Boost Metal Removal Rates with Constant Chip-Load Machining

Boost Metal Removal Rates with Constant Chip-Load Machining

No doubt there is more productive CNC machining technology coming to market every day. But how can you get more productivity with the machining centers and turning centers you already own?

By updating your machining strategies.

It starts with the cutting tool. The key to more productive machining is using milling and turning tools in the way they were intended, at optimum feeds and speeds and, most importantly, optimum chip loads. Do that and you can dramatically improve metal removal rates, surface finishes and tool life.

For most shops, the barrier to achieving these gains is not their equipment but their ability to generate part programs that consistently keep tools in the cut under optimal conditions. Well-known CAM developer, Mastercam, has an answer for that with its Dynamic Motion toolpath engine. This CNC programming technology dynamically generates the most efficient toolpaths that maintain a constant chip load in the sweet spot of any cutting tool’s true cutting capabilities. Much more efficient machining is the result, with metal removal rates as much as 70% higher than conventional machining.

The Problem with Traditional Toolpaths

Tools are designed to cut, or more accurately, shear material. The tool design is intended to cut the material with a target chip load, which sends as much of the generated heat as possible into the chip and evacuates that chip away from the workpiece. How well the combination of spindle speed, feed rate and toolpath motion is able to maintain the tool’s target chip load determines how well that tool will perform and what type of tool life you will achieve.

Read more: Boost Metal Removal Rates with Constant Chip-Load Machining