Circle segment end mills

[Jeff]

What advantage do they have over something like a 90 deg chamfer mill other than being able to cut at multiple different tilt angles?
Assuming only wall cutting and not floor cutting.

[SuperHoneyBadger]

My understanding is that they offer a much shallower and wider scallop height per stepover/down on 5ax finishing of complex surfaces VS a ballnose. I think the Emuge documentation has the number of stepdowns reduced by ~3x vs a ballnose of the same cutting diameter.

For a flat wall, a flat or 90° tool should still be the best finish and cycle time.

[Jeff]

For a flat wall, a flat or 90° tool should still be the best finish and cycle time.

That's what I was thinking. I've used a chamfer mill a couple of times and it worked out great.
If only the circle segment cutters weren't so damned expensive I'd buy one and try it out.

[kccadcam]

[Zoffen]

Do people every use this with just 3+2 and not full 5? I have some parts I would like to use them on but I'm only 3+2 and it seems like you could  make it work but only in specific cases... probably more effort than its worth tho...

[neurosis]

Do people every use this with just 3+2 and not full 5? I have some parts I would like to use them on but I'm only 3+2 and it seems like you could  make it work but only in specific cases... probably more effort than its worth tho...

There are some videos with these tools in use. They would work fine in a 3+2.

[Brian]

This might be an edge case, but I use a 3/8" x 45 deg (with a 12" radius, I believe) on a large 45 deg chamfer to good effect in a 3 axis setup. It saved quite a bit of time vs. a 1/4" ball.

I couldn't cut this particular chamfer with a chamfer cutter as it had several obstructions along the path, so it was sort of a "3D" operation despite the geometry. I used "sweeping" in TopSolid and played around with the stepover to get the finish that I wanted; end result was a much better finish and reduced cycle time. Yes, the tool was fairly pricy but I think I figured out it paid for itself easily in a batch of 20 parts.

[neurosis]

This might be an edge case,

We don't have a 5 axis machine at our shop. We just have the KME 4 platter tombstone for our horizontal so we're limited to 3 + 2. X4?   

I'm posting this as a little dig at MC. We still can't program that thing efficiently with MC.   I have to use TS. Especially if I hope to simulate anything. 

That was my TS plug for the month. 

[Brian]

We still can't program that thing efficiently with MC.   I have to use TS. Especially if I hope to simulate anything. 

Is there any way you can just program this as a chamfer tool (i.e.-"lie" to the s/w), but use the actual tool shape so that you can get an idea of what the surface finish will look like in simulation? (Apologies for what might be a dumb question, as I'm not familiar with MC).

It's funny, but when I look at the cutter I don't think I could tell it's a circle segment cutter just by eye! It's a Helical #86281 (Ouch! They now cost $210.70....I don't think I paid that, however. Yikes!).

[neurosis]

It's funny, but when I look at the cutter I don't think I could tell it's a circle segment cutter just by eye! It's a Helical #86281 (Ouch! They now cost $210.70....I don't think I paid that, however. Yikes!).

We've never tried any. Most of our parts are exactly what you would expect from a 3 + 2.

When I said that we do a lot of split rings - we design fixtures to hold the split rings together and then drill lube holes at different angles through the face of the parts. It's kind of a pain in the ass, but pretty simple.

[kccadcam]

[Jeff]

We don't have a 5 axis machine at our shop. We just have the KME 4 platter tombstone for our horizontal so we're limited to 3 + 2. X4?   

I'm posting this as a little dig at MC. We still can't program that thing efficiently with MC.   I have to use TS. Especially if I hope to simulate anything. 

That was my TS plug for the month. 

Sounds like a PEBKAC error.   

[neurosis]

Sounds like a PEBKAC error. 

Normally I would agree with you.    In this case, we spent some time with our reseller. I even asked some questions on EMC that ended in some dialogue with Colin.

We weren't going to get there with MC. Not without purchasing additional softawre.

We're only licensed for 3 axis mill in TS and it's capable of programming this 4 platter tombstone with full simulation.

I can program the tombstone in MC but it takes 10X as long.

[TSmcam]

Normally I would agree with you.    In this case, we spent some time with our reseller. I even asked some questions on EMC that ended in some dialogue with Colin.

We weren't going to get there with MC. Not without purchasing additional softawre.

We're only licensed for 3 axis mill in TS and it's capable of programming this 4 platter tombstone with full simulation.

I can program the tombstone in MC but it takes 10X as long.

How do those cookies taste?  Seriously though, what machine type/control is the 4 axis mill? Just curious.

[neurosis]

How do those cookies taste?  Seriously though, what machine type/control is the 4 axis mill? Just curious.

Mori NH4000 Fanuc 31i