WTK RPM For 2 1/2 face mill

chiroone

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I purchased a 2 1/2 inch face mILL from grizzly. It is the one that has the four replaceable carbide cutters. I’m wondering what is a good RPM for steel and aluminum. I have the PM 835 mill so I’m sure it’s rigid enough
 
I don't have the speeds for your carbides on hand, but in aluminum you probably can't go fast enough.
 
For steel, start out at about 250 SFM, or approximately 250 RPM; likely that could be increased, depending on what sort of steel it is and how easily it cuts, and of course, how the inserts hold up.
 
Thanks, 250 RPM is a little slower than I would have expected.
 
That is a starting point; try it and see how it performs likely you can run it faster; it is better so start low and increase than start high and wipe out the inserts. Perhaps my off the cuff recommendation was low, I've consulted my B&S cutting speed calculator for 100 BHN steel (soft), and they , which would be say to start at 450 FPM which would be 630 RPM; my mistake! For HSS, the FPM would be 150, the RPM would be 230.
 
Thanks, I’m trying to cut 3/16 A36 hot rolled. So maybe I’ll try 250 RPM and see how that goes
 
I was using my 2 1/2" facemill last night on A36 with my PM932. My face mill is a 45degree model with 5 inserts and I found the sweet spot to be around 670RPM with the set up I was using. I found that I could run at 8IPM or more and get good results. Depth of cut also plays into the equation - I found (strictly by trial an error) that a .015 to .025 depth gave me good results.

When I have used my facemill on aluminum I go as fast as my machine will go 1970RPM.
 
Kenna recommends up to 9000 SFM for some uncoated inserts in aluminum alloys with low Si with coolant.13000 RPM's at 2 1/2 inch diameter.

That is banging it hard, start low and over ride the spindle speed and feed as you go.
 
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