Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
(OP)
I have a number of parts to be cut from aluminum 6061 sheet for prototyping. Thickness of sheet ranges from 24 gauge to 1/4". Parts are no more than 6' long.
Laser cutting will do the job, but finish is a concern. I am guessing it is cheapest prior to cost required for finishing.
Waterjet will also work, but I am guessing is generally more expensive for fabrication of smaller jobs? But it has the benefit of no heat distortion and a smooth edge finish.
What has worked best for you? Is routing or another method worth looking into?
Laser cutting will do the job, but finish is a concern. I am guessing it is cheapest prior to cost required for finishing.
Waterjet will also work, but I am guessing is generally more expensive for fabrication of smaller jobs? But it has the benefit of no heat distortion and a smooth edge finish.
What has worked best for you? Is routing or another method worth looking into?
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
Compositepro: Ha, speaking of, have you seen shapertools.com ? - generally for wood working, but it adapts a fairly standard router to a handheld CAD controlled platform.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
A turret press (Amada,etc..) is typically the most cost effective depending on volume,etc... for sheet metal
A laser or waterjet is more expensive vs turret press..
Blank on the turret press and form in press brake/roll former..
But that all depends on the specifics of the part..
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
I made an aluminum back rail for the radial arm saw as the original wasn't square. I can cut trailer parts to under .010" almost every time. You can take a " fuzz cut" to trim on occasion if necessary.
The nice thing about these saws is that only a little wire brush work is necessary prior to welding.
You need to wear sealed goggles and a face shield to protect against hot chips.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
B.E.
You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.
RE: Thin aluminum cutting - most economical method
I use AutoCad or the clone DraftSight to do the part. Then run it thru the extremely straightforward and spectacularly supported SheetCam to generate the G-Code. I feed it to cheap but capable MACH3 to run the router. It's very straight forward and the process does not get in the way of the task. Often I'm making sheet metal enclosures with lots of bends in them. I route reliefs in sheetmetal to show where the bends need to be. This method works extremely well for creating sheetmetal forms that need to fit into undimensioned places like a Zero Case where there's major draw and undefined lengths. I can make radiused corners with strange changing radii and tapered sides. I start undersized and then tweak the dimensions larger and larger until I hit perfection. I do 3 or 4 evolutions quickly with the above described process.
It's also very useful to include a sheetmetal brake with the removable brake teeth for these type projects.
I use Fullerton Tool 3215 TiAlN mills - Titanium Aluminum Nitride good for dry/wax.
Keith Cress
kcress - http://www.flaminsystems.com