You're very welcome!

nice!

Nice! Yeah, I've done upwards of 0.5" thick I think? It can hold MOST parts just fine as long as you take light, but fast cuts.

Nice!

Exactly, no need to square anything up and when the part is cut free, it won't go anywhere.

Great point!

Totally. If the part already has holes, drill the hole pattern in the spoilboard, screw it down, profit!

​@@RobertCowanDIY is a cnc router like this Amy good for cutting out wire terminals with the right end mill? They are pretty small. Also im looking at trying to get a cnc gantry thats strong enough to relief engrave steel. Id probably need a mill rather than a router but just need a setup thats rigid enough. Do you know of any?

@@KevinFlores-rc1lq I'm not sure what you mean by 'wire terminal', that's a pretty broad term. CNC isn't always the right solution. Let me know what you're trying to make and I can see if I can help.

@@RobertCowanDIYthanks for the reply. Im looking toget a cnc machine that can cut and engrave metal and other material. They have machines like the sainsmart genmitsu that can cut soft metals with a router and engrave with a diode laser. Im basically looking to get a machine that can do that but with tougher materials.

@@KevinFlores-rc1lq There's a LOT you're not providing in terms of details. How large are the parts? How many? You MIGHT find it's best to outsource. The sainsmart genmitsu isn't something you can really do anything beyond soft wood in reality. It 'can' cut metal, but not for any real useful purpose, it's more frustrating than it's worth. Expect to spend $10K+ if you want to cut steel. Also, engraving is VERY different from cutting. It would be best to show an example of the part you're looking to make, and in what quantity.

I use the HSMxpress plugin for Solidworks, which is essentially a much older and stripped down version of what's in Fusion360.

Check out the feeds 'n' speeds chapter, I explain all of this. I used a ramp and then full depth of cut.

This process really only works with single-operations. For flipping parts you'd need to add some holes or something and use a fixture. For polycarb or G10, you'd just use a slightly different cutter. I don't mess with carbon fiber since the dust is REALLY nasty.

Oh, that should be really easy to cut. You will want to use heat to release the parts otherwise they will bend.

Don't get water cooled. It's just another thing to worry about and mess with. Other than that, I agree with your thoughts. With thin aluminum you don't need much power, just the speed. But I would go air-cooled no question.

They are different, but you can use them interchangeably with mixed results. If you look on Amazon, you can see router bits for aluminum though.

I haven't actually used a vacuum table, BUT the tape method is less repeatable, it's more for one-off parts. If you are running a lot of parts this way, it gets tedious. But it's also a bit quicker than a vacuum table. I would think if you have a vacuum table, you would probably just use that, but you need to be more careful about depth, plugging holes, etc. I've heard there are a lot of pros and cons to vacuum tables, they're not just simply 'magic'.

Yeah, HSMxpress is decent, but it doesn't work with anything beyond 2.5D, for 3D profiling, you need something else.

OOF, then you just end up ruining your wasteboard! Stray bits of CA glue get between the lines and I have to sand or chisel it off.

@@RobertCowanDIY It actually makes it much better when the waste board absorbs the CA glue because it prevents the next application from absorbing into it and it holds much better. Masking tape does not sick well to plain MDF and you waste twice as much and it takes twice as long to setup. If you apply the tape with care, you will not have any glue on the part when done. And then when you're done, you have to lightly face off the waste board again and you're ready to go. Trust me bud, I've machined thousands of parts out of sheet metal. I don't care if you try it or not, I'm just sharing my experience and what works best for me.

Good question, but it really depends on the geometry of the part. If it's 20"x20", but only 0.25", edge-clamping in a vise will lift it up. You can certainly just screw or bolt the corners, but you would need tabs as you said. Doing it this way means you can fully cut out the part and it's finished, no need for post-processing. OR, you could use tabs and then remove the tabs later. It just depends on what you're trying to do. I have another video where I just pre-drill the hole locations on the part (if you have any), then screw it down using those holes, and cut the rest of the features. It's very part dependent, no single trick is going to work for everything.

@@RobertCowanDIY thanks, this will be helpful!

I haven't. It's the wrong tool for the job. Many channels will show routers cutting mild steel, but in my opinion, it's just not really practical for actual parts. It can do it, but it's the wrong tool for the job.

Believe it or not, the part is still quite large for the Tormach. With only ~6" worth of Y travel, you run out of travel REAL quick on the Tormach. Generally speaking, if it needs a vise and is small enough, I'll go with the Tormach. Everything else goes on the Avid. Also, since the Avid has a MUCH larger spindle with 2.4x the RPM, it does a better job at aluminum.

@@RobertCowanDIY Thanks. Good to know. Sounds like the Avid has more use for your needs. I mostly work with wood so that’s definitely true for me, but assumed for any metals the Tormach would be much more rigid.

@@automaticprojects I REALLY should make a video comparing them, because they are quite different. The Tormach is no doubt significantly more rigid, but for 1/8" or 3mm aluminum, rigidity isn't a concern. For any critical tolerances, I would use the Tormach, no question. For for relatively simple parts, the Avid is just quicker, since it can remove material much faster. For instance, the Tormach rapids at around 80-100IPM, whereas the Avid can easily cut at those speeds. It's just a different type of machine and each have their purposes. But if it's steel, has critical dimensions, or I need to modify a part (requiring it to be probed and indicated in properly), it's gonna be the Tormach.

@@RobertCowanDIY Thanks! That is great info. I've been using a Shapeoko 3 since 2015 that I've done all kinds of upgrades too, but I've often thought about upgrading to an Avid Pro 4848, but then I think maybe their 3x3 Benchtop Pro would work better since its more rigid and has ball screws on all three axes. Always chasing precision and rigidity. :)

@@automaticprojects I was tangentially involved with the design of the Shapeoko 3 (I have a couple very minor suggestions) and am very familiar with the machine. The benchtop Avid will be a completely different tool.

I might check into that. I do like the double-tape method though, since you can easily remove it from both surfaces.

I wasn't really showing off the machine here, but it's a 4' x 4' AVID CNC Pro. You can find more about it here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hJmegdxyu6yve30.html&ab_channel=RobertCowan

'world of clamping' is the company.

@@RobertCowanDIY thank you! you are a gentleman and a scholar!

Thanks.

I've found that 6061 will tend to gum up on almost every bit if the feeds and speeds aren't correct. But you're right, coatings can help tremendously.

You CAN do it that way, but for thinner parts, you're going to bend them. And at least with the tape I use, for the size I showed in the video, it's VERY difficult to remove the tape from either surface. But yeah, for smaller stuff I've done that before too. If it's thicker, a few good whacks on the edge can raise it up and then peel it back from there.