High Speed Roughing Aluminum 6061 T6

High Speed material removal with minimal raising

This is a video of a roughing application that is running at above 500 ipm. And yes, we can hold extreme accuracy at this speed too. If you want to compete with low cost labor, you need to embrace high speed machining. It is a complex science, but with the right programming, tooling, and machine, you can cut an incredible amount of cost out of every piece. There are lots of manufacturers that think they are running fast, but many are totally in the dark regarding what is possible today.

Set-up:
• Material: 6061 T6 Aluminum
• Cutter: Rocky Mountain Single Flute Cutter – The best of this type tested by Extreme Machining Labs
• Holder: BIG Kaiser ¾ milling chuck – Expensive and worth every penny
• RPM: 15,000 on a rigid machine
• Step over: .200
• Depth of cut: .200
• Speed of material removal: 500 inches per minute

What do you think?

High Speed Aluminum Cutting

For anyone out there cutting hard materials, this is a video you should check out. I've seen jaws drop when people observe the speed of this cut. This is 718 Inconel being machined at 80 inches per minute with a surface footage of 4,000. most people are cutting this at 50 about sfm. If you were at IMTS 2006, you might have seen Dale running application this in the Okuma booth.

A conversation starter

Metal cutting technologies continue to advance in ways that push the physical limits of metal cutting applications. High-speed applications have the potential to transform the way many products are produced, eliminating entire steps in the process, compressing the development time and dramatically reducing the cost to manufacture.

However, there is a knowledge gap that prevents most manufacturers from taking full advantage of the evolving technology. The fundamental problem is that the vast majority of manufacturers believe that they are already running efficiently. In many cases, they are totally unaware of the inefficiency within their own plant because they don’t really know what is possible today, and are often too busy to stop production and try to conduct research.

In my 8 years as an advertising and PR specialist for the metalworking industry, I have met few people with the knowledge and experience in hardmilling and high speed machining as Dale Mickelson. He has helped many companies totally change the way they manufacture, generating efficiency that wins work away from manufacturers the world over. this forum will help the best in American manufacturing connect with each other and collaborate.

Please join the conversation.