Selecting a milling cutter is not a simple task. There are many variables, opinions and lore to consider, but essentially the machinist is trying to choose a tool which will cut the material to the required specification for the least cost. The cost of the job is a combination of the price of the tool, the time taken by the milling machine, and the time taken by the machinist. Often, for jobs of a large number of parts, and days of machining time, the cost of the tool is lowest of the three costs.
Material :
High speed steel (HSS) cutters are the least-expensive and shortest-lived cutters. Cobalt steel is an improvement on HSS and generally can be run 10% faster. Carbide tools are more expensive than steel, but last longer, and can be run much faster, so prove more economical in the long run. HSS tools are perfectly adequate for many applications. The progression from HSS to cobalt steel to carbide could be viewed as very good, even better, and the best.
Diameter :
Larger tools can remove material faster than small ones, therefore the largest possible cutter that will fit in the job is usually chosen. When milling an internal contour, or concave external contours, the diameter is limited by the size of internal curves. The radius of the cutter must be less than or equal to the radius of the smallest arc.
Flutes: More flutes allows a higher feed rate, because there is less material removed per flute. But because the core diameter increases, there is less room for swarf, so a balance must be chosen.
Coating :
Coatings, such as Titanium nitride, also increase initial cost but reduce wear and increase tool life.
Helix angle :
High helix angles are typically best for soft metals, and low helix angles for hard or tough metals.
Material :
High speed steel (HSS) cutters are the least-expensive and shortest-lived cutters. Cobalt steel is an improvement on HSS and generally can be run 10% faster. Carbide tools are more expensive than steel, but last longer, and can be run much faster, so prove more economical in the long run. HSS tools are perfectly adequate for many applications. The progression from HSS to cobalt steel to carbide could be viewed as very good, even better, and the best.
Diameter :
Larger tools can remove material faster than small ones, therefore the largest possible cutter that will fit in the job is usually chosen. When milling an internal contour, or concave external contours, the diameter is limited by the size of internal curves. The radius of the cutter must be less than or equal to the radius of the smallest arc.
Flutes: More flutes allows a higher feed rate, because there is less material removed per flute. But because the core diameter increases, there is less room for swarf, so a balance must be chosen.
Coating :
Coatings, such as Titanium nitride, also increase initial cost but reduce wear and increase tool life.
Helix angle :
High helix angles are typically best for soft metals, and low helix angles for hard or tough metals.
1 comment:
Your good knowledge and kindness in playing with all the pieces were very useful. I don’t know what I would have done if I had not encountered such a step like this.
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