03-08-2015, 06:26 PM
LOL...too funny.
I wouldn't buy one those cutters that use a TPG insert (actually sold one I had.) They absolutely hammer the spindles and you just found out what else happens to an insert that has a smooth top and very little holding it in.
On face milling I use a lead angle cutter, specifically a Walter F4080 with octagonal inserts or a Walter F4033 which both give EIGHT edges per insert rather than three. Cost per edge is far cheaper. They have a grade WKP25S that just kicks butt in tool steels. Here's what they look like:
![[Image: IMG_2184-r_zpsaddfde24.jpg]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v466/kenm10759/Dads%20shop/IMG_2184-r_zpsaddfde24.jpg)
The one on the left is an F4080, the next one over is my F4033, the black one is an F2280 (renamed F4080 with the nickel plating). The one on the right is an F4042 shoulder mill that I sold off to get an F4041 (4 edges per insert rather than 2), just like the ones EdK, Wrustle and "the penguin" (Jack) all have.
Being a machinist for a living, I have many friends who own shops. One is a place that makes broaches out of one of the toughest HSS tool steel I've ever seen, CPM T15. They were using a 2" 5-insert Seco cutter similar to that F4042 with two-edge inserts and getting 2 passes at 3mm deep x 1-3/4" wide x 28" long, per edge. Index the inserts, take one more pass, flip the part around, take another pass, change inserts, make the last pass, and so on. So it took (effectively) 7.5 inserts per part.
They bought the 2" 4-insert Walter F4041 and the LNGX130708R-L55 inserts in that grade WKP25S to try. At the same spindle speed and inches per minute feed they went 4.5mm deep, took two passes, flipped the part over, took two passes, part done. Two more complete parts and it looked to be time to index the inserts to the second edge (of four.) But they did one more part complete instead. So, 4 inserts did 16 parts. Seco inserts, 16 parts were using 120 inserts.
Think about that. The Walter inserts cost $22 each, the Seco were $17. Which ones are truly cheaper?
Check eBay for a cutter and end your troubles. New ones are pricey, but in a commercial shop that kind of payback makes the initial cost go bye-bye fast.
And for the record, they used flood coolant for the tool steel, and I would too. That stuff can act VERY weird if you get it too hot!
I wouldn't buy one those cutters that use a TPG insert (actually sold one I had.) They absolutely hammer the spindles and you just found out what else happens to an insert that has a smooth top and very little holding it in.
On face milling I use a lead angle cutter, specifically a Walter F4080 with octagonal inserts or a Walter F4033 which both give EIGHT edges per insert rather than three. Cost per edge is far cheaper. They have a grade WKP25S that just kicks butt in tool steels. Here's what they look like:
The one on the left is an F4080, the next one over is my F4033, the black one is an F2280 (renamed F4080 with the nickel plating). The one on the right is an F4042 shoulder mill that I sold off to get an F4041 (4 edges per insert rather than 2), just like the ones EdK, Wrustle and "the penguin" (Jack) all have.
Being a machinist for a living, I have many friends who own shops. One is a place that makes broaches out of one of the toughest HSS tool steel I've ever seen, CPM T15. They were using a 2" 5-insert Seco cutter similar to that F4042 with two-edge inserts and getting 2 passes at 3mm deep x 1-3/4" wide x 28" long, per edge. Index the inserts, take one more pass, flip the part around, take another pass, change inserts, make the last pass, and so on. So it took (effectively) 7.5 inserts per part.
They bought the 2" 4-insert Walter F4041 and the LNGX130708R-L55 inserts in that grade WKP25S to try. At the same spindle speed and inches per minute feed they went 4.5mm deep, took two passes, flipped the part over, took two passes, part done. Two more complete parts and it looked to be time to index the inserts to the second edge (of four.) But they did one more part complete instead. So, 4 inserts did 16 parts. Seco inserts, 16 parts were using 120 inserts.
Think about that. The Walter inserts cost $22 each, the Seco were $17. Which ones are truly cheaper?
Check eBay for a cutter and end your troubles. New ones are pricey, but in a commercial shop that kind of payback makes the initial cost go bye-bye fast.
And for the record, they used flood coolant for the tool steel, and I would too. That stuff can act VERY weird if you get it too hot!