Cutting Tools & Tooling

Tunable tools can be adjusted to dampen vibration. However, shops must have the right equipment to tune them quickly and precisely. This article describes an instrument that can provide the necessary feedback. A system that uses a mill's vibration frequency to sense problems with the tool is also described.

Automatic recessing heads feed a cutter out at a right angle to the spindle's rotation axis as downward pressure is applied to the housing. This article looks at the advantages of using these units and reviews the different types of head available, including heads for special applications and multispindle automatics.

Changes in milling practices have placed new demands on the cutting tool. This article discusses the features toolmakers have added to their milling insert geometries to control chips and cutting forces. The article also reviews the milling process and the forces that act on the insert.

This article reviews the nomenclature that toolmakers use to identify inserts. Both ANSI and ISO codes are described character by character. A chart lists all of the possible choices for each position in the code and what each code letter or number signifies.

This article discusses the trend among insert makers to consolidate chipbreaker designs and carbide grades. The result is the three-chipbreaker/three-grade matrix many insert makers have adopted in some form. The evolution of the chip-forming groove is also traced, and an ANSI proposal for a grade identification system is described.

Ion implantation bombards a tool's surface with accelerated metal ions. According to this article, the process increases tool life and the performance of tool coatings. Two theories explaining why the process works are also discussed.