Thread: Cutting Aluminium Plate

I usually use a plasma cutter which most metal fab companies have, the cut isn't that prettey though, but then you are going to mill it anyway!

Blower drive? are you going to turn up multi v pulleys?

Band saw might be ok.

I would use a tungsten blade in a bench saw and attack it in exactly the same manner as if you were cutting 35mm hardwood. Yes its a little daunting at first, but you will find it cuts well
If your bench saw cuts accurately then there is no reason why you can't have the same result with the Ali plate. And... no detriment to the tungsten blade! It will still be able to cut that 35mm hardwood the same
Regards Rod

Waterjet cut if you want something neat and accurate straight off the bat.

Attack it with the tungsten blade, works OK, wear ear muffs and a face shield as well as a long sleeved shirt, the little bits are hot and boy, they make you jump.

It will leave the cut edge with a lot of saw marks, but it does work.

I've used the hand power saw to cut ally plate on quite a few occasions.

regards radish

Stringy,

I'm building an intercooler system for my supercharged Lexus engine.

I'm taking the compressed air out of the manifold through a 1500cfm cooler and back into the manifold.

Obviously the manifold is partitioned so the hot and col air don't mix.

The last iteration was putting out a little over 600hp this time I'm chasing 700hp.

Further to what chambezio and radish have said, there are TCT saw blades designed to cut aluminium.

Another option is a Router with a TCT bit but it would be a slower process as each cut would have to be done in several passes increasing the depth with each pass

Make sure the router cutter is a spiral down cut or it will grab and tear

Use this to do the final trim and clean up the cut

Metho is the best cutting lube for alu

I've cut a lot of ally on my bench saw, there is no way I'd try cutting 35mm thick ally on it.

Use a bandsaw - that's the safe way.

OK, I see that the supercharger/intercooler (water cooled) is becoming standard on some performance veichles in the states, will the extra distance/volume give some throttle lag?

Your cuts will probably have to either be bevelled for weld prep or milled on the exposed edges. A water cutter would give the best result and they are becoming more common in metal fabrication busineses, just rang a mate who has one, they quoted about $120 for 4 cuts 350mm long in 35mm thick Al, this was in Singleton not Sydney.

I'm currently investigating a blower setup and have been offered 3 blowers, sbc manifold some gilmer drives and snout extensions. I hope to go from 160hp to 200/220hp with up to 5psi boost. Have a manifold to cut up and some multi v drives and idlers, cam and compression are blower friendly so now just need to bite the bullet and spend the $'s.

Cheers,

James

What do you mean by accurate?

With table saw you can cut to a fine line marked onto the surface, or better still do practice cuts until you get it spot on. I get my fence as close as possible and then practice with MDF until I get it where I want it.

I cut a lot of ally with my 12" Table saw so I bought a Multimaterial Bosch 96 tooth negative rake double chip tooth blade especially for this for about $65 and it has been well worth it. It is quite thick kerfed (3.5mm) but does a great job and is also useful for cutting other stuff like brass, plastics and melamine. Ally can also be cut it with an ordinary blade provided you take it easy. I would not rip long (m) lengths of ally greater than about 6mm thick with a regular blade as they are not really designed for it and can over heat and lose the carbide tips

To assist cutting and improve the finish of the cut I rub wax along the cut line and cut thru the wax. The wax reduces the chance of ally melting and hardening onto the teeth tips which is what messes up the finish. Using the proper blade and wax leave a smooth finish to the point where a light sanding is all that is needed to take the teeth marks out.

best place i know and use is Hygrade laser cutting @ condell park. i get lots laser cut by them, just take your material and tell them what you want, more than likely they would have the material instock... pretty simple and not bad priced, but accurate as you'd want.