This Blog on Machining Strategy is based on the Single Flute End Mill Webinar that I did with an Applications Project Manager here at DATRON. The video of that webinar is below, as is the part milled with the strategies detailed herein. The point of both the webinar and this post is to prove that the single flute end mill is really a “utility” cutting tool that should be in every machinist’s toolbox regardless of whether they are running a conventional VMC like a Haas or a high-speed machining center like a DATRON. To that end, the live milling demonstration done as part of the webinar, was performed at 15,000 RPM to emulate the results you might get with a conventional VMC, and also at 35,000 RPM to show the results you can expect with a high-speed milling machine. The intention was NOT to compare conventional machining with high-speed machining, but instead to present the single flute as a viable and ideal tool for both types of milling machines.
At the end of the video above you can see the milling strategies detailed in this blog used in a live milling demonstration that produced this aluminum part.
Machining Strategy – Slotting:
Tool p/n: 0068806A
Tool Type: 6mm dia. single flute, 4-in-1
Width of Cut: 100% (6mm/0.236″)
Depth of Cut: 0.0787″ per pass
Chipload: 0.0063″
@ 15,000 RPM: 94.5 inch/min feed
@ 35,000 RPM: 220 inch/min feed
Machining Strategy – Entry Angle:
Tool p/n: 0068806A
Tool Type: 6mm dia. single flute, 4-in-1
Width of Cut: 100% (6mm/0.245″)
Total Depth: 0.118″
Entry angles: 5, 15, 25, 90
Chipload: 0.0007″ – 0.0027″
@ 15,000 RPM: 10-40 inch/min feed
@ 35,000 RPM: 25 – 95 inch/min feed
Machining Strategy – Pocketing (adaptive clearing)
Tool p/n: 006803A
Tool Type: 3mm dia. single flute, 4-in-1
Width of Cut: 15% (0.45mm / 0.0177″)
Depth of Cut: 0.118″
Chipload: 0.0035″
@ 15,000 RPM: 53.15 inch/min feed
@ 38,000 RPM: 133 inch/min feed
Machining Strategy – Pocketing (traditional)
Tool p/n: 0068803A
Tool Type: 6mm dia. single flute, 4-in-1
Width of Cut: 50% (1.5mm / 0.059″)
Depth of Cut: 0.039″ per pass
Chipload: 0.0047″
@ 15,000 RPM: 70.87 inch/min feed
@ 38,000 RPM: 178.6 inch/min feed
Machining Strategy – Small Diameter Ramp Milling
Tool p/n: 0068415E
Tool Type: 1.5mm dia. single flute, standard
Width of Cut: 100% (1.5mm / 0.059″)
Depth of Cut: 0.015″ per pass
Chipload: 0.0007″ – 0.0013″
@ 15,000 RPM: 10 – 20 inch/min feed
@ 39,000 RPM: 29 – 50 inch/min feed
Machining Strategy – Both-Ways Adaptive Clearing
Tool p/n: 0068810A
Tool Type: 10mm dia. single flute, 4-in-1
Width of Cut: 15% (1.5mm / 0.059″)
Depth of Cut: 10mm / 0.393″
Chipload: 0.0071″
@ 15,000 RPM: 106.3 inch/min feed
@ 32,000 RPM: 227 inch/min feed
