Or stop wasting time and buy a Datron, haha. Mind you those 20W diode/fibre lasers can do it now.
I have had good results with a 10 degree v bit 0.2 flat end on brass on a cheapo 1610 machine which is a small version of the 3018 and a modified 300w spindle. I use multiple passes to remove small amounts of material which for me is the key to good results given the basic machine I have. eg 12 passes to remove about 1.5 mm of brass. I have an early version of v carve which I bought cheap some years ago.
Thank you so much, much appreciated, if you could dumb it down a little bit more next time for designers that have never used a cnc machine, (I'm not sure what a rigged machine is, nor what the talk about rails mean 😅) but I am looking to make my own molds for hotstamping, and I have no idea how they make the silicone stamps (aluminum + silicone) and if it's possible to do my own. Again, thanks a lot 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you very much for your information. I will try these tips next week and hope it will solve my problems! Thanks again and keep doing it because it’s a good job!
Very helpful video. I have made a diy cnc machine and i figure out myself only half of the issues you report in this video. Regarding v bits i use the cheap ones for pcb engraving. I need to switch to those ones you describe and have double flute for deburring. Fusion does not work well when it comes to fine details too. I carve on plywood and mdf and in most cases my stock tears off especially when fine lines engraved next to each other. I didn't found a solution to this yet. I have read in an article that you have to calculate the taper angle of the bit based on the finest line you want to engrave.
question about engraving in fusion 360, could you do it in 2 operations? The first a 3d adaptive to remove most of the material with a larger cutter, and then a parallel for the detail with a fine point cutter?
Hi Josh, yes that is one way to do it (I have tested it myself) and works OK for basic shapes but for text or intricate designs you will always get aliasing on curves. You might get around the aliasing by doing a stepover of something like 0.05mm but it's going to increase the machining time so much. Better off just using something like vcarve or artcam that has proper relief cutting toolpaths
Some really good tips and information here - thanks. I’m learning how to do v-carved inlays on chopping boards at the moment and so many of the challenges you mention are the same. Really good advice.
In the world of CNC and machining this is not common practice AFAIK. Its much easier, quicker, cheaper and common to just face the material before operation
Fantastic content - ty ! I stumbled across your channel a few days back - and have kept coming back for more :) I have bought myself a desktop cnc mill - to make an injection mold for myself - and I’ve never used a mill - so have spent 3 months immersing myself online to try and understand what I’m going to be doing - this is very interesting as I need to create some small details and all adds to the picture. I love your videos as they always put the theme in context - like here - it’s so helpful to be shown what are the things to be careful of - clearly machining is a sum of complex parts with many variables - usually as weak as the weakest thing - so it’s important to understand what things must be considered ... also your accent resonates as I’m in Se London :) I’m going to go and see if I can find some of your music ... I’m now it rested to see what you create as you’re obviously sensitive with a lovely eye - from what i can see in the background so I imagine your music will be very interesting :) ah . Couldn’t find any links . Could you post some links ...?
Hi, thankyou so much for taking the time to comment, its always so nice to hear from others in a similar situation and nice to know this content is helpful to you. Injection molding sounds very exciting, I would love to try it out at some point, i saw a desktop injection mold machine on practical machinist channel a while back and it looks great but very expensive. Detail carving is very difficult, the finer the detail the more rigid a machine you need, any chatter and deflection will ruin your details. What desktop mill did you purchase? SE London, close to me, Im in Essex, I use to go Elephant & Castle for uni though. :) For music check out my channel - ua-cam.com/users/driftdeeperchannel. I run 2 labels mostly focusing on Dub Techno & Ambient styles driftdeeper.bandcamp.com/ & naturalexpressions.bandcamp.com/ I also have some making'of videos for the cassettes I release on Natural Expressions, here is the most recent - ua-cam.com/video/iKfej6stU_w/v-deo.html
@@ThisDesignedThat that’s really cool! Just had a quick listen - very interesting - I’m a long standing fan of ambient... have to dip in and find some more of that :) Re the desktop mill - I’ve bought a second hand isel cpm 2018 - which I believe is reckoned to be stiff enough to cut aluminium. It’s sitting in my warehouse in Swanley at the moment - a little difficult to get it set up with covid restrictions. I’m still getting sorted out with the associated hardware that I need - eg am going to be buying a quiet compressor for chip clearance / mist cooling - so very interested in your experience with the implotex. I’m wondering if I may go the next size up to ensure I have lots of capacity in the future ... esp as I know my mold willl have small, deep pockets needing to be milled - so particularly difficult to clear chips from - but obv that’s at the cost of being more spendy ! Re injection molding - I bought an apsx pim - which is a desktop automatic machine - so it can be used for production, albeit only for small parts. I bought it second hand - but it was still a lot of money ... very happy to pass on my experiences if you’re interested as I get into that. The bit that’s really messing with my head at the moment is how to design the mold in Solidworks ... I have working prototype parts from an sla printer (form 2) so I know the part geometry works for the end use - now it’s just the mold :)
Great videos and tons of real proper detail, thank you! If you are using Mach 3, you can set it up to compensate for your slanted bed. I haven't done it but i have read the tutorials and it seems easy. I bought a 16mm thick sheet of Aluminum and faced that with a 1/4" 22mm plunge router bit for wood. You have to do 0.05mm passes at at time (starting at your highest corner) and cool it down between passes but It worked. To test which corner is higher, without a dial indicator, I used a cheap Z probe (now I see you made one :) ), either configured in Mach 3 or with a LED, resistor and 9V battery and check at what Z reading in Mach 3 the LED comes on.
