End mill shootout! Get some end mill manufacturers like destiny tool, and GW shultz to donate some 1/4" or 3/8" roughing end mills for aluminum and test them to see which is the strongest. Run 25-40% step over and keep kicking up the feed rate until you run out of hp or break the tool. Run the exact same parameters for each end mill tested and see which one can be run the hardest. Im sure the end mill manufacturers would have no issue sending some to someone with as large of a following as you.

manually changing the P value to a coarser setting runs the risk of gouging your part. the post works out which setting to use based on the overall tolerance settings on your toolpath and stock to leave. It used to also check which toolpath you were using, but I think that's been taken out of later posts. So basically if you add more stock to leave, and decrease your tolerance, it will post P1. Ive measured 0.5mm of deflection in an end mill during a cut before in a straight line. And that doesn't include the deviation from the programmed path that can happen with control based smoothing algorithms like G187.

That was fast! I got a request. Buy the cheapest 1/2" end mill on ebay or amazon..... Buy a set. And push those as hard as you can. I want to know how much the extra dollar gets you. I know it's a sin to put cheap tools in a super nice haas. But come on. Don't you want to know???? 60$ vs. 10$???? Best Matt

Ask and ye shall receive. That was cool. We are running a job currently in aluminum where we are cutting pockets using a "traditional" toolpath. Normally I prefer adaptive (iMachining in our case) for pockets or open pockets, but in aluminum, we are absolutely flying. See how deep of a slot you can cut with that 1/2", in one pass. I'd start at max RPM, and I wouldn't be afraid to start at .010 IPT and .250 DOC. The other would be, go for a slightly thinner cut with your adaptive toolpaths and jack the feed way up. 500+ IPM. Love it! It's amazing what modern tools are capable of.

In aluminum, those small step over tool paths are a waste. You can run 90% radial engagement as long as you can hold onto your work piece. You should be able to get 100% spindle load with a 1/2 tool.

If anybody is into super high removal rate, here are vids for you to search. I copy pasted the titles. OKK HMC-400 1500 CC/MIN! - 90 CU IN/MIN! IMTS Cutting Demo Haas VF-3SS / CNC Machine / 1.5" Depth of Cut

I was watching a video of yours from 2010 about making a vise speed handle when the notification for this video came up :)

If you don't have a grinder I would highly suggest one. My boss grinds flats on any endmill thats bigger than 1/8". Takes a couple minutes and saves a ton of headache fixing runout in collets. Not saying its perfect, but for most things it works really well.

love the great videos keep em coming. I have been using fusion in our shop for a year now and from my experience g187 is not necessary when you used the smoothing setting because when possible the post will spit out g02 and g03s whenever it can giving you smoother cutting instead of the jerky x y moves generated when not using smoothing. now if you do not have advanced read ahead on your control you have to to slow down your IPM so the control can keep up with the many lines of code its trying to read. overriding your default setting for g187 in the program will make your machine run smoother but it will drastically extend machining time. I found the best solution to not having advanced read ahead is setting my tolerance to .0001 and my smoothing set to .001. for every type of operation even finishing. when I really really need read ahead i use the trial package that every haas has theres 200 hrs free and the difference in how it reacts to the code is very noticable. this week I ran a job it was 6061 t6 aluminum. i used a helical 3 flute 5/8 diameter 2.125 loc variable pitch. parameters for that where 1.25 depth of cut .125 radial depth of cut 11,900 rpm at 350 inches per minute. this was done on a haas vf4 ss. my spindle loads were up to 110 max. i also did this in a standard er collet with 100lbs of torque. I love this trade and i love seeing guys teaching others i also like seeing guys like dingle 1973 taking interest in this after machining a certain way for so long. much respect

looking forward to the video on why not ER collet :-) Fellow CNC learner here.

My man! Nice to see that you use high quality toolholders, those badboys are half the job! :)

We want to see that tool do the 40 degree ramp on a pocket :D

Great video John. I am interested in your belief that er's are not suitable for heavy use. I absolutely push further than this video example all the time using 1/2" 3fl carbide w/er32. Proper tightening, I agree, is a must. Love the Haas vid's, btw.

FYI G187 is simply changing the parameter (also changeable by default in your settings/parameters). I used to work for a Haas distributor, but can't remember the setting/parameter # off the top of my head. Great vid.

push the haas to 801ipm and make Titan Gilroy cry like a baby

Methodically push it faster and faster until it breaks or bogs down the haas

Have you ever tried alcohol or denatured alcohol on aluminum? Leaves a killer finish !

We have a Haas VM3 and after having to replace the spindle for the second time in 3 years we decided to get a good machine and got a Okuma which we push way harder than we could the Haas. We use Surfcam's Truemill and we do what you did in Ally in 316 Stainless because we can. I don't understand the comment about the ER collets as that is all we use in various sizes and have never had any problems in the last 10 years we have been using them but I guess it comes down to the quality of the tools you are using.

