I won’t lie, there were definitely some challenges, and a few learning moments along the way. But the LR3 worked great, and I gained some valuable experience.
You can check out some of the steps and mis-steps here:
There’s also some more posts a bit later in that thread that talk about cutting the thicker aluminum.
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The biggest thing that I can suggest is to use a feeds and speeds calculator, and learn about Trochoidal milling. It takes longer to do a single pass, but I was able to get a 10mm DOC so I only needed to do a single cut.
These are the speeds I used for a 1/8" single flute:
Trochoidal: RPM 20000, DOC 2.75 mm, FR 2250mm/min, Plunge 500mm/min, Plunge Angle 90, Trochoidal Stepover 7.9%, Trochoidal Width 35%, Finish 0.35mm YMMV, so do some test cuts first.
(Note DOC varied depending on the material - 2.75 for the struts, 7.0 for the 1/4", and 10.5 for the 3/8")
Note that I also used an air/IPA mist system (Show me your IPA Mister setup - #3 by Bartman)) This is pretty much essential for clearing out the chips from the slot, and for keeping the mill cool and lubricated.