Lightweight with peak performance: New milling cutter design Titanium tool body by 3D-AM

Related Vendors

ISCAR HARTMETALL AG

FAULHABER Drive Systems

Taiwan Machine Tool & Accessory Builders' Association (TMBA)

Wuxi InfiMotion Technology Co., Ltd.

To create deep cavities, milling cutters with large overhangs and corresponding size and weight are required. This increases the weight and reduces the rigidity of the tool. The latter can lead to vibrations and poor surface quality. To reduce the weight and increase the rigidity, Iscar now produces milling bodies made of titanium using 3D-AM (Additive Manufacturing). As a complete assembly, they are therefore light (tool handling) and can be designed to be more rigid.

The milling cutters described above extend the product range of the 90-degree Heli2000 milling cutters, where indexable inserts with helical cutting edges are mounted. While a compact design with a large length offers maximum rigidity, due to the high production costs and problems in machining, this concept is only used to a limited extent in practice.

For example, the breakage of an indexable insert can damage the tool body and thus cause high costs. To prevent this, manufacturers rely on tool assemblies.

Gallery

Advantages of a modular tool construction

A tool with a large overhang consists of a standard size cutter and a tool holder that accommodates the cutter. The holder can be modular and contains standard elements such as a base unit for machine spindles, extensions or reductions.

The assembly principle is flexible, allows for optimal configuration and effective adjustment. If a milling cutter is damaged, it is simply replaced. Other elements of the assembly continue in use.

Advantage Titanium: as a material for tool holders

Steel is the traditional tool material. Titanium is an alternative - it has a lower density, but is characterized by high strength. In addition, titanium is highly corrosion-resistant, wear-resistant and ensures a long tool life. Titanium is about 40 percent lighter than steel, but approaches high-strength steel in terms of strength. However, processing the material due to its special properties is a demanding task that requires a lot of experience and time—with correspondingly high manufacturing costs.

Titanium base body via 3D Additive Manufacturing

Only innovative technologies have laid the foundation to overcome these hurdles. Additive Manufacturing (AM) is an effective way to implement even complex configurations of a milling body and minimize machining steps. 3D printing simplifies the production of tools made of titanium and is also sustainable.

Therefore, manufacturers of precision tools have now developed AM processes for the production of milling cutters for machining with large overhang lengths. The trend to produce lightweight indexable insert milling cutters with titanium bodies additively is becoming increasingly established.

Precise coolant supply through the milling body

Iscar forms the tool body of a plug-in milling cutter through Selective Laser Melting (SLM), which is part of the 3D printing process. Parts of the body, such as chip chambers and cavities for weight reduction, feature clever shapes unusual for metalworking.

Unequal division reduces vibrations

Additive manufacturing methods enable maximum use of the mechanical fluid mechanics to optimize the profile of the internal cooling channels, thus ensuring efficient, pinpoint coolant supply through the milling body. Conventional methods reach their limits in the design of the cooling channels, while additive manufacturing offers almost unlimited possibilities.

The 3D-AM concept meanwhile also utilizes the principle of unequal division of the cutter to design the tool with low vibration.

Robust and light

The design, which is based on the combination of untypical tool body material and the advantages of additive manufacturing, has led to robust and light indexable insert milling cutters for economical machining with large overhangs.

The new tool from Iscar allows stable machining, improves productivity, and extends tool life. The titanium shell mill cutters are available in diameters of 50 and 63 millimeters. For optimal results and very good surface finishes, Iscar recommends mounting the cutters on tool holders with an anti-vibration mechanism, such as the Whisperline adapter from Iscar.

(böh)

This article was first published on our sister portal SMM-Schweizer MaschinenMarkt (German Language), Vogel Communications  Group