I want you to push it till it breaks and back off a little, obviously! But if you're looking for idras in a more open ended spectrum I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed on what face mill to choose for use on our bridgeports, Perhaps facemills would be a good topic for a video? I'm looking for something fairly free cutting for stainless, something I can use for squaring blocks quickly. Intuition tells me these old machines are cappable of taking at LEAST some .100 deep cuts with a 2 inch cutter. I've been resorting to long 1" dia corncobs to get my MRR up to anywheres' near efficient in stainless on the bridgeport but we desperately need a decent facemill.

some Mastercam guys were talking last year of instead of using the small radial tool pathes and high feed, using up 90% of the width with the spindle up in rpms but using something like 40ipm in feed. This was in steal mind u so you could go faster. I found since i was using slower older machines that it was actaully faster than the high speed small radial toolpathes. Another thing i noticed I would actually make sure the tool stays down, because the machine slows itself too much when using rapid moves for accel/decell

Now that is material removal. Nice power from the HAAS.

I would love to see what the different run times could be on the different machines. Can the Haus really make a part that much faster than one of the toramac. and if so by how much.

Hey john i run a finishing Yg 1/2 in in my vf-2 ss at 12000 rpm and 550 imp 30% stepover, with that taz im sure you can get max rpm 75% step over 400IMP and to get G187 p1 to output leave more stock and fusion will give a p1

I say push the tool to what you feel is a safe max! I know from using those style roughers they NEED to be pushed hard to make chips and not rub. Big tools like 1/2"+ are really forgiving and take a thrashing vs tiny stuff. Plus with a machine as powerful as your HAAS your barely using any power on the spindle too.

I'd like to see a comparison of different high performance emails in steel, tool life, finishing ability, roughing ability, etc

I'd like to see you do some testing on ramp angles for "all rounder" endmills in different materials. I can definitely say that I'm shy on ramping to the bottom of HSM paths, 1.5 or 2 degrees, although I can bet that I could go harder.

John... I like your videos. Have a look at the HPI Pioneer SX 25M Mini Max holders... I have found in my Haas mills they are the best holder you can get. The gauge length is short and Haas likes short gauge tools and slow taper is the only way to hold a tool. All mine clock up to a tenth or two.

I've always wanted to run 1/2" tool full bore until it breaks. I'm not sure if you HAAS has the power to break that tool with a smart recipe though. I've made 30HP cuts with a 1/2" Lakeshore finisher.

buy , or get an indexable drill , around 1" , use the appropiate inserts and drill some aluminium at around 1000sfm , Vc 300

I would like to see you cut tungsten (97% to b exact), the only reason being because I have been cutting a bunch of it lately using a .5 Supermill XPR and i have my speeds and feeds to a point where it sounds good and the tool lasts but I would like my run time to be shorter. It would be cool to see what you came up with. If you get better results with a different endmill also. I asked my boss about cutting tungsten before I did it and he said that i needed diamond tooling so he obviously was not the one to ask for advice. A lot of shops wont take a job with material this type but I personally enjoy cutting the harder materials, mainly because it is more of a challenge. I am also running in a HAAS VF2 so the machine is the same. Well have a great day.

USE FRAISA ;-) juist a hint 20mm / 3 lip finish end mill, VC 640 / fz 0,2 / 30mm deep / ap 15mm! Smooth as butter with TSC!

I'd like to see you compare the 1/2 TAS to the 3/8 TAS on the T1100. See which one nets more material removal.

have you heard of a company called Air Guage out of Michigan...they invented an air gauge that measures tapers...i worked for there subsidiary called FL tool holder...we made new spindals and tool holders with collects for existing machines

I would very much like to see some instructive videos on how to machine Stainless Steel (304 or 316 austenitic grades). Stainless Steel is a very common material, but it tricky to machine because it can work harden while cutting. Performing some experiments to find some CNC recipes that work would be most valuable. High material removal rates are very important for Aluminium machining, but when we are talking about Stainless steel machining, the quality of results and surface roughness measurements are of more interest. Thank you

Could you collaborate with the Hack Smith youtube channel and make an EDM Fan turbine. I'd love to see even a tutorial with them on how to run there Tormac CNC. Every thing you do is already great to watch. but, just a suggestion :)

Have you looked into Kyocera tools at all? they give you free cutter bodies with purchase of a certain number of inserts. I often use the 2.5" M-six cutter for general facing and shoulder milling. They have aluminum specific inserts for them and i recently had a job come through where we started out with a 58lb block of aluminum and the part came out weighing only 4.3lbs. needless to say there was quite a bit of roughing required and i wanted to get rid of as much excess material as possible. i was using a 2" stepover and .155 DOC. 10,500 rpm and 262.5 Ipm.......thats nearly 7000 SFM!!! and 81.375 cubic inches per minute!!! at .005 ipt with a 2.5 inch 5 inserts cutter. and that was on a UMC750 with 12000 rpm spindle and the spindle load only peaked at 140% for a split second at a time. I could have hit it even harder if i had more speed and HP, but the mist was already getting kicked up pretty good and the chips were wailing the side of the machine like a hailstorm haha. Plus I was happy with how stable it was and didn't want to be going so fast that i had to worry about walking away from the machine. very impressed with them though. I ran 21 parts without changing inserts and they were still razor sharp at the end even after removing almost a half a ton of aluminum with them. its crazy to see how far cnc tooling has evolved.

