Pro tip: stop chasing tight tolerances on hot aluminum parts

I watched a guy scrap $800 worth of 6061 plates last Tuesday because he kept measuring at 20 minutes after the spindle stopped, and the parts were moving a full 2 thou by the time they hit the inspection table, so has anyone else switched to cutting to the cold dimension and just letting the machine warm up twice as long?

2 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

2 Comments

olivia_white932mo ago

Wait, why would you trust a measurement taken at 20 minutes when the part's still hotter than the room, and aren't you just moving the problem by guessing "cold" dimensions? Honestly, cutting to a number you can't actually hit on the machine sounds like a recipe for way more scrap than a little wait time.

5

mark_chen622mo ago

That 2 thou move after sitting 20 minutes got me too, man, it sucks watching good metal turn into scrap.

2