Set the piece of aluminum on a table or over sawhorses and position it so the cutting area has open space underneath it.
Cutting thin aluminium sheet.
Select a fine toothed blade and don t cut aluminum with a wall thickness of more than 1 4 inch 0 64 cm.
To cut the sheets of metal rathe.
Clamp or hold a straightedge or square along the cutting marks and score a line with the tip of a sharp utility knife blade.
Use a wood cutting saw with carbide tipped blades to cut most aluminum.
Cutting aluminum sheet metal with a hammer and chisel is relatively straight forward line up the edge of the chisel along the line you wish to cut and strike the chisel with a hammer.
Mark the start and stopping point of your cut with a grease pencil or some similar implement that marks on sheet metal.
A cnc router can cut aluminum but it isn t the ideal tool for hogging out big aerospace parts like wing spars.
How to cut fold sheet aluminium.
Align the snips with the line you want to cut with the upper blade of the tin snips touching the sheet metal.
Before cutting put on a pair of safety goggles and work gloves to prevent injuries.
Place the metal on a hard surface to score it and on long pieces do the bending with the score place along a sharp edge of a bench and if necessary clamp the fixed piece with a long piece of flat wood to prevent buckling the metal while bending it back and forth.
Note that i don t mean to literally slow down your feeds and speeds but your overall material removal rates will be less than what can be achieved with a purpose built cnc mill.
How to cut thin aluminum.
Be the first to share.
Using a softer piece of material such as wood as a backer will allow the chisel to push through the metal and prevent wear on the chisel s tip.
If possible choose a saw blade that creates narrow kerfs the notch or slot made by the saw.
Clamp the aluminum down.
And you can use the same technique anytime you need a straight cut on aluminum or other light gauge sheet metal even steel.
The price you ll pay for success is slowing things down.