@@ThisDesignedThat Thanks for the reply! Its obviously up to you but I wouldn't tap into the Aluminum, reason being: swarf in the threads will wear them down eventually and cause them to strip. I had Mach 3 pocket about 90 6.5mm holes all the way through the Aluminum sheet and then the same for around 12mm (large enough diameter to allow a 6mm socket to get in) but only half way through (just enough to allow a 6mm bolt head with a washer to be below the top surface of the aluminum). Then I pushed 90 4040 T-nuts into my existing aluminum extrusion bed and lined them up (a bit fiddly but manageable with one of those telescoping magnetic pick up tools) to the holes in the aluminum sheet and locked the sheet into place with bolts going through it into the T-nuts. So now I have at least 84 bolts clamping the sheet down even if I use 6 clamps to hold my stock down. It made a big difference to the stability of the router and workpiece holding is very easy. If you do manage to strip one of the T-nuts, you just replace it. I haven't managed to strip one yet and my machine is 3 years old. Another thing I did was to modify it for flood cooling. It doesn't matter what feed or rpm I run at now because the bit never gums up and those deep profiles are easier because there's no swarf in the trench for the bit to contend with. I can hog stuff out at high feed rates and come back at low feed rates for the detail. There's very little mess either.
Hi Richard, glad you found it interesting, its a small niche with this type of stuff so I love reading messages like this. Keeps my energy up in these needed times. Stay safe!
@@ThisDesignedThat Thanks man! and not a problem. Btw I bought the 6040 cnc a while back and am losing steps in every direction. I was wondering if you encountered this?
This video is the only video on the whole of the internet that actually explains everything in detail about relief carving brass for stamps. Absolutely love the content. Keep up the amazing work. Huge fan.
Glad you found it useful. Im experimenting with engraving some embossing plate too at the moment and will make a video for that as there isnt much info on it for home printers
Hi, very good video.
Could I ask you the settings of your cnc for brass? Deep, RPM end Feed rate?
Thank you
Can you go over pass depths and speed?
Great advice for hobbyists - which was me 14 years ago.
Took me into professional engraving, and the business is now 12 years old. We produce around 10,000 to 15,000 engraved items a month - from industrial asset tags to embossing dies. We sell all over the world and have over 2500 corporate customers and nearly half a million sales to private consumers. It is a great industry to be in and the really attractive part is that practically every company - indeed most people - at some point need something engraved. Of course to day we have very sophisticated machines, but started out with just the sort of kit being shown here.
There are good business opportunities for people who learn how to do this with care and precision. I managed it - so lots of others can too.
While these end mills are relatively cheap - even the better quality ones, their geometry is often not suitable for precision metal engraving. A "flat tip" is not recommended for fine precision... the tip should be angled about 7 degrees, and there are other angles and cutting edge geometries to consider (which for example, allow for swarf - the engraved-away flakes of metal - to not clog up the engraved groove. To grind the end mill (engraving cutter) to the correct geometries requires a professional cutter grinder - and good ones aren't cheap, unfortunately - but for us (who have around 1000 end mills and engraving cutters) it is essential - as when cutters get blunt or break - and ours often do break! - being able to sharpen them to the correct angles is a massive cost saving. (Some of our mills / engraving cutters cost £100 a piece... so being able to sharpen them in-house is important).
