Machining Aluminum with the 278-Z on the Shapeoko -

Single flute endmills aren't just for plastic. They're also awesome for aluminum on desktop CNC's. (Don't use your plastic cutters in aluminum though, different geometry.) Here are some speeds and feeds for machining aluminum with our 278-Z on the Shapeoko.
NOTE: These speeds and feeds are for 6061-T6. If you have a different alloy, your mileage may vary. Here's what can happen if you're using an alloy that's bad for machining - • What Happens If You Ma...
278Z Single Flute Endmill: shop.carbide3d.com/collection...
Learn more about our line of Desktop CNC machines at carbide3d.com
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Music by / liqwyd

[@PiefacePete46]

Yay! Thank you! Finally a clear, concise, and fully explained demonstration of the advantages of single flute cutters in aluminium. If only someone would give me five bucks for every time I've seen a broken 1/8 inch four-flute cutter with a blob of aluminium melted onto the end, it would buy me a decent single flute cutter. The only thing I would add is different grades of aluminium machine in very different ways. (I know you have covered this in previous videos.)

[@lancekolton4543]

Instablaster.

[@JeffsCustomRC]

Excellent video Winston, keep them coming 👊🏼👊🏼

[@zzmewnzz]

I would very much appreciate if you would show your Fusion 360 tool, passes, and linking tabs in future videos. It is so hard to guess all these things, and one glimpse at yours would solve 100 problems for me. For example what is the speed and feed for the 274Z? Also if Carbide 3D could supply a chart with a list of all the end mills they sell, including single flute 1/4, 1/8, 16th etc sizes and respective feeds and speeds for aluminum would completely remove any confusion. Possibly a different value column for nothing, air blast, and air blast and mist. I would pay for this chart! It could not take more then a few hours for a pro to make, everyone lists 3 variables and fusion requires 25 different ones! Very difficult to figure out for a beginner without examples to look at. Thank you very much for the very helpful videos Winston!

[@JANDLWOODWORKING]

I love your tips and tricks Awesome info!!!

[@ManCrafting]

Great info Winston. Very clearly explained.

[@kevinyang8801]

Extremely clear demonstration and explanation! Great work

[@hotfuzz1913]

Awesome video Sir invaluable info for hobby machinists

[@EdwardVarner]

I find something beautiful in watching the part get carved out of a raw block of material. I have never used a CNC in my life, but one day ...

[@MarcSchaefermeyer]

Nice one Winston!

[@brittond14]

carbide3d will likely sell out of those 278-Z cutters now. great vid winston

[@khhabachi6018]

thank you for your great advice

[@fibranijevidra]

Very informative. Thank you.

[@malcolmhodgson7540]

Really good info

[@dividingbyzerofpv6748]

This should flat out be CNC router gospel. This is hugely inportant to making success with ALUMINUM

[@chaddanylak8706]

thank for displacing metric feed

[@chaddanylak8706]

@Kaiden Arjun I dont thing any body care, also how did you kristy and kaiden create a youtube account on the same day

[@Doug10106]

I was excited about these endmills and dropped just shy of $80.00 for a single 1/4" and 1/8" bit shipped only to find that I could have gotten several 6mm Chinese single flute cutters for the same money. So for those on a budget shop around! The uncoated mills cut just as nice provided you have proper chip evacuation. I even saw a MPCNC cutting ALUMINUM at 15mm DOC using adaptive clearing with no coolant just air blast and that is not as rigid as a SO3.

[@mattybuilds2614]

Would you be able to give some guidelines for the 1/8 inch and 2mm single flutes? Im new and want to start with them asap.

[@jasonripley6305]

I was hoping that you could possibly put a material video together using these single flute endmills on acrylic please? Thank you for putting together these instructional videos, I've learned a lot!!!

[@lantonyj]

Hello Winston, is there a reason why you didn't add plunge rates to the information you provided? I haven't made the leap from carbide create....

[@imqqmi]

I agree on all points. On my current DIY built cnc which has 20mm thick aluminium tooling plate as bed and I use a machine vise on it (it has 200mm z height so plenty of room) it really makes a big difference compared to the multiplex/MDF bed I had previously. A lot less chatter, the cuts are very shiny, almost mirror finish even with a single flute 4mm cutter at 17k rpm. The mass and stiffness of the vise and bed really makes a difference. I also invested in AA or AAA graded ER-11 collets, with run out between 5-10um (supplied had 20-40um run out), that made a difference too, especially in reducing friction and heat build up.

