Cost cutting - insert milling

With its new PPC indexable insert which is compatible with the Garant precision copy milling cutters as tool bodies, the Hoffmann Group is launching an alternative to PPC solid-carbide barrel milling cutters with a straight or stub point conical-shaped main cutting edge onto the market. The PPC cut-off inserts are suitable for processing flat faces and freely accessible surfaces without interference contours on the 3-axis machine and are available for steel, high-alloy and hardened steels, stainless steel and aluminium. Garant precision copy milling cutters, which are suitable as tool bodies, are available in steel and solid-carbide versions, including a Garant PowerCard.

Seeking to optimise the groove machining process, owner Jörg Bamann approached Horn application engineer Korbinian Niedermeier, who recommended a high-feed milling solution. The subcontractor has been using Horn products for two decades, so knows the supplier well.

From 30-31 October, ITC will again be exhibiting at the Advanced Engineering Exhibition on Stand T171 in Hall 3 at the NEC Birmingham.

The company's many years of experience in processing steels including stainless, aluminium alloys, non-ferrous metals, titanium and plastics are testament to its expertise and versatility. The use of modern CAD/CAM systems enables components to be machined quickly and cost-effectively to meet customer requirements.

All new Garant PPC indexable inserts, including tool bodies and the new GARANT PPC solid-carbide barrel milling cutters for hard machining, are available immediately. The precondition for PPC is a CAD/CAM software coordinated to the milling strategy, which allows the tool geometries to be processed as a data model.

From 30-31 October, ITC will again be exhibiting at the Advanced Engineering Exhibition on Stand T171 in Hall 3 at the NEC Birmingham.

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.

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is investing £500m to transform its historic Halewood facility into a state-of-the-art production site for electric vehicles (EVs), the company announced in September.

The 42CrMo4 (1.7225) alloy steel billet, quenched and tempered to 1,000N/mm², requires a 40mm wide groove having a 240mm outside diameter and a depth of just less than 90mm to be rough-machined. The component is a key part of a hydraulic rotator, used in the construction and forestry industries for rotating attachments carried by excavators.

Mr Bamann affirms: “We are very happy with the result. Using the high-feed milling cutter has reduced the cycle time considerably and the load on the machine has also decreased, as cutting pressure and vibration are lower. There is still more potential for machining improvement.”

Tooling manufacturer Horn has introduced a new carbide insert grade, SG66, for turning components from steel that has been case hardened to 58 HRC. Due to the high flexural strength of the carbide substrate, the insert is also suitable for interrupted cutting.

Replaceable tool that clamps into a tool body, drill, mill or other cutter body designed to accommodate inserts. Most inserts are made of cemented carbide. Often they are coated with a hard material. Other insert materials are ceramic, cermet, polycrystalline cubic boron nitride and polycrystalline diamond. The insert is used until dull, then indexed, or turned, to expose a fresh cutting edge. When the entire insert is dull, it is usually discarded. Some inserts can be resharpened.

Carbide insert and cutting tool manufacturer Horn reports that an application at Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt – a job shop in Geretsried, Germany – is demonstrating that a Horn DAH high-feed, indexable-insert milling cutter in a B-axis lathe is able to helically interpolate a circular groove into a round steel workpiece 14 times faster than a toroidal mill.

Tooling manufacturer Horn has introduced a new carbide insert grade, SG66, for turning components from steel that has been case hardened to 58 HRC. Due to the high flexural strength of the carbide substrate, the insert is also suitable for interrupted cutting.

If you find this article informative, consider subscribing digitally to PES Media for free. Keep up to date with the latest industry news in your inbox as well as being the first to receive our magazine in digital form.

Next, the subcontractor tried replacing the turning tool with a conventional, 5-flute, toroidal milling cutter with indexable inserts in the B-axis tool spindle of a DMG Mori CTX 800 TC turning-milling centre. The roughing process was faster than axial turning but resulted in vibration and a high level of noise. Furthermore, the machining time was still too long for Mr Bamann. About 100 minutes were needed to produce the groove and each cutter was able to complete only 30 components before the inserts needed to be changed, so further process optimisation was called for.

Manufacturers face an age-old paradox: manufacturing efficiency versus quality. After all, higher efficiency risks compromising quality while focusing on quality can reduce productivity – and this dilemma is becoming more challenging.

Mr Bamaan says: “Before switching to milling, we tried to produce the recess in the component by axial turning, but it didn’t prove to be viable. We tried tool solutions from various manufacturers, but none of them had the technical capabilities we needed. Turning resulted in long chips and, due to the large groove depth, caused vibration that negatively affected the life of the inserts.”

Mr Niedermeier proposed a 40mm diameter, high-feed DAH mill with five triple-edged inserts. At a cutting speed (vc) of 150m/minute, the tool is helically interpolated into the rotating workpiece with a continuous infeed depth (ap) of 1mm and 0.8mm feed per tooth (fz). The new machining time for the recess is now just seven minutes per component, more than 14 times faster, and the life of the indexable inserts has increased threefold to 90 components per edge.

