Re: Looking for a decent milling tutorial

Danny,

There have already been some very good replies to your questions. I
will add a little more info. If you are plunging make sure that you
are using a center cutting end mill. Looking at the cutting end of the
cutter make sure that it cuts all the way to the center. Some cutters
have a relief in the center or a 60 degree center in the center.

There are a lot of methods of holding thin sheets. One that I use a
lot is to use screws. I use flat head screws to hold the four corners
of your example (circle from a square). If there are any holes in the
part you will be doing them first before cutting the outside contour.
So, I do the holes and then tap a hole in the subplate and use allen
head or hex head bolts with washers to hold the part when I cut the
outside. It does not take very much to hold the part if you are
ramping because it is held by the scrap skeleton until the very end of
the ramping process.
Hope this helps
Bill Nelson

--- In CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO@yahoogroups.com, <dannym@...> wrote:
>
> I'm hoping to get started with a Taig CNC mill soon for quite a few
projects, probably with Mach3.
> I have not done milling before and can already see some obvious
questions.
>
> I have a 2D part that needs to be cut out through the entire depth
of the aluminum. How do I keep the mill from striking the XY rails
underneath? Stick plywood underneath it or what?
>
> Say the part's a circle (it's not, let's just assume) cut out of a
square. Obviously the part's going to become loose & bendy partway
through and eventually free itself. What's the best practice? Is
there a software feature to leave some corners connected at first and
then work them down last or what?
>
> Say my clamps are 1" tall and I'm using a short mill on a piece of
1/8" aluminum. The collet will strike the clamps if it drops down far
enough and gets near the sides. What's the best way to address the
problem? I could always put a block of wood underneath it to bring it
higher up in the clamp, but say I'm engraving the surface. If the
part's not precisely flat the engraving will be shallow on one side
and deep on the other and wood is hardly flat. What practice would
address this problem?
>
> I see that many endmills are not good for plunging into metal. What
are the limits of plunging? I mean I can do a pocket without a
starter pilot hole, can't I? Is that plunging restriction only
applicable when there's not much lateral movement, like less than half
the width of the mill or something?
>
> Is there a decent online tutorial for these basic questions?
>
> Thanks,
> Danny
>