End mills.
 

552 minutes of time in the cut so far cutting 304 SST at 2800 rpm 8ipm. .213 DOC then .003 fin. Cutting in a fixture with only tail stock pressure holding it(not a lot of rigidity). I love not spending money on tools.:hehe:

RonA

Yike! I wish we got that kind of tool life! Pocketing C1018 of all things has brought on some challenges I never saw coming. I try to stay in Aluminum whenever possible.

Who do you use for tooling Ron?

End mills.
 

Ron, two flutes on stainless?

Who's tooling?

Hanita 3 flute coated with .018 radius. Looks the same under the microscope when I finished the job a few minutes ago as it did 3 days and 175 parts ago.

What would a bit like that cost, I know nothing of machining just curious.

A lot of factors play into end mill pricing. We use 3/8 end mills for a majority of our stuff and they range from $40 a piece up to $100. Some of the more exotic end mills and custom ground mills can be upwards of $300 depending on size.


That feed rate override is all fun and games until you forget about it and watch your $100 end mill plow through something way quicker than you anticipated LOL

Around $45. I buy quite a bit from MSC. I get decent discounts and their tech people are pretty good. Over the last 5 years I have dropped my tooling costs down by 75-80 percent buy experimenting with different inserts and end mills.
Especially on the lathe. 90%+ of what I do is stainless steel, with lots of welds being machined off. Front sections are 1.375 dia x any where from 2.5 to 9" long and can have as many as 96 welds each. Very hard on insert tools.

That sounds like a nightmare.

Actually, it's a piece of cake with solid way machines and good tooling. With a linear guide machine it would be hell, and I'd be getting Christmas Cards from MSC.

4 orders like this so far. Probably make at least another one as well.

love it. Production work is the most satisfying thing there is.

On a mill 304 is not bad machining, on lathe it's crap, real sticky.
Have you done any interrupted cuts on your late with carbide
inserts, they don't like it.

Yes. I've been machining welded assemblies with inserts for years. I use a grade and type that works amazing. Rigid machinery helps as well.
RonA