End mills.

RonA

RonA

Active member
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
 

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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?
 
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.
 
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
 
jasonc said:
What would a bit like that cost, I know nothing of machining just curious.
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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.
 
RonA said:
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.
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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.
 

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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.
 
Blueboy said:
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.
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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
 

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