Article · Aluminum
The Allure of Aluminum: Removing Metal Faster Without Chatter
Aluminum is easy to cut — which is exactly why the competition is won on cubic inches per minute. RobbJack's AL3 series takes 8×D-deep cuts in a single pass without chatter.
Originally published in Cutting Tool Engineering, 2020
Aluminum is everywhere and relatively easy to machine — and that's precisely the problem. When a material doesn't fight you, the job stops being about whether you can cut it and starts being about how fast. "For the customer, it's all about how many cubic inches of material they remove per minute," says Mike MacArthur, VP of Engineering at RobbJack. Staying competitive in aluminum means maximizing material removal rate while holding surface quality and tool life.
Depth in one pass beats more passes
The fastest way to remove metal is to take it in fewer, deeper cuts — but depth is exactly where most aluminum tools start to chatter and deflect. RobbJack's AL3 high-performance series is engineered to eliminate chatter and vibration at very deep axial depths, cutting up to eight times the tool diameter in a single pass.
Built to max out the machine, not the tool
Designed for high-efficiency machining, these tools are made to push a spindle to its limits — RobbJack notes they'll "max out most machines" before the tool gives up. That shifts the bottleneck off the cutter and onto horsepower and rigidity, which is where you want it when you're chasing cubic inches per minute.
When the material is easy, the tool is the differentiator. Deeper passes without chatter are how aluminum shops win on throughput.
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