LED Signs & Designs Texas
New Member
How much time can you get out of a typical name brand 3/16” up cut carbide bit cutting only .040 aluminum sheets.
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Router bit longevity???
- Thread starter LED Signs & Designs Texas
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Christian @ 2CT Media
Active Member
Depends on the router, aluminum type, machine quality, and bit cooling... we typically get 1-2 sheets our of our onsrud bits with our 1/2hp router
1-2 sheets?! we cut .080 on our router, and we generally get 15-20 sheets per blade, using a quarter inch. We cut .040 with 1/8" bit once in awhile... never more than 2-3 sheets at a time, we do it every other month... usually we go through 1-2 bits a year... so I'd say close to 10-15 sheets, cutting 3x6"signs throughout the sheets.
We use a high end multicam with a mister that was designed for cutting aluminum. 1-2 sheets seems pretty low per bit though... do they break on you, or are you just getting bad cuts?
We use a high end multicam with a mister that was designed for cutting aluminum. 1-2 sheets seems pretty low per bit though... do they break on you, or are you just getting bad cuts?
Christian @ 2CT Media
Active Member
Worn out, our router is a 1/2hp and no cooling.
James Burke
Being a grandpa is more fun than working
Make sure you're using the minimum chipload. Feed rates that are too slow will also dull a cutter.
JB
JB
Have you tried these?
Our canadian supplier couldnt find any...we had to order one on ebay. We got it for when we cut aluminum with prints, since youcant use mist when its got vinyl on top. We've used it a dozen or so times and it's still good... it may last longer since its designed for no coolant.
https://www.cncshop.com/uk_en/router-bits/belin-single-flute-upward-spiral-no-coolant.html A link to the UK store so you can get part numbers... Seems even though they posted the video on their website, the supplier doesn't sell them in USA/Canada.
Christian @ 2CT Media
Active Member
That's the same as the onsrud bit we use... Onsrud and Belin are both LMT companies. Onsrud is Standard and Belin is Metric.
I don't think Onsrud makes a no coolant version, do they? We looked everywhere for one from any brand, and this is all we found... and no Canada/US supplier had them, or knew why they didn't. These ones have a special coating on them to keep them a bit cooler and prevent chips from sticking. Belin was the only brand we could find that made no coolant ones. Not sure if thatd help in your situation, but for us it works great when we have to turn coolant off... while our normal onsrud aluminum bits (64-6xx) would often have the chips fuse and break.
We only use it for printed material...so it doesnt get much use beyond that,so I can't say how long it lasts with no coolant.. we don't want it to die and go through all the hassle of ordering it from the UK/ebay seller again.
Christian @ 2CT Media
Active Member
whoops, yes.. 63-620 is our main one, I always get it confused with 64. They're quite a bit different than the belins I linked - They're not o-flute, and they do have a special coating on them to prevent chips from fusing and it heating up too much.
I don't know if you'd get more than 2 sheets out of them since the mister isn't the only factor, but with the special coating it may help. Of course you might not even cut aluminum enough for it to even matter or make a difference.. but having other options is always good!
I don't know if you'd get more than 2 sheets out of them since the mister isn't the only factor, but with the special coating it may help. Of course you might not even cut aluminum enough for it to even matter or make a difference.. but having other options is always good!
LED Signs & Designs Texas
New Member
We don’t have a mister but use spray silicone, but 4 sheets of .040 seems to be max we can get out of a Onsurd $20 bit.
What feed rate and rpm are you guys running on aluminum?
What feed rate and rpm are you guys running on aluminum?
LED Signs & Designs Texas
New Member
and how long on average does your bit last?
At least 15-20 sheets before we notice the edges get rough. Then if we goto two pass we can usually get another 10... Which we may or may not do depending on how busy we are.
We cut a mixture of stuff though. Sometimes we cut hundreds of 6" 6" signs... Sometimes it'll be 2 48x48 signs per sheet.... So the amount of cutting varies. Most of our signs are usually within 24x30. Our machine runs 8 hours a day, so we use it a lot, and non stop.
But again... This is the quarter inch bit, I know our 1/8 doesn't last as long, but we only use a 1/8 bit when we need to cut smaller holes so we don't use it much...so I can't be too much help with how long that bit lasts.
We cut a mixture of stuff though. Sometimes we cut hundreds of 6" 6" signs... Sometimes it'll be 2 48x48 signs per sheet.... So the amount of cutting varies. Most of our signs are usually within 24x30. Our machine runs 8 hours a day, so we use it a lot, and non stop.
But again... This is the quarter inch bit, I know our 1/8 doesn't last as long, but we only use a 1/8 bit when we need to cut smaller holes so we don't use it much...so I can't be too much help with how long that bit lasts.
fixtureman
New Member
If you are only getting 1 to 2 sheets I would check runout on the router. You may need a better chuck and collet someting like Precise bits make
johnnysigns
New Member
FWIW we've found it beneficial to use better, more expensive tooling. I'd done a spell of cutting where we were using Amana bits and we were seeing 30% of the lifespan we'd see in the onsrud tooling that were comparable.
LED Signs & Designs Texas
New Member
I am the OP. We use Onsurd bits and silicone spray and still get a max of 3-4 040 sheets. This is with a new collet and nut.
Any advise?
Any advise?
It depends on the aluminum sheets too, cheaper sheets have much more silicon added in & that tears up bits.
You can tell if the sheet is brighter/more reflective and more rigid than normal.
Assuming I didn't do something stupid and snap the bit, I would get 20-30 .125 aluminum sheets cut with my 1/4" ,single flute, up-cut bit.
I hated the double fluted bits; they would break much easier and would produce aluminum slivers instead of scallops, the slivers
would get into everything and were hard to get out from underneath your skin.
Why wouldn't you get an aftermarket mister? It would pay for itself after 10 bits.
You can tell if the sheet is brighter/more reflective and more rigid than normal.
Assuming I didn't do something stupid and snap the bit, I would get 20-30 .125 aluminum sheets cut with my 1/4" ,single flute, up-cut bit.
I hated the double fluted bits; they would break much easier and would produce aluminum slivers instead of scallops, the slivers
would get into everything and were hard to get out from underneath your skin.
Why wouldn't you get an aftermarket mister? It would pay for itself after 10 bits.
LED Signs & Designs Texas
New Member
We have slowed down the rpm and has helped a lot. As far as the aluminum sheets,
we just buy the normal .040 etc from GSG or Reece Supply, pre painted most of the time. I am not sure how you determine “cheap” on these but, I am assuming you talk about mill finish .125 sheets.
we just buy the normal .040 etc from GSG or Reece Supply, pre painted most of the time. I am not sure how you determine “cheap” on these but, I am assuming you talk about mill finish .125 sheets.
Yeah, all the stuff I routed was mill finish. We got a batch in that cut like sh*t, come to find out they bought from a different vendor that
sold inferior sheets... You're right, not sure how you would know once they're painted, unless you get the spec sheet... but I couldn't tell you what the numbers should be
