General-purpose tool shines on tough job

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END USER: Kline Oilfield Equipment Inc., (918) 445-0588, www.klinetools.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce cycle time and extend tool life when machining 718 Inconel. SOLUTION: An AlTiN-coated, general-purpose endmill and CAM software that generates efficient toolpaths. SOLUTION PROVIDERS: IMCO Carbide Tool Inc., (800) 765-4626, www.imcousa.com; SolidCAM Inc., (866) 975-1115, www.solidcam.com.

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When two elements combine to create something greater than the sum of its parts, the result is typically a welcome surprise. Kline Oilfield Equipment Inc., also known as Kline Tools, was pleasantly surprised when it combined high-efficiency CAM software with a general-purpose endmill to machine 718 Inconel ball valves. The result was a 500 percent increase in tool life and an 86 percent reduction in cycle time.

Jake Aasness, who handles programming and technical applications for the Tulsa, Okla., manufacturer of in-ground, oil-well service tools, noted that Kline Tools uses the 2011 version of SolidCAM. The software includes the iMachining module, which optimizes cutting tool angles and feed rates through the entire toolpath to double or triple cutting speeds, according to developer SolidCAM Inc., Washington Crossing, Pa.

According to Aasness, the module’s algorithm generates a smooth, morphing spiral toolpath while controlling the cutting angle, feed rate and cutter velocity. “The tool, in theory, should always have the same chip load, no matter what,” he said, noting that the machining technique is vaguely similar to trochoidal milling. “I’m still impressed when I watch it. It’s like the tool is pulling itself through the material, and it doesn’t require any more load on the servos than it takes to move the table itself.”

However, the toolpaths the software generates do not enable every cutting tool to effectively cut difficult-to-machine materials. Kline Tools continued to experience problems when producing an order for 718 Inconel ball valves, which the company receives once or twice a year. “It was an absolute nightmare every time,” Aasness said, adding that the metal workhardens if machined dry and an endmill thermally microfractures if machined with flood coolant because the cutting edge repeatedly heats up as it engages the material and then cools down as it rotates around toward its next engagement.

Courtesy of IMCO Carbide Tool

IMCO sales representative Chris Cooper (left) and Jake Aasness at Kline Tools were pleasantly surprised at the IMCO Everyday Advantage endmill’s ability to machine 718 Inconel ball valves (below) eight times faster than other high-performance endmills.