Power tools for cutting aluminium

What are the options for power tools for cutting sheet aluminium? say 4-6mm sheets, for fairly small areas, nothing overly detailed, but possibly making a lot of similar parts?

I was thinking something in a table saw, but all the ones I've looked at seem to be only for wood.

Thanks

bandsaw with a metal blade, grinder, jigsaw, etc.

Band saw could be an option, that would give accurate cuts and a bit of extra flexibility.

Struggling with band saws. They all seem to be wood working oriented if they say anything at all. Any clues for what to look for? I would assume it's more to do with the belt than the actual saw as long as its powerful enough, but all the belts I've looked at aren't giving away anything.

I've seen posts about using a miter saw with a carbide blade for cutting aluminum extrusions. I purchased one for that purpose but have not actually cut anything yet. If your pieces are less than 4 or 5 inches in depth, the miter saw might work.

Quick, go to the garage, workshop, where ever you keep it and cut things then report back!!

I will investigate Mitre saws though, it makes sense.

Been researching band saws and came across this forum. The link is to an interesting discussion of cutting thick ali with band saws. Thought it might be of interest to anyone else thinking along these lines. (EDIT: I'm only interested in thin ali, but still interesting)

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2014 04:43PM by UkIan.

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brucehvn
I've seen posts about using a miter saw with a carbide blade for cutting aluminum extrusions. I purchased one for that purpose but have not actually cut anything yet. If your pieces are less than 4 or 5 inches in depth, the miter saw might work.

Do you have a link to the blade you have? Many thanks!

I use a hand grinder with metal cutting blade for cutting steel or aluminum plate less than 20 cm. It can cut up to 15 mm thickness.

The downside is it requires some time to smooth, level the edges after cutting.

A machine shop can cut a piece like the image within few minutes, charges few dollars.

Making a mini grinder table is an option too. I use it when I need to make square plate a lot.
Mounting a guide with two C-clamps on the table, then adjust the width. Pushing a plate against it produce clear cutting.


There are companies that only produce standardized square metal plates on demand.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2014 05:17PM by janpenguin.

You can replace the blade on the woodworking bandsaw. I have two: a vertical bandsaw and a woodworking bandsaw that has been converted to cut aluminum with a 1/2" wide 56 tooth blade.

Use an angle grinder for cutting aluminium but with a blade made for cutting stainless steel. It is much better than using a normal metal cutting blade. It goes through it like butter. You can then true up the faces with a bench mounted belt sander.

try a band saw with one of these [www.lenoxtools.com] .

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UkIan

Do you have a link to the blade you have? Many thanks!

It's this saw Home Depot. It comes by default with a carbide tipped blade and from what I read, that should be sufficient for the aluminum extrusions.

Bruce

Oh forgot, a little bit messy (I.e. Dusty): cutoff saw.

Clean , Straight cut

I use my 10" Radial Arm Saw with a 60 tooth carbide tip blade.
I wear a full face shield.

For thick or long cuts, I'll clamp down the work piece.

I have had the blade crawl up and walk right up track until twack
it hits the stop --- you have to hold it back as much as pull it forward.

I have cut 2.5 inch rod on miter saw.

Nibbler will do it
dedicated electric , air nibbler or one that fits on electric drill

Bad Dog Biter

[baddogtools.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/02/2014 09:34PM by cozmicray.

You have several choices. Places like [www.grizzly.com] sell metal cutting band saws and plate shears.Do a search on their site and hang tightly onto your wallet. It's easy to spend a lot of money on this stuff. A wood cutting bandsaw will work if you can slow the blade down. The difference between cutting wood, plastic, etc. and metal is blade speed. There are also air and electric nibblers, however 6mm is a bit on the thick side for this type cutter. Metal working is one of my hobbies, if you're interested visit my YouTube channel, [www.youtube.com] . My id is grantham418. Hope this helps. Rod Grantham

Thanks everyone! I am resisting the urge to splurge, there's a fatal attraction involved with power tools so I'm going to seal my wallet in amber until I've made a sensible choice. My gut is going with band saw as it feels more precise (from what I remember from metalwork at school), although I also found this which will go through steel comfortably.

The sort of things I'm looking to shop are bracket plates for V-Slot, and possibly something that isn't V-Slot as it's really expensive among other things, so it's small bits, but lots of them if that makes sense.

I'll be getting a full face mask and gauntlets too and perhaps one of those heavy leather curass (?) things too. Safety first.

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UkIan
Thanks everyone! I am resisting the urge to splurge, there's a fatal attraction involved with power tools so I'm going to seal my wallet in amber until I've made a sensible choice. My gut is going with band saw as it feels more precise (from what I remember from metalwork at school), although I also found this which will go through steel comfortably.

The sort of things I'm looking to shop are bracket plates for V-Slot, and possibly something that isn't V-Slot as it's really expensive among other things, so it's small bits, but lots of them if that makes sense.

