Beefing up my DIY CNC - Leadscrew VS. Ballscrew - Learned whole lot about Aluminum milling

#DIYCNCMill #3018CNC #Fusion360 #Mach3 #Tutorials Link to my new CNC design (using ballscrews): https://grabcad.com/library/easy-buil... In this video, I showed the process of upgrading my homemade CNC. I changed all the leadscrews on my machine to ballscrews. This upgrade eliminated the gap created by the backlash on the nut of the leadscrew (even with anti-backlash nuts). I also wanted to make the machine extra sturdy so that I can mill steel in the future so I decided to change all MDF brackets to Aluminum. I milled Aluminum using this machine it-self and learned a lot during the process. I tried many time to cut the thick pieces out of the 3/8" thick Aluminum stock using 2D contour toolpath but end up with failures. The Aluminum chips got stuck in the cutting track then welded to the bit, afterward the bit just broke. The adaptive clearing toolpath along the bounderies of the piece worked but extremely slow. It took me more than 1h30min to cut a small piece out. After finished milling all the Aluminum pieces for the end bearing blocks and plates for the Z axis block. I noticed that my Z axis block getting a lot looser due to the fact that the brackets were made of MDF so I couldn't mill Aluminum precisely anymore. I decided cut the rest of the brackets and plates using MDF to install the ballscrews on the machine and replace the Z axis block with Aluminum pieces. After installed the ballscrews, the machine became a lot more sturdy, I cannot feel any gap on the axis. But with the 2 gantry plates of the X axis made out of MDF, I still can feel that these 2 plates flex a bit when pushing hard from side to side. At the end, I tried one more time to cut a bracket out of a 1/2" thick Aluminum stock using a 2D contour toolpath. This time, I added a compressed air hose to cool down the bit and also blast the chips away. This spraying hose definitely helped a lot. The cut was clean and I didn't have any problem with the Aluminum chips got welded to the bit. Here's what I learned from ALuminum milling: Use single flute end mill bits with high speed spindle (I ran the spindle at 18000 to 20000 rpm) Try to reduce the vibrations on your machine (fully supported rails, All steel or aluminum frame, use ballscrews instead of leadscrews). Use compressed air or mist coolant sprayer to cool the bit and blow the chips away. Links to buy components: Ballscrews: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40011... 1/8" single flute end mill (pack of 10): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40000... 6mm single flute end mill (1pc): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/40000...