Used to baby my end mills with slow feeds. Now I push them hard.

Back when I started out in Phoenix, I ran everything at 50% of what the book said. Thought I was being careful. Kept changing tools every 10 parts. Boss got mad about the tooling budget. Then a old timer at a shop in Mesa told me I was wasting time and money. He showed me his setup. Running a 1/2 inch carbide at 12k rpm with .003 per tooth. Parts came out cleaner. Tools lasted longer. I was shocked. He said the heat goes into the chip not the tool. Changed everything for me. What speeds do you guys run your 6061 at?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannaho5222d ago

Right? Same thing happened to me - once I stopped babying the feeds and started letting the tool actually cut, my surface finish got way better and I wasn't changing inserts every five minutes.

miller.avery22d ago

That part about "heat goes into the chip not the tool" really got me. I used to think slower was safer, that if I just crept along the tool would last forever. But I was wrong. My parts would come out all gummy and chattering, and I'd burn through cutters anyway. Pushing the feed harder changes everything. Now I run 6061 around 10-12k rpm with a heavy chip load and it cuts like butter. Surface finish actually improved. Took me way too long to learn that lesson but I'm glad I finally did.