[@arbjful]

I run a 1/8” carbide mill on my cnc router/mill to cut 6061 aluminum. The size of chips is very small, almost like powder, is this ok? Am I doing something wrong here? I use a flood coolant system with air blower, the spindle is not very fast 11,000 rpm (cheap Chinese made). Do you think higher rpm is better? Or should I use a 1/4” carbide mill ?

[@imqqmi]

@@arbjful How many flutes does it have? It's probably best to use end mills with 1 or 2 flutes. If it's like dust then the rpm are too high or the feed rate to low (this has a certain balance that results in 'chip load'). If your machine is stiff enough you can reduce RPM or increase feed rate. The chips will be larger. Try out what works for you.

[@arbjful]

@@imqqmi thanks for the reply. It’s a 1 flute endmill.

[@gusbisbal9803]

Good vid, I subbed..... however, you don't need to "Clog" the cutter for aluminium to weld onto it. All you need to do is weld some on the cutting edge and its compromised. Also coolant isn't about being able to handle the part after its finished. Its about creating hardness in the material so that it cuts better and shears cleaner. Coolant is still worth using. btw. thank you for the metric translation. Oh also I would have cut this part by Cutting it with a saw to a more reasonable approximation to part and then used the side of the cutter to mill it, but your machine may not be rigid enough for that.

[@brianropel]

I’ve been getting a lot of plastic jobs in at work where typically I normally did steel. Do we’ve been using 4 flute endmills on the plastic running them at steel speeds. I just ordered our first 3/8 single flute. Super excited

[@carbide3d]

In our experience, single flutes have been more forgiving on speeds and feeds.

[@TheMoody876]

Good information. I currently use a 3 flute carbide end 1/4 end mill at .25in DOC and .017in step over at 47ipm for 2d adaptive and contour on my fox alien wm 3020 cnc.

[@CSparzo]

That's incredibly deep. How often does that clog up?

[@TheMoody876]

@@CSparzo it hasn't yet. I also do not run coolant

[@sammylindsey7151]

Does Carbide create have adaptive cutting or do you need some other software?

[@BodheKnows]

Have you tried a Datron Single flute? I have tried running these Amana single flutes and they just cannot go as hard as the datrons

[@TomBryan]

What kind of double sided tape do you use?

[@FPChris]

Thank you. What is your spindle specs?

[@gamerpaddy]

and im wondering why my machine tears itself apart when i push that uncoated single flute 1/8in endmill at 10krpm&1m/min with 3mm DOC into dry 6061 aluminium

[@arbjful]

How to get a smooth finish?if you see at 3:01 there grooves going along the contour, I want the finish to be smooth, how do I do this?

[@Deltro61]

I suspect that carbide3-D is your sponsor so you're listing their bits for your recommendations, but I'm curious if you have recommendations for comparable bits from Amana? It's possible what carbide3D is selling is actually an Amana bit anyway.

[@tomahawkcnc5583]

Any chance of a explanation of drilling aluminium feeds and speeds and deep drilling like 20mm with small Dia like 1/8

[@asmira4190]

Google calculating speed and feed formulas for drills. Your sfm in aluminum is usually going to be between 300-400

[@asmira4190]

Important thing to keep in mind as well is drilling especially with hss drills it's important to do a small spot first, and drills over 1" it's very important to check for run out as before and after cut on deep holes.

[@caiobortoletto4363]

im pushing this bit 2000mm/m on my hdm. its nuts

[@markcrane6959]

Are single flutes more effective then twin flute in MDF? You focused on metal/plastic but curious your opinion for wood? Great videos clear and easy to digest

[@WinstonMakes]

Not really. The thing about MDF is that it's not going to weld itself to the endmill if it gets tightly packed. So you don't need the chip evacuation of a single flute. And it's much easier to machine, so you'll never really be power limited.

[@markcrane6959]

@@WinstonMakes thankyou! , your content is always very informative and entertaining great job

[@Penguin_of_Death]

Mark Crane *than

[@FPChris]

What endmill would drill 5mm holes ?