Loosely, any milling tool. Horizontal cutters take the form of plain milling cutters, plain spiral-tooth cutters, helical cutters, side-milling cutters, staggered-tooth side-milling cutters, facemilling cutters, angular cutters, double-angle cutters, convex and concave form-milling cutters, straddle-sprocket cutters, spur-gear cutters, corner-rounding cutters and slitting saws. Vertical cutters use shank-mounted cutting tools, including endmills, T-slot cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters and dovetail cutters; these may also be used on horizontal mills. See milling.

Carbide insert and cutting tool manufacturer Horn reports that an application at Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt – a job shop in Geretsried, Germany – is demonstrating that a Horn DAH high-feed, indexable-insert milling cutter in a B-axis lathe is able to helically interpolate a circular groove into a round steel workpiece 14 times faster than a toroidal mill. The 42CrMo4 (1.7225) alloy steel billet, quenched and tempered to 1,000N/mm², requires a 40mm wide groove having a 240mm outside diameter and a depth of just less than 90mm to be rough-machined. The component is a key part of a hydraulic rotator, used in the construction and forestry industries for rotating attachments carried by excavators. Seeking to optimise the groove machining process, owner Jörg Bamann approached Horn application engineer Korbinian Niedermeier, who recommended a high-feed milling solution. The subcontractor has been using Horn products for two decades, so knows the supplier well. Jörg Bamann (right) with Horn application engineer Korbinian Niedermeier Mr Bamaan says: “Before switching to milling, we tried to produce the recess in the component by axial turning, but it didn’t prove to be viable. We tried tool solutions from various manufacturers, but none of them had the technical capabilities we needed. Turning resulted in long chips and, due to the large groove depth, caused vibration that negatively affected the life of the inserts.” Next, the subcontractor tried replacing the turning tool with a conventional, 5-flute, toroidal milling cutter with indexable inserts in the B-axis tool spindle of a DMG Mori CTX 800 TC turning-milling centre. The roughing process was faster than axial turning but resulted in vibration and a high level of noise. Furthermore, the machining time was still too long for Mr Bamann. About 100 minutes were needed to produce the groove and each cutter was able to complete only 30 components before the inserts needed to be changed, so further process optimisation was called for. Mr Niedermeier proposed a 40mm diameter, high-feed DAH mill with five triple-edged inserts. At a cutting speed (vc) of 150m/minute, the tool is helically interpolated into the rotating workpiece with a continuous infeed depth (ap) of 1mm and 0.8mm feed per tooth (fz). The new machining time for the recess is now just seven minutes per component, more than 14 times faster, and the life of the indexable inserts has increased threefold to 90 components per edge. Mr Bamann affirms: “We are very happy with the result. Using the high-feed milling cutter has reduced the cycle time considerably and the load on the machine has also decreased, as cutting pressure and vibration are lower. There is still more potential for machining improvement.” Established in 1964 and now in its second generation of ownership, Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt CNC mills and turns parts for customers in a variety of industries in batch sizes ranging from one-offs to series production. The company's many years of experience in processing steels including stainless, aluminium alloys, non-ferrous metals, titanium and plastics are testament to its expertise and versatility. The use of modern CAD/CAM systems enables components to be machined quickly and cost-effectively to meet customer requirements. Horn Cutting Toolswww.phorn.co.uk

Hoffmann Group USA has expanded its tool family for Parabolic Performance Cutting (PPC) to include a new PPC indexable insert and Garant PPC solid-carbide barrel milling cutters for high-alloy and hardened steels. The PPC process represents a further development of ball-nosed slot drill cutting and is also known as barrel milling. It is primarily used for finishing free-form surfaces in machining tool building, tool manufacturing and die making and achieves either up to nine times shorter processing times or a significantly improved surface quality.

Manufacturers face an age-old paradox: manufacturing efficiency versus quality. After all, higher efficiency risks compromising quality while focusing on quality can reduce productivity – and this dilemma is becoming more challenging.

Established in 1964 and now in its second generation of ownership, Jörg Bamann Mechanische Werkstatt CNC mills and turns parts for customers in a variety of industries in batch sizes ranging from one-offs to series production.

Dustcontrol UK is set to exhibit its innovative dust extraction solutions at the Advanced Engineering Show 2024, taking place at the NEC Birmingham from 30-31 October.

In addition to the new PPC indexable insert, the Hoffmann Group has optimized three versions of its PPC solid-carbide barrel milling cutter for hard machining. The new tools have a tangential, conical or stub point conical form and are suitable for finishing flat faces and large surfaces with interference contours, as well as deep and hard-to-access cavities. Due to these qualities, they show their full potential on the 5-axis machine. The new Garant PPC indexable milling inserts are also available to users for finishing components made from high-alloy or hardened steels with freely accessible surfaces without interference contours.

TW Ward CNC Machinery (Ward CNC) is pleased to announce that Andrew Elliott has rejoined the company in the sales department and senior management team.