The LittleMachineShop.com 3960 HT Minimill Performing Basic Cuts
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- Here I show the minimill at work performing basic cuts. Pardon the noise problem which is due to the resonating bench it is temporarily sitting on for photographic convenience.
I do a milling facing cut, followed with a flycutter and ending with drilling
LMS.COM has yet upgraded this mill which is now called the HT3990 Minimill. They have also brought back their MicroMill. Which is a fully capable but smaller version of the regular minimill.
I often wondered if these tiny mills could even flycut stock square. Pretty impressive performance; now I want one!
I winced hard when his finger went towards the workpiece with the machines flycutter moving.
Right!?
For just a second I though I was watching a LiveLeak video.
Nice little baby machine, performs very nicely, for it's size. Something that helps a lot with machining aluminum is, a little kerosene or WD-40, stinks a little, but, you can increase speed, eases the cuts and avoid the chips sticking to the cutters...
+pierre beaudry I do use WD-40 and it is convenient to use. I did not for this little demo as I am in an area where I did not want to make more of a mess than what I already made. But yes. Aluminum does require a good lubricant or coolant to produce the best cuts. I find that a 2 fluted end mill is much better on it but I decided to try it with the 4 fluted one and yes, not as good a cut as one can get with the 2 fluted one. The Flycutter work dandy though. I use it for all my full surfacing jobs. Unless I want the end milled look. Joe
The 2 fluted don't get packed like the 4 flutes... Fly cutter is the way to go with lower powered machines == more removal per HP
+pierre beaudry Agreed!
Pierre's Garage Pierre, is there a reasonably priced fly cutter that you recommended? I have a mini mill.
Thanks
Thanks. I just bought one of the mills.
I really enjoyed your video with the mini mill from little machine shop , i think I may look into it....now that they have revised the unit to 3990 to stiffen it up....thank you ray
+Ray Falcone I am glad they are doing that. You get the least vibration with the head stock as low as you can go and still be able to perform your cuts. So often I will clamp work directly to the table and nor use vise and use stubby short shank endmills.
@@cheo1949 Thanks for the tip!
J, try mounting your mini mill to a 2" piece of Steel with studying threadlike into the appropriate holes on your mill. it give both mass and solidity.
It will be mounted on a more solid base. This is just for videotaping convenience. Thanks.
charrontheboatman I
lock it down to a heavy metal bench , level it and tram it in for better results... this was kinda hard to watch.
Very nice!
Using parallels might be helpful.
6:31 “Smooth as a baby’s bottom.” Nice pass!
Thanks.
So, this model is good starter unit for someone to learn milling on? Only $1k at the moment, pretty tempting.
It is. Nothing fancy. It just gets the job done.
Thanks Jose. Solid little mill. What are the tolerances, does it consistently get down to 1/1000th?
I have had the LMS 3990 mini mill for years now and use it daily. Like any affordable imported piece of equipment, it does require "tweaking" and modifications for personal liking. I can easily hold 1/2 thou, when when using my power feeds. The initial cost of the mill is not terrible, although the constant need for different types of tooling and cutters is where the budget will suffer. Tooling becomes addictive, especially when you see the great end results of your project.
Nice demo. What type of fly cutter are you using and where did you purchase it?
Thanks. I actually the fly cutter.
why would you say zero they machine with it running most people zero out with the lathe or Mill turned off that just seems like the smart thing to do
You actually can do it either way. Just as accurate.
another great video...im actually looking at getting this one...is this the 14" bed one?
It would have been a better choice but they gave me the lathe just S/H as I make instructional dvds that I sell through LMS.com
even when you weren't Machining that thing made a lot of noise mine doesn't make near that kind of Racket it's really really quiet and it's a harbor freight
I have nothing else to compare it to. It's different that the HF model.
It does sound like a bot of "bearing scream" although hard to criticize with a single bladed oversize fly-cutter. I have the LMS 3990 and use it daily for years now and it is still quiet. Perhaps a drip of oil on the upper bearing to see if that makes it any quieter? Chinese bearings are basically garbage anyway, always inconsistent.
4 flute on aluminum???
Others pointed out the pointed out the finger thing..
how sharp is that bit ?
+maximum Which bit are asking about? The end mill was probable not as shaft as I would have wanted, but the rest were fine.
Right on with that question
On what material do you start to use lubricant?
None for brass. Aluminum and steel definitely.
Mini Lathe and Mini Mill Demos always seem to cut Aluminum. Is steel just out of their practical range?
+Roy Pod Aluminum cuts easier but steel, specifically 12l14 will cut well. I just do not have any. Other alloys are simply too much for this light weight mill.
I have both the LMS 3990 mini mill and their 7 x 16 lathe. I cut many steel materials, including stainless and chrome moly with Zero problems and great finish results. Sizes are held within 1/2 thou. People have to realize that with the smaller, under-powered machines that smaller cuts and speeds have to be a practice. I was used to my old South Bend lathe and Jet mill, but discovered that immediately and became used to it simply taking more time on larger projects, but with excellent results. Proper selection of cutters and their material type, with feeds and speeds are crucial for any machining operation, regardless of the machine. It's always easy to place blame on a machine, although it is the operator that makes the difference.
Would you buy this machine again?
+oishisakana Yes I would. Though only if I was not going to work on anything beyond the capabilities of these Minimills. They are great though. If I needed to do large work then I'd have to go with a larger floor mill.Their newer one is even better!
I am torn between this model mill and the lms5500 mill which is a 2.7 Sieg. But significantly more money. I work with motorcycles. Just need to make brackets and will mostly be slotting a lot of aluminum and some steel. And using it maybe 5-7 times a month. Any machines you can recommend for me??
What size bolts does the X axis take?
I'm using regular hardware store 5 /16" diameter ones. You could almost slip a 1/2" one but remember these Chinese XY tables are. metric.
Thanks for the Reply. I was curious since my mill isn't here yet and was buying up stuff for it.