[@ScottPrestonTV]

Any reason why you bought a larger stock and trimmed off the top? I'm aiming for .25" parts and I use trochoidal slotting for my parts with .25" stock, seems to be more efficient, takes less time and puts less strain on the tool.

[@carbide3d]

The part was 1 cm thick, and I had 1/2" stock on hand. Also, if you want flat surfaces, you should always machine the faces. Never trust raw stock to be perfectly flat.

[@ScottPrestonTV]

Carbide 3D makes sense, thanks!

[@gmack4097]

Isn't it material removal rate, rather than the number of cutter flutes, that dictates cutting power and force requirements?

[@agustinbmed]

Are single flute cutters only for Aluminum and other metals? Since you didn’t mention any wood parameters I’m assuming?

[@carbide3d]

ZrN coated single flute cutters are primarily for non-ferrous metals only. There are also single flute cutters for plastics, but they are ground differently (sharper but more fragile) and should not be used in metals. The single flute geometry is good for getting around chips and pulling them out of deep cuts. Metals and plastics can fuse or melt, causing problems during cutting if you don't get chips out of the way fast enough. There is no benefit in using single flutes in wood.

[@Vipul.Canada]

Nice video. Can you try out our cutters?

[@ASAPLocksmith]

VERY interesting and informative video thank you. Please give us your thoughts on speed/feed for the popular 30x18 routers. I have been playing with AL and keeping it too a two flute with extremely low feed 2IPMx.005" deep 50% step over and getting a horrible chatter. The 30X18's are pretty weaksauce spindle max speed is 9K RPM IIRC.

[@jacobmiller6664]

Idk if you ever figured this out or not, but 2ipm is way too slow, you probably had massive amounts of rubbing. A good rule of thumb I follow is you don't want your chip load per tooth to get below .001" or chatter/rubbing will happen. Try to see if you can up your feedrate any without the lack of rigidity on that machine causing problems.

[@flikflak24]

Is it a ER 11 or ER16?

[@janderson2375]

What are your thoughts on speeding up your RPM to get better MRR rates? You could push to 20-30k with the same settings and accomplish much faster machining times.

[@bluedeath996]

If you can maintain the torque then that is fine, but there is limited rigidity to the Shapeoko and the surface finish will get poorer. If you set the machine in concrete to add weight and reduce resonance, thicken the axis supports and increase the power of your steppers, as well as probably installing water cooling for that fast spindle then it should do fine, but I am not sure it is a Shapeoko then. Personally, I believe reducing the feed, but taking full depth cuts provides a greater speed benefit. Large chips remove heat better and it uses the tool more efficiently, but I run industrial machines so I don't know if the torque required is available on a Shapeoko.

[@WinstonMakes]

Look up @vince.fab on instagram. He's modded his machine a ton, but a router can handle those RPMs. However, at those speeds, I'm not sure if cutting dry is advisable, I see most people employing an alcohol-based mist coolant solution at that point.

[@gmack4097]

@@bluedeath996 Material removal rate (MRR) is proportion to cutting power, which is proportion to cutter speed (RPM) and torque (I.e. force). So cutting forces are reduced when RPMs are increased for the same MRR. Or MRR can be doubled without increasing forces by doubling cutter RPM and some combination of feed rate, width of cut, and depth of cut.

[@RichardCournoyer]

Ref: 1:54 That would be me....

[@adamfowler9510]

Do you think the benefits of a single flute cutter outweigh the lack of strength?

[@horvathcsaba1265]

What lack of strength? I have been using my Datron single flutes for more than a year now. The rigidity of a 4 or 6mm cutter is way more than enough. If you don’t belive me look at the Datron recommended feeds and speeds for their products! Those are designed for MRRs (and obviously citting forces) that are far exceeding the overall rigidity of a S3.

[@RichardCournoyer]

Adam Fowler They are just as strong as two flute cutters. I’ve used them in industry where the extra chip clearance was needed, but they don’t have a place in my shop. As a hobbyist and a frugal machinist the price per flute makes no sense for me. I’m happy with 90% of the performances and 2 to 3 times the cutter life of a 2 or 3 flute ZrN cutter.

