Milling Speeds for end mills

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by JasonB on 24/10/2020 16:09:34:

…. of Tubal Cain in Model Engineers Handbook he gives us 2000rpm for a 1/2" cutter in free cutting steel in which case 800rpm is a bit tame

……

I think you have a misprint, TC gives 2000 rpm for a 1/16" cutter, not 1/2"

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Duncan No misprint just you have misread it. Mine is what I said yes he gives 2000rpm for a 1/16th cutter but not in group "D" which is what he classes free cutting steel as, does not even offer a speed for a 1/16" cutter in that.

Edited By JasonB on 07/11/2020 07:14:47

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Posted by JasonB on 07/11/2020 07:13:33:

[…]

does not even offer a speed for a 1/16" cutter in that.

.

That said … The asterisked footnote is worth reading

MichaelG.

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Mick B1 on 23/10/2020 15:29:19:

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 23/10/2020 11:21:25:

Agree with Mick.

…

Dave

No!

I was wrong!

It's not as I wrote: "…surface speed at the periphery has to reduce as diameter increases."

It's RPM that has to reduce in order to keep surface speed (unit length per unit time) at the periphery within working range.

Some of you will have noticed that. Sorry. Engineers are supposed to know what they're talking about.

…

Whoops, I agreed with what Mick meant rather than what he typed!

Dave

[JasonBModerator @jasonb]

Sorry Michael I should have said "does not offer a maximum speed" not to be exceeded if the machine is capable.

He gives it for the 1/8" & 3/16" with the asterisk but not the 1/16th, probably did not want to muck up the tabulation when the speed got into six figures.

[Howard LewisParticipant @howardlewis46836]

Having arrived at rotation speed to achieve the correct surface speed for the cutter material mand the work material, the bother factor to take into account is the feed rate.

For each type of cutter there is feed rate determined by the number of teeth, and rotation speed.

An End Mill will probably have a feed per tooth of 0.002" (0.050 mm ). So running at 1,000 rpm with a 4 tooth cutter will result in a feed rate of 2 inches (50.8 mm ) per minute.

Feeding above the ideal feed / tooth will wear the cutter, and even break it if sufficiently excessive.

Feeding much too slowly will cause the cutter to rub, and the local heating may well soften and blunt it.

The feed rate will affect the surface finish, coarse feeds, as you would expect should produce a rougher finish. This is acceptable for roughing where the object is to remove metal as rapidly as possible. For finishing cuts, the depth of cut and feed rate will be decreased.

Carbide tooling requires surface speeds and feed rates that differ quite markedly from those for HSS.

Howard

[Anonymous]

Posted by Howard Lewis on 07/11/2020 14:44:34:

An End Mill will probably have a feed per tooth of 0.002" (0.050 mm ). So running at 1,000 rpm with a 4 tooth cutter will result in a feed rate of 2 inches (50.8 mm ) per minute.

Feedrate = feed per tooth x number of teeth x rpm

With the figures above I make that 8"/min.

It's surprising how big a chip load one can use without breaking the cutter. If I get careless when climb milling the cutter will drag the table. My mill is pretty worn, probably 12-15 thou backlash on X. When the cutter grabs there's a bit of a kuthunk but the cutter shrugs it off and everything continues as before.

Andrew

[duncan webster 1Participant @duncanwebster1]

Posted by JasonB on 07/11/2020 07:13:33:

Duncan No misprint just you have misread it. Mine is what I said yes he gives 2000rpm for a 1/16th cutter but not in group "D" which is what he classes free cutting steel as, does not even offer a speed for a 1/16" cutter in that.

Edited By JasonB on 07/11/2020 07:14:47

Ah yes I'd misread it, but note that TC says immediately below the table that 'for milling treat F.C steel as C, so he recommends 480 rpm. 2000 rpm on a 1/2" cutter is 262 ft/min, which is very high for even FC steel.

Edited By duncan webster on 08/11/2020 01:16:20

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