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Picked a 4 flute over a 3 flute for a big aluminum job and I'm still not sure I made the right call
Last month I had a run of 600 aluminum brackets for a local shop and I stood at the tool crib for way too long trying to pick between a 3 flute and a 4 flute end mill. I went with the 4 flute because the finish looked better on my test cuts and I figured the extra tooth would help with the feed rate. Ran the whole job at 8,000 rpm and 180 ipm and it got the parts done, but the chip evac was rough on the deeper pockets and I had to stop twice to clear out birds nests. The 3 flute guys at my shop swear I left money on the table because the bigger gullet moves chips way better in aluminum. My cycle time came in at 3 minutes 40 seconds per part which beat the estimate, so I can't be too mad. Curious what you all run for aluminum jobs like this, do you stick with 3 flute or go 4 flute when the finish matters?
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