End mills and engraving cutters should be micrograin tungsten carbide steel - particularly for brass, copper and bronze (which is harder than brass). Bear in mind that there are LOTS of alloys of brass (and aluminium) and not all alloys lend themselves to being precision-machined. You need to look for suitable alloys for the job you intend doing. (We have used around 20 different aluminium alloys and nearly 30 different brass alloys - depends on what you are trying to make).
Engraving is a very rewarding hobby - and for those who are prepared to learn, it can be a very rewarding business too.
Thankyou sooooo much for this insight, what an Incredible comment and information!
Those aren't end mills. They're engraving bits.
When using very small diameter cutters, where there may be some height variability on the surface of the material, I first resurface the material with a 1/8" end mill. To do the engravings, I use 1/32 inch, 2 flute end mills. You can get smaller if you wish but they get pretty fragile and you have to go pretty slowly. When cutting aluminum, use single flute end mills and you will get far better results because they clear the chips much better and don't re-cut them / grind them into your work surface. The air blast is absolutely mandatory; it made a huge difference in my results. I don't use coolant / lubricant any more. My work stays cools to the touch with single flute end mills. I found that the liquid creates too much surface tension and that means that the finer chips stick to the work and get ground back in creating that awful surface that we all try to avoid.
Great video and thanks for taking the time to share.
Thank you for this tips❤
You can level your bed, or....you can add a spoilboard and surface that instead. Works like a charm.
I'm so glad Hitman made this channel. Great work!
Glad you enjoy it!
For you information, the reason the fine points snap is that whatever speed the spindle is running at the centre of the cutter is always effectively moving at zero relative to the spindle. It therefore acts like a drag engraver with the predictable result. This is also the case with ball nosed end mills whatever size they are By having a slightly flattened point your recommended cutters do not have a cutting edge at the centre so do not act like a drag engraver. When working with plastics this dragging point stirs up some plastic so heats it up and ploughs it as it goes with the result they don't usually snap in plastics. The coarser points are stronger and able to resist these drag forces better.
Cheers Martin, very helpful info. I heard the same thing mentioned about the center point effectively not moving on a NYCNC video about trepan drilling :)
Very helpful. My interest is clock dials (brass) where the alloy matters. I think that means engraving, rather than relief carving, but breakage has still been a problem. Brass 260 isn't ideal, but 360 isn't available in sheets. Now trying 1/16" end mills followed by V-tips to clean up edges. Can you comment on pass depths, RPM and surface speeds?
I swear by the spiral V Varve bits, usuall 0.25 mm but often that is used after roughing out.
For Copper and Aluminium I also use Metholated Spirts for a lube. The sudden heat change causes the ship to eject from the bits and not gum up as badly especially in aluminium.
the rapid evaporation also helps cool things but dont forget that Meths is also flamable so no smoking.
What helps with leveling as well, is to make an height map. Most CAM programs can do this. This is especially easy with metal surfaces.
For non conductive surfaces, I just simply use some aluminum foil over the surface
Thank you so much! As a bookbinder i consider to buy small cnc to play with some stamps and decorative stuff, and it's amazingly educative video
You are so welcome! Its possible as i've shown, but does require a significant investment.
@@ThisDesignedThat yes, but possiblities are really wide) Even if it would be able to do just simple shapes. Your video is really unique) Thanks and good luck!
Super interesting, thanks.
Given that it's been 3 years now, and that I see that you're also into laser engraving, do you think that laser is getting close to CNC for 3d engraving?
From my research, a 50-100W fiber laser will be able to engrave fine details in steel plates so it is possible. Unfortunately, these machines are costly so I haven't been able to test them yet
Thank you for this video! anyone ever tried to engrave a UV cured photopolymer plate? would love to know if this work?
Actually a very interesting idea! I would have to test this out!
I know this is a long shot since the video is 3 years old. I am after some advice on engraving names onto pen clips. I don't have a laser yet so I am trying to either engrave or relief carve a name into the pen clip. Trouble is, they are mostly curved and I am struggling to work out how to do it. I am not sure how to hold the pen/clip to get it at the right angle. Any tips would be absolutely awesome.
You will need to make a jig to hold the pens and if you can try to model the geometry accurately in cad\cam
Have a look at Estlcam software, it is both CAM and CNC controller in one. Very easy to use and setup for just about any machine. Very cheap to buy and free to use for testing indefinitely. Many videos online, mostly in German.
I will check it out, thanks!
Thanks, there is not much out there on CNC brass. Will be interesting to try this on my new 3018.
