How thick of aluminum material can this machine cut? I've seen previous videos you posted. I'm getting ready to pull the plug on the full kit with the xProv5 controller and water cooled 2.2kw spindle. I know yours system is upgraded a bit and was curious what a stock setup is capable of? I'm am a complete newbie so I'm hoping the complete kit will be enough to get me going and explore this as a hobby.
You can cut pretty much anything you can reach with a bit in the chuck. The real limitation comes with feed rate and depth of cut. You'll have to experiment with your tooling, work holding, spindle speed, etc. Another thing to consider is cooling the part. Water based coolant will wreck MDF, even if you seal it. Start shallow and conservative and experiment. Different grades of aluminum machine differently. 6061 is hard and flaky whereas 5052 is a bit softer and can't be cut as quickly. There are a lot of variables in this equation. Good luck with your setup. Enjoy the assembly and setup!
It really is smoother, and has nearly no backlash. My machine is an upgrade from acme screws. I would do it again in a second. The plates are thicker, the screws and fittings are better and the bed parts are much better designed. The only drawback is that you lose a very small portion of the work area (details on their website) ua-cam.com/video/ubKEWQRE3eo/v-deo.html
How thick of aluminum material can this machine cut? I've seen previous videos you posted. I'm getting ready to pull the plug on the full kit with the xProv5 controller and water cooled 2.2kw spindle. I know yours system is upgraded a bit and was curious what a stock setup is capable of? I'm am a complete newbie so I'm hoping the complete kit will be enough to get me going and explore this as a hobby.
You can cut pretty much anything you can reach with a bit in the chuck. The real limitation comes with feed rate and depth of cut. You'll have to experiment with your tooling, work holding, spindle speed, etc. Another thing to consider is cooling the part. Water based coolant will wreck MDF, even if you seal it. Start shallow and conservative and experiment. Different grades of aluminum machine differently. 6061 is hard and flaky whereas 5052 is a bit softer and can't be cut as quickly. There are a lot of variables in this equation. Good luck with your setup. Enjoy the assembly and setup!
Would you recommend upgrading from a 750 x 1000 acme screw Workbee to the Ultimate Bee 750 x 1000?
It really is smoother, and has nearly no backlash. My machine is an upgrade from acme screws. I would do it again in a second. The plates are thicker, the screws and fittings are better and the bed parts are much better designed. The only drawback is that you lose a very small portion of the work area (details on their website)
ua-cam.com/video/ubKEWQRE3eo/v-deo.html
@@CNCMakerNW Many thanks for your response.