Cuttermasters Professional JXT - Organizing Your Grinding Project

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CUTTERMASTER Professional JXT User’s Manual
Page 15
2.2 Organizing Your Grinding Project
1. Determine and separate the HSS tools from the carbide tools. Aluminum Oxide (Al
2
O
3
) wheels will
disintegrate if you try to sharpen carbide tools with them and, conversely, diamond wheels will plug up
if used to sharpen high speed steel.
2. CBN wheels can be used to excellent advantage on HSS tools, providing 50 to 100 times the life
at 10 times the cost of Al
2
O
3
.CBNalsoproducesbetternishesandhigheraccuracythanAl
2
O
3
be-
cause the abrasive and bond/backing materials are thermally conductive, absorbing and dissipating
much of the heat produced.
3. Once you have separated the tools, install the correct wheel for the material you are going to
sharpenonthemachine.Generally,onewillhavebetterresultsusingthenergritwheelsandlighter
cuts, versus coarser wheels and heavier cuts.
4. Organize the grinding project by separating the tools into groups by size and condition of the tool.
The tools requiring the most work should be left to last as they require more severe cutting action and
avarietyofoperationssuchasendgashingorotheradditionalendproling.
5. Sharpening tools that require heavy work involves additional setups. It is advisable to consolidate
these setups based on similarity. This method helps produce more uniform results through the job,
reduces operator fatigue from repetitive setup and setup error.
• If the end is broken and needs to be repaired, this is a special project. It is probably best
  toleavethesecutterstothelast,astheyshouldbecuto󰀨withacuto󰀨wheelandthen
  recongured.
• From a time point of view, be selective about which tools to repair, because it requires
  keenskillsandtheuseofdi󰀨erentwheelssuchasacut-o󰀨wheelortheuseofawheel
  suchasa12V9or1A1toproducetheclearanceprole(gash)ontheend.
If the cutter has been too badly abused you will not be able to bring it to a satisfactory state by
re-grinding. Overuse or allowing a cutter to become too dull before re-sharpening can fatigue the
cutter material itself, as well as ruin the geometry. In this case, talk to your supervisor or the owner
of the cutter before attempting to sharpen the tool. The best option might be to just return it to the
person who ruined it, as is.
Edges, Material and Proles
The main work piece material consideration when sharpening an end mill is the relief angle at and
behind the cutting edge. The exact type of relief is generally unimportant in most cases. Harder ma-
terials require the use of a smaller relief angle, so the cutting edge has enough thickness and support
to withstand the higher cutting forces and greater heat generated during cutting.
Inhardermaterials,edgesshouldbehonedtosuittheapplication.Ahoneservestoreneandrein-
force the edge, allowing for a more uniform distribution of the stresses that break down the material
beginning at the moments of highest stress over time.
Every material has an endurance limit. When a carbide cutter is too “fatigued” it will show in chipping
andakingatthecuttingedges.Thiswillbemoreapparentinthehardermaterialssuchascarbide.
Iftheedgesandtheute(rake)facearebadlychipped,thecuttershouldbere-utedtogetinto