When selecting cutting tools, appropriate cutting tools and tool holders should be selected based on the function of the machining center, the characteristics of the workpiece material, the machining process, cutting parameters and other related factors.
The general principles for selecting cutting tools for CNC machining are:
- Easy installation and adjustment
- Good rigidity
- Durability
- High precision
While meeting the machining requirements, consider choosing a shorter toolholder to improve tool rigidity.
When selecting a tool, it is important to adapt the tool size to the workpiece surface size. Common tool selection methods include the following:
- Flat Part Perimeter Contours
- End mills are often used.
- Flat Surface Milling
- Carbide-insert milling cutters should be selected.
- Bosses and Grooves
- High-speed steel end mills should be selected.
- Rough Surfaces or Roughing Holes
- A corn milling cutter with carbide inserts can be selected.
- Three-Dimensional Surfaces and Variable-Angle Contours
- Ball-end milling cutters, toroidal milling cutters, tapered milling cutters, and disc milling cutters are commonly used.
Free-Form Surface Machining
- When using CNC to process free-form surfaces, since the cutting speed at the end of the ball end mill is zero, a very tight cutting step is usually used to ensure machining accuracy.
- Perciò, ball-end mills are often used for finishing curved surfaces.
- Flat-end cutters offer superior surface finish quality and cutting efficiency over ball-end cutters.
- Perciò, as long as overcutting is avoided, flat-end cutters should be preferred for both roughing and finishing curved surfaces.
Tool Cost vs. Efficiency
It’s worth noting that a knife’s durability and precision are closely related to its price.
In most cases, while choosing a good tool increases tool cost, the resulting improvement in quality and efficiency can significantly reduce overall machining costs.
