Today I spent some time in the shop milling out some aluminum parts for the printer. The Shapeoko 2 made quick work of the two parts, taking about 40 minutes and 15 minutes for the large and small plates, respectively. The aluminum plates form a pulley mount for the H-gantry system, and will be substantially more rigid than their plastic counterparts. I'll have to make another plate assembly and hotend mount before I'm able to test out the parts.
For milling 6061 aluminum on the Shapeoko 2, I'm using:
- DeWalt DW660 Cutting Tool
- 1/8" 2 flute carbide endmill
- 400 mm/s feed, 60 mm/s plunge, 0.2 mm depth per pass