3018 isnt the best for brass, especially small details but give it a go. Good luck
@@ThisDesignedThat Got backup plan, it came with 2.5w laser. Acrylic spray paint, laser it off then etch, ferric chloride or electro. Will need air assist when lasing to blow residue away. Plan C is Dremel 30,000 rpm. Might need handpiece mods to tighten up run out. Plan D is DIY high speed precision spindle. Plan E is Brushless motor, Plan F is 300W. So many things to try, include 12mm slides. Or use the 3018 to make parts for linear rail mill. Or stop wasting time and buy a Datron, haha. Mind you those 20W diode/fibre lasers can do it now.
Man. You're the first designer I've found who is on my same journey. Really appreciate this.
Hi Gabe, nice to meet someone on the same path, there are very few of us i think, let me know if you need any help!
thanks a lot
I have had good results with a 10 degree v bit 0.2 flat end on brass on a cheapo 1610 machine which is a small version of the 3018 and a modified 300w spindle. I use multiple passes to remove small amounts of material which for me is the key to good results given the basic machine I have. eg 12 passes to remove about 1.5 mm of brass. I have an early version of v carve which I bought cheap some years ago.
Thank you so much, much appreciated, if you could dumb it down a little bit more next time for designers that have never used a cnc machine, (I'm not sure what a rigged machine is, nor what the talk about rails mean 😅) but I am looking to make my own molds for hotstamping, and I have no idea how they make the silicone stamps (aluminum + silicone) and if it's possible to do my own.
Again, thanks a lot 🙏🙏🙏
Thank you very much for your information. I will try these tips next week and hope it will solve my problems! Thanks again and keep doing it because it’s a good job!
Glad it helped!
Great video. Very informative. Thank you.
Very helpful video. I have made a diy cnc machine and i figure out myself only half of the issues you report in this video. Regarding v bits i use the cheap ones for pcb engraving. I need to switch to those ones you describe and have double flute for deburring. Fusion does not work well when it comes to fine details too. I carve on plywood and mdf and in most cases my stock tears off especially when fine lines engraved next to each other. I didn't found a solution to this yet. I have read in an article that you have to calculate the taper angle of the bit based on the finest line you want to engrave.
plywood will tear out quite a lot no matter what size letter you engrave. Have you tried MDF or switching to a metal?
From one designer to another, great video 👍
Much appreciated
question about engraving in fusion 360, could you do it in 2 operations? The first a 3d adaptive to remove most of the material with a larger cutter, and then a parallel for the detail with a fine point cutter?
Hi Josh, yes that is one way to do it (I have tested it myself) and works OK for basic shapes but for text or intricate designs you will always get aliasing on curves. You might get around the aliasing by doing a stepover of something like 0.05mm but it's going to increase the machining time so much. Better off just using something like vcarve or artcam that has proper relief cutting toolpaths
Some really good tips and information here - thanks. I’m learning how to do v-carved inlays on chopping boards at the moment and so many of the challenges you mention are the same. Really good advice.
Glad it was helpful!
Fiber Laser, low investment quick and easy
Low investment??? Really?? What laser that is under $1k will do a deep etch like this? Please share, i'd love to know
Great tips! Thanks.
Thanks a lot, it´s a great video, it has been very usefull for me.
Glad it was helpful!
An alternative to facing the material is to start by height-mapping it. Most software will offer this.
In the world of CNC and machining this is not common practice AFAIK. Its much easier, quicker, cheaper and common to just face the material before operation
@@ThisDesignedThat Sure. But I do make prototype printed circuits. No choice then - you have to map the height.
Good video. Thank you.
Fantastic content - ty ! I stumbled across your channel a few days back - and have kept coming back for more :) I have bought myself a desktop cnc mill - to make an injection mold for myself - and I’ve never used a mill - so have spent 3 months immersing myself online to try and understand what I’m going to be doing - this is very interesting as I need to create some small details and all adds to the picture. I love your videos as they always put the theme in context - like here - it’s so helpful to be shown what are the things to be careful of - clearly machining is a sum of complex parts with many variables - usually as weak as the weakest thing - so it’s important to understand what things must be considered ... also your accent resonates as I’m in Se London :) I’m going to go and see if I can find some of your music ... I’m now it rested to see what you create as you’re obviously sensitive with a lovely eye - from what i can see in the background so I imagine your music will be very interesting :) ah . Couldn’t find any links . Could you post some links ...?
