Newbie Suggestions On Tool Setup - Profile Cut 6061 Alum.

Hey guys. I am working on cutting my first parts. I made it through getting all my material faced properly with the face mill. Thanks to all those who helped with that learning exercise. Now I think I have a setup issue for one of my tools.

I am cutting the parts depicted below from a .25" sheet of 12"x5" 6061 aluminum.

ToolPath.jpg

I am using a 1/4" four flute square end mill to cut the outside profile of each part. I had no problem cutting the holes in the first tool path. However, when I went to run the tool path for the outside profile the mill looks like it stuck in the material then started moving Y- and got its X0Y0 position out of sync. Here is my tool setup, tool path definition and resulting "art work".

ToolDefinition.png

ToolPathSetup.png

PartInMill.png

Before I make my next attempt I plan to run my flood coolant instead of manually spraying. I am also thinking about switching to a two flute instead of a four flute end mill. My speeds and feeds are from GWizard. However, I am thinking my depth of cut needs to be more shallow. It's currently set to .050 and I am thinking .020 is probably more appropriate. The load sounded really heavy when the mill went into the material.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks...Kevin

Attached Images

• ToolPath.jpg‎ (48.2 KB)
• ToolDefinition.png‎ (46.1 KB)
• ToolPathSetup.png‎ (32.0 KB)
• PartInMill.png‎ (147.5 KB)