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Thread: Mini Milling Machine

  1. #1

    Lightbulb Mini Milling Machine

    Hey everybody, first post here on the forum so might aswell make it a good one lol.

    Ok so to start things off I am an apprentice Tool and Die Maker and know a decent amount about machining but will openly admit still got lots to learn. Anyways I picked up a Mini Milling machine from Busy Bee Tools here in canada its pretty much an X2 milling machine, price was to good to pass up lol. Anyways Just starting to clean it all up, and set it up. Plan on using it to do machining on some cocker bodies, and other paintball items aswell as other stuff. Only metal I plan on machining is aluminum. Going to evetually fit a DRO to it and then eventually retrofit it for CNC. It does use a MT3 Collet(local Busy Bee store stock every size MT3 collet I will ever need). Now my questions for you guys, Do you think I should fully disassemble it and fully clean and lube it to make sure everything is as it should be or think i should just clean up the external from all the shipping grease(stuff is on everything, using WD40 to help remove it), also what kind of upgrades do you think I should do to make it better? Also I was always taught to us 2 flute HSS end mills on aluminum so thats what I plan on getting but if you guys have any better items im open to them Any tips are greatly appreciated.

  2. #2
    Insider ElPanda's Avatar
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    whoever told you that was significantly handicapping their abilities

    tool choice is as much dependant upon case by case situation as it is material

    to state that one style of tool is always better is usually false

    I have found 3 flutes to be better as a general purpose end mill for aluminum work

    2 flutes are good for roughing or if you need the extra chip clearance

    4 flutes leave a decent finish but can chatter like crazy in corners if overengagement occurs, they also have much less chip clearance than 2 or 3 flutes (one of the reasons for the chatter in corners)

    3 flutes tend to give you the best balance of both styles, more chip clearance than a 4 flute, much less corner chatter, and the additional flute compared to a 2 flute that gives your feed rates a boost

    keep in mind most of my advice is stemming from cnc, but most of what I said applies accross the spectrum
    ABET accredited level II machinist - CNC Programmer - Mechanical Engineering Technologist
    Rio Grande Inc.

  3. #3
    Take it 100% apart, get rid of the cosmoline on everything, and reassemble correctly. My X2 had problems from day 1 that were not corrected until I did a CNC retrofit - but could have been made much better (not 100%, but still improved upon) had I taken the time to do a complete disassembly and make sure the hidden things were tight and well greased.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by y0da900 View Post
    Take it 100% apart, get rid of the cosmoline on everything, and reassemble correctly. My X2 had problems from day 1 that were not corrected until I did a CNC retrofit - but could have been made much better (not 100%, but still improved upon) had I taken the time to do a complete disassembly and make sure the hidden things were tight and well greased.
    What kind of grease do you use on yours? Going to fully disassemble it this weekend and reassemble it. Thinking of also ordering some stuff from littlemachineshop to upgrade it a bit

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