Hi, thankyou so much for taking the time to comment, its always so nice to hear from others in a similar situation and nice to know this content is helpful to you. Injection molding sounds very exciting, I would love to try it out at some point, i saw a desktop injection mold machine on practical machinist channel a while back and it looks great but very expensive. Detail carving is very difficult, the finer the detail the more rigid a machine you need, any chatter and deflection will ruin your details. What desktop mill did you purchase?
SE London, close to me, Im in Essex, I use to go Elephant & Castle for uni though. :) For music check out my channel - ua-cam.com/users/driftdeeperchannel. I run 2 labels mostly focusing on Dub Techno & Ambient styles driftdeeper.bandcamp.com/ & naturalexpressions.bandcamp.com/
I also have some making'of videos for the cassettes I release on Natural Expressions, here is the most recent - ua-cam.com/video/iKfej6stU_w/v-deo.html
@@ThisDesignedThat that’s really cool! Just had a quick listen - very interesting - I’m a long standing fan of ambient... have to dip in and find some more of that :) Re the desktop mill - I’ve bought a second hand isel cpm 2018 - which I believe is reckoned to be stiff enough to cut aluminium. It’s sitting in my warehouse in Swanley at the moment - a little difficult to get it set up with covid restrictions. I’m still getting sorted out with the associated hardware that I need - eg am going to be buying a quiet compressor for chip clearance / mist cooling - so very interested in your experience with the implotex. I’m wondering if I may go the next size up to ensure I have lots of capacity in the future ... esp as I know my mold willl have small, deep pockets needing to be milled - so particularly difficult to clear chips from - but obv that’s at the cost of being more spendy !
Re injection molding - I bought an apsx pim - which is a desktop automatic machine - so it can be used for production, albeit only for small parts. I bought it second hand - but it was still a lot of money ... very happy to pass on my experiences if you’re interested as I get into that.
The bit that’s really messing with my head at the moment is how to design the mold in Solidworks ... I have working prototype parts from an sla printer (form 2) so I know the part geometry works for the end use - now it’s just the mold :)
Great videos and tons of real proper detail, thank you!
If you are using Mach 3, you can set it up to compensate for your slanted bed. I haven't done it but i have read the tutorials and it seems easy.
I bought a 16mm thick sheet of Aluminum and faced that with a 1/4" 22mm plunge router bit for wood.
You have to do 0.05mm passes at at time (starting at your highest corner) and cool it down between passes but It worked.
To test which corner is higher, without a dial indicator, I used a cheap Z probe (now I see you made one :) ), either configured in Mach 3 or with a LED, resistor and 9V battery and check at what Z reading in Mach 3 the LED comes on.
At some point this year Im going to make a threaded base from aluminium and surface it all, it would help me a lot. thanks for the tips :)
@@ThisDesignedThat Thanks for the reply!
Its obviously up to you but I wouldn't tap into the Aluminum, reason being: swarf in the threads will wear them down eventually and cause them to strip.
I had Mach 3 pocket about 90 6.5mm holes all the way through the Aluminum sheet and then the same for around 12mm (large enough diameter to allow a 6mm socket to get in) but only half way through (just enough to allow a 6mm bolt head with a washer to be below the top surface of the aluminum).
Then I pushed 90 4040 T-nuts into my existing aluminum extrusion bed and lined them up (a bit fiddly but manageable with one of those telescoping magnetic pick up tools) to the holes in the aluminum sheet and locked the sheet into place with bolts going through it into the T-nuts.
So now I have at least 84 bolts clamping the sheet down even if I use 6 clamps to hold my stock down. It made a big difference to the stability of the router and workpiece holding is very easy.
If you do manage to strip one of the T-nuts, you just replace it. I haven't managed to strip one yet and my machine is 3 years old.
Another thing I did was to modify it for flood cooling. It doesn't matter what feed or rpm I run at now because the bit never gums up and those deep profiles are easier because there's no swarf in the trench for the bit to contend with. I can hog stuff out at high feed rates and come back at low feed rates for the detail. There's very little mess either.
very interesting , thanks
Great help. Thanks so much!
No worries!
Dude... Keep it up these videos are so interesting. I feel like I just discovered a channel before it gets big.
Hi Richard, glad you found it interesting, its a small niche with this type of stuff so I love reading messages like this. Keeps my energy up in these needed times. Stay safe!
@@ThisDesignedThat Thanks man! and not a problem. Btw I bought the 6040 cnc a while back and am losing steps in every direction. I was wondering if you encountered this?
end mill? don't you mean v groove
cool 0_0