I'll be getting a full face mask and gauntlets too and perhaps one of those heavy leather curass (?) things too. Safety first.

Did you look at the steel they are cutting with it? A table saw can handle aluminum in a pinch but I would not use it as a dedicated saw, that Evolution is not going to cut much more (steel) than the picture of sheet metal they are showing.

something i have used in the past but is not cheap i had some parts cut by water saw need to find someone who has one but it was approx. $1 doller per piece. no cleaning and parts looked beautiful [i8.photobucket.com]

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/04/2014 03:48PM by cwbethel.

Aluminum cuts very well on a wood cutting bandsaw. Use a skip tooth wood blade and go for. I've cut 3" aluminum plate that way. The secret is the skip tooth blade that keeps the blade from packing with chips. A 1/4" x 6 tooth per inch skip tooth cuts shapes nicely in 1" thick aluminum. 2" thick you want at a 1/2" x 4 tooth per in inch blade.

I have a Milwaukee deep throat portaband on a table mount. It is 450 fpm maximum speed and is a little slow for aluminum. I had some 1/2" x 6tpi blades welded up for it and it works kind of okay on 1" thick material but my next set of blades will be a 1/2" x 4 tpi skip tooth blades.

I use electric metal shears [www.eastwood.com]

&

Chop saw [www.scruggsfarm.com]

As well as jigsaw.

Skill saws, table saws, and chop saws can be used effectively to rough cut aluminum

I see my dad use circular saw when cutting aluminium

A 6 mm piece would be considered plate. We cut about a half ton of steel and 10 or so sheets of .250 AL a month for use in Repraps. The primary methods used are cold saw, dry saw, both similar to a wood miter saw but lower RPM and specialized blade and shear for the steel and waterjet and bandsaw for the AL. Prior to building printer kits we did fabrication for hobby race cars.


If you want repeatability and consistency particularly if you are going to sell or demo these parts a handheld saw won't give the best results. The type of tool depends on the material and the cut. Even with AL there will be a difference in the material type but the methods will be similar enough. I would suggest avoiding any tools designed for wood working unless you can fit them with the proper blade and gear them to an appropriate RPM. Unfortunately with many or perhaps most consumer wood tools that isn't possible either due to the gearing or the blade. Commercial grade tools, for example a Unisaw, work well in this manner. That said, plenty of people cut AL on table saws though if you don't know what you are doing the results can be bad and potentially dangerous for the operator. Some cutting fluid helps, we use Rapidtap A9 for the AL but you could use WD-40 if needed.

You also need to look at where the cut will be. Is it an inside cut?, Outside only or a combination of both? Are the cuts straight or are there curves? That material is going to be too thick for pistol grip air shears. Depending on how big the sheets are to begin with a vertical band saw might be your best bet. If the pieces are too big for the band saw you can cut them into workable sizes with a reciprocating saw or cutoff wheel that is made for non ferrous metals. AL can gum up and some grinding and cut off wheels will clog and either not work properly or get hot and fail. You may be able to cut 6 mm with one of the Evolution hand power saws with the right blade but it's outside of the rated capacity of the saw of which I'm familiar though the Evolution line is a great saw for the home fabricator. Ditto with using a portaband on and stand if you don't have the room or money for a full sized band saw and only need to cut relatively small parts.

I had an edge processor before I began my cabinet framework so I basically purchased a thingie at Manufacturers (R700) that I affix my edge processor onto and enables me to cut at all edges. Now I want to purchase a sharpener for it from here [topreviewedten.com] but don't know the most suitable sharpener for me. It has a dimension to swivel the processor. Like the miter saw. I utilize the dainty 1.6mm steel cutting circle and it works a treat. There are no hot liquid bits of all flying around. please share your suggestions.

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Peeples
I had an edge processor before I began my cabinet framework so I basically purchased a thingie at Manufacturers (R700) that I affix my edge processor onto and enables me to cut at all edges. Now I want to purchase a sharpener for it from here [topreviewedten.com] but don't know the most suitable sharpener for me. It has a dimension to swivel the processor. Like the miter saw. I utilize the dainty 1.6mm steel cutting circle and it works a treat. There are no hot liquid bits of all flying around. please share your suggestions.

I don't expect the person that started the thread to check back since the last reply in this topic is from 2014 (and the last activity of the person that started it was 3 years ago).

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/30/2019 08:37AM by Ohmarinus.

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/

... until now, "Peeples" behaves more like a SEO-spammer ... I'l have an eye on him

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Viktor
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Aufruf zum Projekt "Müll-freie Meere" - [reprap.org] -- Deutsche Facebook-Gruppe - [www.facebook.com]

Call for the project "garbage-free seas" - [reprap.org]

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VDX
... until now, "Peeples" behaves more like a SEO-spammer ... I'l have an eye on him

Yeah, this 'thread necromancing' is usually done by these spammers. I noticed a few the past week.

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http://www.marinusdebeer.nl/