[@mvdg2927]

Can't I just grind 1 flute back on a 2 flute mill ? (I have allot of 2 flute mills)

[@northotagogolf]

Winston, do you know what alloy that is?

[@WinstonMakes]

6061 all day, every day... unless I pull out the 7075. But 99% of the aluminum I machine is 6061.

[@agrippa2k469]

Yea but... I'm having trouble wrapping my head around "roughing" end mills. Your video on single flute have made things worse (I feel relieved, great video, but also confused). What is the use/advantage of the 4/5/6 flute end mill. Are they best for contouring (say outer edge of part)?

[@jacobmiller6664]

They are good for other materials and used on real industrial machines. I'm assuming you have a cnc router if you are watching this video? In my experience, 4, 5, and 6 flute endmills are not suited to routers with high rpm and low rigidity.

[@gregrob20]

Climb or conventional?

[@gusbisbal9803]

They do two different things. Climb milling enters thick ends thin. Conventional enters thin end thick. They have two different applications. Climb will usually give you a better surface finish but both will push and pull the part in different direction according to feed direction. The material moves WHILE your cutting it especially if thin features. The answer to your question is more situation specific. Consider it is the same as asking in which position should I mill my part.

[@gregrob20]

Kinda the reason I was asking which he used for this.

[@asmira4190]

If he's rotating the spindle clockwise then hes using a conventional.

[@asmira4190]

The easiest way to tell is if you were standing in front of the part and it's moving left to right on the back edge, or right to left on the edge closest to you, it's conventional, and climb cutting is just the opposite

[@gusbisbal9803]

@@asmira4190 Dude, in this video? He using climb milling. spindle rotation in the direction of movement. Or how you remember it. It is like a wheel rolling along a surface or climbing over it....

[@TwoCaptainsOneShip]

Ok, now I’m scared...😰

[@Zebra66]

It's a nice story but it's mostly nonsense. The amount of torque required for any cut you could attempt in 6061 on a benchtop CNC router is miniscule, regardless if your cutter has 1, 2 or 3 flutes. You'll break a 1/8" or 1/4" tool long before your spindle stalls. Plus, you won't cut anywhere near to your machine's max feed speed. A single flute end mill may help surface finish if you didn't tram your spindle properly but it will just slow you down most of the time (unless you have one of those 60,000 rpm Datron style spindles). Stick to 2 and 3 flute coated carbide end mills for milling aluminum on a high speed spindle.

[@asmira4190]

Just here to say, .1 inches is 100 thou, not 10. .05 is 50 thou.

[@Drache832]

1 inch is 1000 thou though...

[@rsilvers129]

Jesus people. Use metric for engineering stuff.

[@ohammouda]

I would argue that single flute results in a bad surface finish compared to more flutes since you're basically having a hammering action due to the sudden shocks on the end mill.

[@ohammouda]

@@John-ik2eg What I said is not from my imagination. It's actually in the machinery's handbook you could go check it out. There are certainly other considerations but generally speaking, more flutes equal better surface finish. Edit: You could get a more intuitive feel of it if you take an extreme example. Just for argument's sake, say you have a single flute 1 meter diameter cutter. The cut is so discontinuous that it almost feels like a hammer hitting the workpiece. Now say we have 100 flutes instead. There you go, you're starting to get it. The velocity of the spindle varies so much that every time the workpiece experiences a different force.

[@asmira4190]

It depends on the Type of cutter your using, an insert mill with all but one taken out will achieve a better finish than with multiple, solid mill wise I'd be inclined to agree.

[@madeariartha2546]

I am bored to be a single

[@eocsnesemaj]

Metric plz :S

[@andy1973s]

Wrong, because desktop cnc machines have shit spindle bearings, single edge cutter loads the spindle bearing one way. I bet dollars to donuts if you ran a 6mm (1/4in) cutter through material and measured the cut it will be oversize. Having multi tooth cutters highlights spindle slop. As the tooth is exiting or near exiting dia of cut, the new edge comes in and throws the slop back the other way, causing chatter and rough operation. more edges the better for any normal cnc Your analysis of tool chip load for multi tooth cutters is misinformative

[@habiks]

The finish is awful.. go with 2 flutes and smaller diameter on your engraver