Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Resolution and surface finish

Joe Vicars wrote:

> Jon,
> I keep the chips out with air. Sometimes I use Kerosene, but mostly for drilling. Flooding is not possible with my machine. I
> have a "mist" cooling deal (leur?) but haven't installed it yet.
> The pocket I refered to was done 7 passes at .100" each leaving .020" on the walls. One finish pass at full depth climb cutting
> to take the remaining.
> I'm going to reprogram and cut another one this weekend. I'm going to leave only .005" and finish with a new 4 flute.

I think you will find a substantial improvement when you do this.

>
> I also find that when profiling I use the uppermost of the flute possible because the bottom of most endmills is worn first.

I have found out it is easier to resharpen end mills than I once thought. I now often
'clean up' the bottom cutting edge by hand with a bench stone. This seems to keep
the cutters running longer between real resharpenings.

> Of
> course in a blind pocket sometimes this is not possible. I'm not in a position to run out and buy new cutters all the time. I love
> carbide but can rarely justify the cost.

Yes, US made, name brand carbide is WAY expensive. But, some of the
import stuff runs around $8 for a 1/4" and maybe $6-8 for a 1/2". This
makes it far more affordable, and the results are really a lot better.
I have pretty much stopped buying plain HSS, and converted almost
completely to M-42 and similar cobalt tooling for general work, and
use the carbide some for tricky situations. The carbide keeps its
edge for a LONG time, and the difference between M-42 and HSS
is at least 2:1 longer life.

Jon