Using Inserted Face Mills

[GreatOldOne]

hi guys,

I just got an inserted face mill of eBay, 63mm, 5 tooth - this one, to be exact:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/262322040094?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Having mounted it on a suitable arbor, I tried it out... But I'm not sure if I'm getting the feeds and speeds right. Does anyone have any experience with these things?

Aluminium seemed to be ok at high speed (~1200 rpm) with some wd40... Apart from the blizzard of chips. Surface finish seemed good. But when tried on mild steel, I couldn't get a happy mix of rpm vs feed. It cut, but it looked poor. It was flat, but the surface looked 'faceted'...

Any advice?

Thanks

Jason

 

[stupoty]

Hello, i find large diamitor cutters with multiple cutting faces to nead a lot of torque so they make my bench mill flex a lot (at least that what it seems to be).

You could put a dial indicator on the head to see if it's flexing excesivly during the cut.

I find a single point fly cutter ok, but the large diamitor definetly acentuates the out of square on my mill. I wonder if thats also a thing that might cause problems with a face mill ?

That it does ok with ally and not steel might be pointing to the rigidness a little. How was the work held down?

Stuart.

 

[GreatOldOne]

Stuart - both test pieces where just held in my 4" machine vice. I must admit to not locking the y axis when cutting, and both power fed & hand fed th x-axis to see what happened. I wonder also if I was maybe asking too much on the depth of cut.

I'll get some pictures of the surface finish on the steel & alu chunks later

 

[4GSR]

That face mill is not designed to use on a conventional mill due to its configuration. It's designed for contour milling on a CNC mill where there's a lot of combination of plunging and side cutting. It takes a lot of rigidity and a solid machine to make this cutter do a good job! The 15 degree flared out bottom is what kills this for use on a conventional mill like a Bridgeport or any mini-mill.

 

[GreatOldOne]

Thanks for the info Ken...

Guess it no use, and a bad purchase on my part...

Ho hum - live and learn. Can anyone link me the correct type of face mill (on eBay or elsewhere) so I know what to look for?

Also - anyone have a big frack-off CNC that maybe interested in a 5 flute kenametal face mill, one careful owner?

 

[4GSR]

>>>>>>>>>>>>SNIP>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Can anyone link me the correct type of face mill (on eBay or elsewhere) so I know what to look for?..........

Look for face mills that use a TPG 32_ style of insert. Yeah, I know, they are semi-obsolete, but still available for the home shop user. That's my main face mill I use in my shop! I also have a older SECO face mill that uses a SE__42 insert, but you can't cut to 90 deg shoulder with it. Look at the Shars line of tools. They have a nice face mill that uses a APTK style of insert that will let you cut to a 90 degree shoulder as well as a couple of others. They may have one that will use your existing inerts tha might be a plus to you, too. Ken

Edit:

Here's one that uses AP_T16__ style of insert

http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Flute-400...814169?hash=item258f4a7f99:g:Xm8AAOxy3yNTg4MM

Here's a couple of Shars face mill

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHARS-3-90-...hash=item4603ca3d24:m:mY3AYAxPwdVCZw6kB5AnxjQ

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SHARS-2-90-...516279?hash=item4d1416bcf7:g:q90AAOxyONBSZS6q

Here's one that uses TPG32_ inserts
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-1-2-90-In...654c019&pid=100005&rk=2&rkt=6&sd=330820001140

 

[T Bredehoft]

Face mills, My experience, for what it's worth, work best when more than one (preferably more that two) inserts are cutting at the same time. At a guess, when only one is cutting, the head bounces between cuts and never gets smooth. If the second insert enters the work before the first leaves, it never gets bouncing. IMHO!

 

[Reeltor]

I know very little about inserts but I've always heard that you need different inserts for steel and aluminum or is it aluminium?
GreatOldOne, what kind/size mill are you using? What size spindle?
I saw that you have a 4" vice on it.

 

[GreatOldOne]

Aluminium. I'm British, so I need the extra letters. Don't get me started on colour vs color.

I have an RF 25 clone with a MT3 spindle. And, like the millennium falcon, it's had a lot of modifications I've done myself....

 

[TOOLMASTER]

i use one for a nice smooth finish on aluminum..light cuts