Cutter Selection
Choose a cutter that is appropriate for the material to be cut and the edge finish required.
Use of a tooling catalogue will assist in this process. The number of flutes, the flute profile,
the direction of the flute will all affect speed of cut and edge finish. There will always be a
trade off in speed of cut, edge quality and cutter life that should be considered in your
production process.
Always use a cutter with the shortest possible length to safely machine the part. This will
assist in reducing breakage, vibration and wear. It will also aid in increasing cutter life and
improving edge finish. As a general rule the cutter edge length (CEL) should not be greater
than three times diameter of the cutter, however tooling manufacturers do produce cutters
that exceed this for specialist operations.
For a detailed explanation of cutters and their use refer to your cutter supplier catalogue.
Cutter manufacturers offer technical specifications and recommendations for their products.
Cutting Speeds and Feed Rates
These are determined by the following factors
• Material to be cut
• Edge finish required
• Cutter selected
• Machine properties
• Production requirements
• Cutter life span
• Work holding method
The order of priority of these factors is the responsibility of the Production Manager and is
usually made on a job by job basis. Sometimes speed of production will outweigh the
importance of edge finish or vice versa. The programmer must be made aware of these
requirements prior to programming the job for the machine.
In determining cutting speeds and feed rates the machine operator and programmer need to
know the cutting properties of the material being cut. This information is obtainable from the
material supplier who can usually provide chip thickness information and optimal cutting
rates.
Tooling manufacturers can provide specific cutting data for their tooling.
Obviously it becomes impractical to look up this information every time you commence a job.
For this purpose we have provided general information and a cutting table in this manual.
Most tool catalogues will also have this type of information for quick reference.
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