Along with advances in software, materials, tooling and machine technology comes new machining guidance intended to help shops properly utilize said technology to maximize productivity. Among them is a milling strategy Seco Tools Inc. calls optimized roughing.
The key to the strategy, according to Seco, is using the full flute length of an end mill during roughing. Applied properly, optimized roughing reportedly enables a shop to machine pockets three to four times faster than conventional methods while extending the life of its tools.
Achieving the best possible results with optimized roughing, however, requires shops to follow a few specific guidelines.
CTE Publisher Dennis Spaeth recently met with Jay Ball, Seco product manager, solid milling, to learn more about optimized roughing and highlight the major factors that govern success or failure with this milling strategy.
In the first of this four-part video series, Jay defines optimized roughing in more detail and addresses the importance of using good CAM software.
In part two, the series focuses on the need for proper setup and angle of engagement to achieve optimized roughing. As Jay notes in the video, shops that reduce the angle of engagement reap multiple benefits.
In the third installment, Jay stresses that shops must maintain constant chip load in order to achieve successful optimized roughing. Knowing your machine's capabilities is critical, he adds, explaining that "machines must have the proper RPM capabilities, proper look-ahead capabilities, with the right controller to get to some of these higher speeds and feeds."
The final installment of the video series turns the focus on when to employ optimized roughing.
Related Glossary Terms
- computer-aided manufacturing ( CAM)
computer-aided manufacturing ( CAM)
Use of computers to control machining and manufacturing processes.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- look-ahead
look-ahead
CNC feature that evaluates many data blocks ahead of the cutting tool’s location to adjust the machining parameters to prevent gouges. This occurs when the feed rate is too high to stop the cutting tool within the required distance, resulting in an overshoot of the tool’s projected path. Ideally, look-ahead should be dynamic, varying the distance and number of program blocks based on the part profile and the desired feed rate.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
- milling machine ( mill)
milling machine ( mill)
Runs endmills and arbor-mounted milling cutters. Features include a head with a spindle that drives the cutters; a column, knee and table that provide motion in the three Cartesian axes; and a base that supports the components and houses the cutting-fluid pump and reservoir. The work is mounted on the table and fed into the rotating cutter or endmill to accomplish the milling steps; vertical milling machines also feed endmills into the work by means of a spindle-mounted quill. Models range from small manual machines to big bed-type and duplex mills. All take one of three basic forms: vertical, horizontal or convertible horizontal/vertical. Vertical machines may be knee-type (the table is mounted on a knee that can be elevated) or bed-type (the table is securely supported and only moves horizontally). In general, horizontal machines are bigger and more powerful, while vertical machines are lighter but more versatile and easier to set up and operate.
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