How To Mill Slots In Steel
The machinability of steel differs depending on alloying elements, heat treatment and manufacturing process (forged, cast, etc.). In soft, low carbon steels, built-up edge and burr formation on the workpiece are the main issues.
The trouble with t-slot milling is that there is no way to avoid one side being 'climb milling.' The only thing you can do about it is to feed very slowly and be sure your setup is very rigid. Some sizes of t-slot can be done with stock cutters designed for the job. I'm milling some 3/8' x 7/16' slots in mild steel for tool holders. The slots are 2.25' long and I'm using a mill-drill and a 3/8' end mill. Perhaps I'm just 'chicken' but on the first cut, which is the full 3/8' wide, I'm taking cuts of 0.033' deep each pass and it's taking about 12 passes to get to the bottom. Your Rotabroach cutter is made of M2 high speed tool steel. That’s not going to be effective with most alloys of stainless stock and is not recommended for hole depths over 1/4″ in mild steel.
The new solid carbide end mill from the GARANT MasterSteel product range offers 5 cutting edges and a new type of knuckle form profile, thereby achieving particularly high performance. The new GARANT MasterSteel SlotMachine from the Hoffmann Group is a solid carbide roughing end mill which achieves high feed rates when slot milling from solid in steel.
The innovative knuckle form profile produces extremely compact swarf. Therefore, the Hoffmann Group was able to construct the milling cutter with five cutting edges. As a result, at a constant feed rate per tooth the new five-edge end mill achieves 25 percent higher process efficiency than a classic four-edge end mill. Thanks to the innovative knuckle form profile, the cutting pressure is lower and higher feed rates can be obtained with a constant load. Due to the compact chips and the lower cutting forces, the new GARANT MasterSteel SlotMachine high-performance end mill is particularly suitable both for milling deep slots from solid and also for machining delicate components.
Based on its unusual geometry, the new GARANT MasterSteel SlotMachine solid carbide end mill produces chips that are very short, very fine and particularly tightly rolled. These are easily cleared by the flat chip-breaker recesses. The directional chip discharge increases the process reliability, the extremely sturdy core diameter the tool stability.
The GARANT MasterSteel SlotMachine permits plunge angles up to ten degrees. The cutting edge design includes honing to minimise the risk of break-aways. The ultra-fine grain substrate greatly increases the resistance to breakage; whilst the enhanced coating also optimises the wear characteristics and reduces the rate of heat input. The unequal spacing ensures a smooth cutting action.
How To Mill Slots In Steel Cut
The new GARANT MasterSteel SlotMachine solid carbide end mill extends the GARANT MasterSteel product range, which currently includes the existing classic four-edge end mills and also the GARANT MasterSteel PickPocket universal end mill plus two solid carbide drills. With these the Hoffmann Group offers state-of-the-art high-performance tools for every application.
How To Mill Slots In Steel Knives
jmarkwolf
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How To Mill Slots In Steel Stock
I never paid much attention to how many flutes my end mills had, I just purchased what the local Production Tool Supply had on hand. The aluminum didn't seem to care.
I recently needed to cut a 1 -1/16in diameter counter bore 0.125in deep in some angle iron, to accommodate flush mounting some weld studs I fabricated. The only end mill I had was a 2-flute.
It did the job for me, but it 'chattered' to beat the band, even with flooding with oil. It seemed to like a faster feed rate as well.
Can anyone advise 'when and why' to use end mills with various numbers of flutes?