Mechanical Engineering / Apps / Aperture Creator

To obtain the best result for machining your own apertures, we recommend using high-quality aluminum or steel sheets sticked to a scrap part using double-sided tape:

We recommend adequate lubrication if you intend to use steel or machine multiple apertures in a row because the heat generated by the manufacturing process can be large enough to soften the double-sided tape and release the aperture during machining.

We also recommend to use very slow feedrates when machining parts using double-sided tapes. For beginners, we recommend leaving the default machining settings set in the application.

Once the machining process is completed, you can deburr your aperture using a rotary tool at moderate speed with a deburring brush:

Finally, some post-processing is usually required to blacken the aperture. For beginners, we recommend black matte spray painting in multiple passes by hanging the aperture using a thin copper wire:

For more advanced users, bluing agents can be used on steel and black anodization can be performed on aluminum. Note that not all materials are suitable to bluing or anodization.

Finally, it is worth noting that the aperture creator tool is tolerance-ignorant so that you need to take fittings into consideration as you enter the various diameters. Margins will depend on your machine accuracy and tool wear but we usually recommend keeping a margin of at least 0.1 mm between the outer diameters and the barrel inner diameter (e.g. use an outer diameter of maximum 25.3 mm if your barrel diameter is 25.4 mm).

We also recommend that you measure each endmill actual diameter and introduce it in your machine's controller under the tool radius compensation diameter property. By measuring endmills diameters using a high quality caliper, we are able to machine our aperture down to 0.05 mm tolerances.