I have a project that involves making plaques for some outdoor sculptures. I’m engraving text on the plaques (depth of 2mm), which will vary in size (18" x 18", 8" x 10", 11" x 14"), and they’ll be made out of stainless steel 1/4" thick. Ideal bit size would be 1/16" or less. What kind of bit would you recommend for this (diameter / # of flutes/ flute length/ up cut or down cut or compression)? Oepn to any suggestions! Thanks!
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You cannot cut steel on the CNC routers. Cutting even mild steel requires liquid coolant, which cannot be used on the CNC. The only machine you can use is the Tormach mill.
(On the Tormach, you’d want a 4-flute 1/16” end mill, probably carbide if you are cutting stainless. And you’ll want a spare or two, as it’s very easy to break such a small mill on such hard material.)
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Hi Ethan!
Thank you for your response. How many times can I use a bit for a project like that before it wears out? also does it matter if it’s up cut or down cut? length of flute?
You can also fiber laser engrave. I’m available if you want to go that route.
It’s not a matter of wearing out. It’s a question of how long until you get the setup slightly wrong and break it. So the cutting lifespan is somewhere between a half second and many hours. Metal cutting bits don’t come in up cut or down cut; metal doesn’t have a grain to tear out. And you won’t have a huge range of options in a bit that small.
I wouldn’t worry about getting a bit yet though. You can only use it on the Tormach, which has a four class sequence to gain certification (Metal Shop Safety, Manual Mill, Tormach Part 1 *& Part 2).
My overall thought on your project is to ask if stainless steel is necessary. Stainless is very hard to cut and machine.
I really appreciate all your insight! After doing more research and asking around, definitely leaning towards using aluminum instead. Is aluminum something I can use on the CNC? Or is that a Tormach job too?
Possible to fiber laser engrave aluminum? Is this available at Assembly?
Aluminum is easier to cut letters into on the router or Tormach. I would consider a v bit on the router.
The laser engraver is not at Asmbly.
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You can do aluminum on the CNC. @jamesfreeman and @JOSEGAYTAN have the most experience with doing so, as far as I know.
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If you are engraving, you’ll not likely find a better endmill than a Lakeshore Carbide engraver. I use the .020 tip with a .002 depth and .002ipt and it works perfectly every time and does not raise a bur. On the Tormach it will happily engrave stainless but you’ll have to go slow as 5100 rpm isn’t really enough because the surface footage at the tip is going to be effectively zero.
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