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February 18, 2021 00:39
end mills for aluminumWhen it comes to machining components, aluminum is an incredible material to work with. It is light yet strong and easy to machine when compared to denser metals like steel. Even though aluminum is easier to machine, you do need to make sure that you are using the correct cutting tools when working with this material. If you need to find the best end mills for aluminum, then there are a few important factors to consider.
While aluminum is easy to machine because it is so soft, this advantage comes with its own set of issues. Consider a harder material like steel. When you cut steel, the metal breaks down into small chips. When you are machining aluminum, the chips that are created do not break easily. Instead the soft metal bends and creates long curved chips. These chips are heavy and difficult to eject from the base of your tool.
When working with steel, you want tools with many flutes in order to create more cuts per rotation, as the small chips will still be easy to evacuate. If you’re choosing the best end mills for aluminum, you need to think differently. Instead of more flutes, end mills for aluminum should only have two or three flutes. It may seem counterintuitive to use less flutes when cutting into metal, but there is a good reason. The wider spacing between cutting edges leads to easier chip evacuation.
Higher removal rates can be particularly valuable when machining at high speeds and feeds because it will prevent the aluminum alloy chips from building up around the base of the cutter. Another way to ensure chip evacuation is to use tools with a high helix angle. This angle helps to provide more upward force on the chips, which helps them easily clear the flutes. All of these different aspects of flute design can help protect your cutting tools and your aluminum workpieces from being damaged during the milling process.
In addition to flute design, different types of tool coatings can help to improve the evacuation of chips. One of the most popular coatings for aluminum cutters is zirconium nitride or ZrN. This coating provides a golden surface finish and helps to lower the coefficient of friction on the surface of the cutter, which helps to prevent the soft aluminum chips from sticking to the surface of your cutting tools.
If you are trying to find the best end mills for aluminum, there are some great options available at www.onlinecarbide.com. Their three flute end mills for aluminum feature a 37 degree helix angle and are coated with ZrN to help promote easy chip evacuation. The solid carbide construction also means that these tools will hold their edges and have a superior tool life compared to steel tools. If you have any questions about their tools, you can reach a member of the Online Carbide team by sending an email to sales@onlinecarbide.com.
Posted February 18, 2021 00:39
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February 16, 2021 07:46
Aluminum is a pretty amazing material for several applications. It’s ratio of material strength to weight makes it the perfect choice for producing a wide range of components for several industries. It is also significantly softer than steel, making it much easier to machine. Despite the fact that aluminum is softer than steel, you cannot use the same tools to machine both materials. It is important to use special end mills for aluminum if you want to machine components from this material while minimizing any potential risk to your workpiece or your tools.
Aluminum requires material specific tools for several reasons. The biggest issue to overcome is how aluminum alloys create chips during high speed machining. When steel is cut, it’s dense and rigid nature causes the chips to break up into smaller, almost powder-like pieces. The issue with aluminum chips is that they are flexible and they do not break as easily. This can lead to long and heavy chips forming that may not be easily cleared from the cutting tool.
As metal removal rates increase, the risk of chips getting caught near the cutting edges. If these chips are not properly evacuated, they can jam up at the bottom of your cutter. This can lead to the chips being continuously cut until the resulting almost powdered aluminum can compact and jam up your tool. Small pieces of aluminum may also cling to the edges of your tools, causing more wear during regular operations.
In order to prevent any of these scenarios from occurring, end mills for aluminum have a few unique design features. In order to provide more room for chip evacuation, lower flute counts are preferred. Typically these tools feature 3 flutes which also have a steep helix angle to put more upward force on the chips and move them away from the cutting edges. Finally these tools are usually treated with a layer of gold colored ZrN which lowers the friction on the cutter and makes it harder for chips to stick to the edges.
The shape of an end mill has a big influence on its performance, but it is not all that you should consider. End mills, especially those being used to cut harder materials at high speeds have to stand up to extreme temperatures and intense impacts. These factors will eventually wear down any tool, so the material used to make your end mills is crucial. Carbide is one of the best options due to its superior edge retention and temperature tolerance when compared to stainless steel tools.
If you need some carbide end mills for aluminum for your shop, you can find some great options when you visit Online Carbide. They are an American carbide drill bit and end mill manufacturer dedicated to providing shops with high performance tools at manufacturer direct prices. You can see their full tool inventory at www.onlinecarbide.com. If you have any questions about their tools, feel free to reach out to their team by sending an email to sales@onlinecarbide.com.
Posted February 16, 2021 07:46