I don't push my machine (pm932m) at all!! I'll admit that I'm a panzy but I hope to preserve this mill for a long time..I have my personal limits set to .100 doc for 6061, 7050 or 7076 alumnium...I know the machine will easily take more but I'm in no hurry..I don't have any roughing end mills but have been meaning to get one..Maybe I would be willing to take more depth of cut with a rmr endmill, I don't know..
That being said: I have very limited experience with steel on my 932 to this point..I have milled a little 4150A and went very easy with it (.020 max doc with high quality 4fl m42 end mills)..I think that was some pretty tough stuff..I had to learn how to handle it because it was different from alumnium..
From that very limited experience I can not imagine hogging 1" doc with steel on my mill...Like I say, I'm consertive and have no experience with a rmr end mill yet...But still, there ain't no way....
Mild steel may handle totally different than the 4150 alloy I don't know?? I have some 1018 laying around that I need to play with it and see how it is...
My opinion is that the square collum mill is not rigid enough to go super crazy... I noticed a lot more vibration than I'm use too while milling the steel compared to alumnium.. Once I got my spindle speeds and feed rates dialed in things seemed to smooth out a lot but I still took it easy.. In the end I was able to get nice surface finishes and hold good tolerances..
It may be that I don't have enough experience and I shouldn't be posting this.. But if I were buying a mill for hogging steel it would be a pm935 or similar knee type mill.. The square collum is not rigid enough in my opinion...
Just my .02...
That being said: I have very limited experience with steel on my 932 to this point..I have milled a little 4150A and went very easy with it (.020 max doc with high quality 4fl m42 end mills)..I think that was some pretty tough stuff..I had to learn how to handle it because it was different from alumnium..
From that very limited experience I can not imagine hogging 1" doc with steel on my mill...Like I say, I'm consertive and have no experience with a rmr end mill yet...But still, there ain't no way....
Mild steel may handle totally different than the 4150 alloy I don't know?? I have some 1018 laying around that I need to play with it and see how it is...
My opinion is that the square collum mill is not rigid enough to go super crazy... I noticed a lot more vibration than I'm use too while milling the steel compared to alumnium.. Once I got my spindle speeds and feed rates dialed in things seemed to smooth out a lot but I still took it easy.. In the end I was able to get nice surface finishes and hold good tolerances..
It may be that I don't have enough experience and I shouldn't be posting this.. But if I were buying a mill for hogging steel it would be a pm935 or similar knee type mill.. The square collum is not rigid enough in my opinion...
Just my .02...
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