Maybe put a camera on the feedrate readout? I'd like to see how often it's hitting the programmed feed.

Thing is for mk2 or mk3. Er collects are basically the most attractive option it’s probably terrible though..

I think it would be cool to see how you do a 5 axis part on the Haas

I want to see you work on some A2 tool steel or d2 with different tools of course and see what that Haas can do.

do a weird ramp down with a really long stock and see how much you can take before it snaps!

Love the videos John. I'm curious to know why you wouldn't use an ER collet. I found that using a solid holder with a set screw would not run as true when trying to hold tight tolerances .0000-.0005 on an ID to be specific. I would like to see how you would machine 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel. I haven't seen many videos on that kind of materials and would like to see and get some more ideas and how to effectively remove high amounts of it. I've currently been using Walter I feed insert cutters but I would like to learn what would somebody else use and do. Thanks!

I'd like to see the exact same tests as you were running in the tormachs, but with bulk mmr

Hey John why dont you get your self a machine with siemens control with a "shop mill" addon. So easy to produce single parts out of control, no cam needed. Make a video about it.

Oh i would definitely love to see the same roughing done here, but using oil MQL instead of coolant. You cant see very much in this video..

Great video!👍🏻

Mist coolant with a heavy air blast would be nice for videos like this.

I would like to see you flip that piece over and hold it on those thin edges, while milling the other side to make an SMW-logo'd snack bowl :-)

I couldn't find the ER collet video you said you'd be doing in the future that covers why not to use an ER collet. Can you provide a link for it please?

how fast can u do micro machining with haas vm3 (with cooling and with out cooling)? as micro machining i mean works with tools that have diameter less than 3 mm (0,11811 inch), 'couse we use electrospindles that reach 24000 rpm without cooling on aluminum at my job, we ran the machine at 1500 mm/min (about 60 in/min)

I run a Haas vf6 and I don't know if it will run that fast looks like I will have to see what it will do.

Great video! Have you tried the 1/2" on the 1100? I'm struggling with it. I want to push it harder but it's not going well. Not sure if it's my speed/feed or just the rigidity of the machine. Also, having problems with it pulling out of the TTS collet.

How do you like the table slot arrangement in the VM table vs standard table slots like in a VF series? Make a lot of difference in cleaning table or mounting of 4th or 5th axis rotary tables?

I maxed out the feed on our haas vf2 ss at 833 ipm. Still feels slow.

Has any explanation about the non use of ER collets for this use been touched on? and would anyone know in which video by any chance?

Gotta pick me up one of these (the Haas that is) ;)

Have you ever run a high feed mill in steel? chip per tooth feeds rates at the .025-.040 range Or roughing using plunge milling.

how fast can that end mill make a Ar15 receiver from raw stock?

I would like to see u work with inconel

Hurco do a VM3. American company?? Nobody ever mentions Hurco. Is it a dirty word? My machine is Hurco VM3. I love it. Never gives me trouble and I do +/- .0005 on all jobs, all materials. I'm just curious why nobody mentions Hurco!!

Crash tools, or reverse spindle direction.

Try 3D with the Seco index endmill pls

Next step buy a okuma 560 and see just how far that took can go, no way any Haas can push that tool to even 60% of its limitation, and yes im including a 5 axis haas in that.

let's see how fast you can machine a 123 or 246 block with it

hi john, ready to hire me yet? haha

SLOTTING!!

\o/ YAY!

lets see that HAAS eat a giant chunk of aluminum or steel for lunch at a high MRR!!!

I have mostly used Kennametal end mills. I've tried some other end mills looking for better performance. The one lakeshore I tried broke within 2 minutes of cutting time. Using the same parameters as the kennametal. I do lots of slotting in 6061. Following are the details. 1/2 2 flute aluminum specific carbide, 1/2 slot 1/2 deep 10000 rpm 120 ipm 45% spindle load. Anyone have some suggestions on other end mills to try?

Hog some inconel !!

Hit up bmp1785 ig hes in to this mrr stuff had a endmill plunge at 45deg at some ridiculous feed rate

wait? people actually use er collets with endmills?

And what about this Tormach shit?

Man you have to be wearing your safety glasses it could cost you a lot of money for some stupid mistake.

Don't even talk to me until you hit ~70cu^in.. and before too long i'll expect actual material volume removed compared to timed cut tests- theoretical gets too easy to fudge when the machine can't actually attain programmed feed :)

put a block of aluminum the max size your machine can fit and remove all of it as fast as possible

make me a putter I'll pay for materials....!!