Cutting Off Aluminum Rectangular Tube 45mm x 6mm 0.3mm Thick

You don't give required details, like how you are cutting them.

I've found that a good circular saw with carbide teeth gives a clean burr-free cut.

You can experiment with tooth count.

You may try high pressure hydraulics. If we had a bit more information it might help.

Or water jet maybe. I don't think lasers like Al too much. My thought was to keep it cheap.

You're right, As usual, not much to go on.

Hi! Thanks a lot for your replies....

Right now we are using a circular saw blade.

The specifications are- 14" Outer diamter, 2.5mm thick, tips- 3mm thick, teeth- 114nos, RPM- 2800.

I know this saw would not give us the desired results. But I want to know which direction I should head on.

Further I want to cut the tube in lengths of 525mm +/-1mm.

It would be best if I could install a more suitable circular saw blade to my existing saw/cutter.

But the question is which type of saw blade should I look out for?

I have no experience with abrasive blades, but they are cheap enough that you might want to try one.

Feed rate is important, too.

Helimaniac

Could you advise us of what country you are from?

Is this contract going to last a long time so investing in a new machine is a worthwhile venture?

Have you researched circular saw blades manufacturers? Contacting some of them may solve your problem.

I know that power band saws have a wide variety of teeth and material so they can cut different metals.

Is your current system automated (for advancing the tube) or manual?

This feedback may lead the interested subscribers to help solve your problem.

Your RPM is OK but because of 0.3 mm thickness, you should opt for as many teeth as possible. You'll need a sharp, cool cut with a ever clean blade. Too big teeth make the aluminum stick in it and deforms your pipe. Widia teeth are favourable. Use a grease stick or cool with fat milky coolant, or compressed air on the teeth. Or a mix of these. Normally you should have 3 teeth in your smallest cut, but 0.3mm should give teeth of 0.1mm, not to find.

lynlynch, Regarding your suggestion on using a carbide teeth saw blade. What should be the other specifications of the saw blade?

Two suggestions:

1. More teeth per inch. presently you have about 2.5 TPI. I'd suggest 5-7TPI.

2. Radical idea, but, clamp the tube on the diagonal, instead of on a flat side. Then the blade never contacts a flat surface. Just a thought, and it doesn't cost anything to try.

DDK, Thanks for your reply, following is my reply pointwise-

Could you advise us of what country you are from?---- India

Is this contract going to last a long time so investing in a new machine is a worthwhile venture?----- I dont know, lets hope for the best.

Have you researched circular saw blades manufacturers? Contacting some of them may solve your problem.------ Not much a bit with local vendors. I need a starting point to do more indepth research.

I know that power band saws have a wide variety of teeth and material so they can cut different metals.------- We are using a circular saw. The one we are using leaves burr behind. I want a burr free cut.

Is your current system automated (for advancing the tube) or manual?----Manual

This feedback may lead the interested subscribers to help solve your problem.----hahaha

I would think that material that thin would need something like 18TPI or even more, either circular or band saw.

If you can't get away from the burring, a wire wheel might be able to debur it quickly and effectively.

Oops, I mistook .3mm for 3mm.

You need a carbide cut off tool with high positive rake on the top, and a lead angle on the cutting edge. Give Iscar a call and they will come to your shop and run a demo.

www.iscarmetals.com or call free at 1-(888) ISCAR88

Do they have a rep in India? See post 9

Ozzb, How do you remove the mineral oil or coolant from the extrusion after cutting?

Vapor degreasers work really well, but I suspect Ozzb probably doesn't need anything more than a wipe-off with a rag for his processes, but I could be wrong.

We don't on most of it. Or just wipe it of with a rag as it's cut. I use a very light viscosity food grade mineral oil. It's crystal clear. It is applied with air line lubricator so that it is misted on to the blade and work. The air also aids in the cooling. There is very little residual oil left at the cut. Most of which will evaporate over time. The grids for our IGU(Insulated Glass Units) are wipe down with Isopropyl Alcohol. This is done to clean anything on them not just the oil. It's little hard to clean once they are sealed up. And we wish to eliminate any contaminates that would off gas in the seal environment of the IGU and possibly deteriorate the seal.

I set the spray units up with air line lubricator with a bowl that holds about a quart. A pneumatic switch which turns the spray off when the saw head is up. A pneumatic piloted valve to turn on the air. Regulator to control the amount air volume.

I suggest you do as others have suggested but with the saw experiment with some various angles of the teeth for clean cut. I found that a new Dewalt blade was 3 degree out and when corrected the cutting was unbelievable. Of course waterjet makes a beautiful cut and is fast in alum. Also the blade count could influence the burr situation and the pressure on the blade when cutting. I have cut a lot of aluminum with little or no burr. Stock should be firmly held when cutting for clean cuts.

Have you overlooked suggestion of water jet cutting - made at 3?

Water jet seems to be a good option. But my concern is that all the water with the abrasive will go inside the tube, this will lead to addition of another cleaning process after cutting.

not all water jets use abrasive injection, most don't in fact.

Yes, water jet with out abrasive is an ideal option.

Due high investment required for the water jet cutting machine, it will be economical to out source the operation.

There are number of firms under taking the operation in most major Indian cities.

No need for abrasives on aluminum--the rule is if you can nick it with a knife no abrasive is required.

Not a lot of help, but we bought an aluminium crosscut cut off table saw
a few years ago from Italy. Very high revs, (about 12K I think) and fine teeth.

No burrs or edges, perfect clean cut everytime.
Very fast considering it was ment for periodic use. (not mass production)

Sorry I cannot remember the make / name. (quite cheap, and did the job well)
Just google "aluminium cut off saw, Italy" and see what's around.

jt

We have been very happy with a blade recommended by and purchased from http://www.blademfg.com. We use it in a chop saw and cuts are perfect every time.

Hi,

It is possible to use a few techiques once one understands what causes the burrs.

The volume of 2000-3000 is not much and I am not sure you can make a machine specially adapated for this type. I am not sure what lengths of tubes you are producing. First - the reason for the burrs is the vibration that takes place during the cutting operation. So a number of ways this can be reduced - like speed and number of teeth per inch etc. Second is to clamp the part so well that it cannot vibrate during cutting process.

Look up wire cutting on Google - it is electrical discharge errosion process that leaves no burrs. You will need to stack the tubes and make electrical contact with each other.

Other ways are to stuff the tubes inside or outside with something hard and then cut them. For example freeze them in ice (water) and then cut them using suitable cutting device.

You may want to try diamond discs - they make a good job of various materials but pay attenton to handling of the tubes and the cutting tools.

Hello Sir,

I dont know whether you are satisfied with the following replies.

I suggest you to use EXAIR air knife which can be used to remove these excessive bur, oil, water..etc

Regards,

RAMARAJ.T

jsramraj@gmail.com

Just remember that the best cut is at the fastest speed so get as close to the blade tip as possible.. Hope this helps