{"id":10044,"date":"2016-11-14T09:11:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-14T09:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/old\/\/?p=10044"},"modified":"2016-11-14T09:11:49","modified_gmt":"2016-11-14T09:11:49","slug":"kennametals-next-generation-face-mill-tackles-toughest-cast-iron-applications-ease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/kennametals-next-generation-face-mill-tackles-toughest-cast-iron-applications-ease\/","title":{"rendered":"Kennametal\u2019s next generation face mill tackles the toughest cast iron applications with ease"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kennametal\u2019s Mill 16 has a wedge-style clamping system, numbered pockets and\u00a0inserts, and an open pocket design to increase chip flow in heavy roughing\u00a0Iron is the most abundant element on earth by mass. For over twenty-five centuries it\u2019s\u00a0been used to plow fields, build bridges, cook food, and wage war. Without iron, the\u00a0Industrial Revolution would have gone nowhere, we would have no trains, automobiles, or\u00a0machine tools today, and mankind would still be an agrarian society. It is quite simply the\u00a0most important metal in history<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a newcomer to this metal family, though, one that\u2019s making manufacturers take\u00a0notice. As automakers strive for increasingly fuel efficient and environmentally friendly\u00a0vehicles, they\u2019re turning away from traditional iron favorites such as gray and ductile iron\u00a0(GCI and DCI) to compacted graphite iron, or CGI. Also known as vermiculate graphite\u00a0iron, CGI\u2019s mechanical attributes meet or exceed its counterparts, sometimes drastically\u00a0so.<\/p>\n

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The octagonal, double-sided insert has 16 effective cutting edges, offering the lowest tooling cost per part in the industry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unfortunately, CGI is also more difficult to machine, requiring cutting tools both tough and\u00a0wear-resistant. And because of the continuing call for cost-effective machining solutions\u00a0across all manufacturing industries, these tools must also offer a low cost per part and\u00a0predictable tool life. For face milling applications, that tool is Mill 16\u2122 \u201cCompared to cast iron, CGI has lower weight and greater strength, and is ideal for\u00a0components that are exposed to both thermal and mechanical stresses like engine blocks
\nand heads for cars and trucks, exhaust manifolds, and brake parts,\u201d says Senior Global\u00a0Product Manager for Indexable Milling, Marcelo Campos. \u201cAs with other cast irons, however, it is quite abrasive, and somewhat gummy to machine. We developed Mill 16 as\u00a0a best in class face mill not only for CGI, but for all types of cast iron, which remains a popular choice for gear boxes, housings, pump bodies, and other components used in the\u00a0automotive, agricultural, and heavy equipment sectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campos outlines Mill 16\u2019s unique strengths as follows:<\/strong>
\n–\u00a0<\/strong>The Mill 16 has a fine-pitch and medium pitch cutter body equipped with an innovative\u00a0single-screw, wedge-style clamping system. This reduces time spent in the tool crib setting\u00a0the tool and assures rigid, no-fail tool placement. Each pocket on the cutter body is\u00a0numbered, as are each of the insert\u2019s cutting edges, assuring maximum accuracy and ease of use when indexing to a new cutting edge.<\/p>\n

– The heart of the Mill 16 is an octagonal, double-sided insert with 16 effective cutting\u00a0edges, providing the lowest tooling cost per part possible. The face of each cutting edge\u00a0contains an aggressive chip-breaker for positive cutting action and increased chip flow.\u00a0The wedge clamp on either side of the insert\u2019s top face is likewise chamfered to improve\u00a0chip evacuation.<\/p>\n

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The finish machining operation on these ductile iron plates saw double the tool life and double the feed rate with Mill 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

– \u00a0<\/b>Mill 16 is available in cutter diameters ranging from 2 in. to 10 in. (50 mm to 250 mm).\u00a0Kennametal has rated the maximum axial depth of cut (Ap1) at 5.5 mm (0.216 in.), although depths to 9 mm (0.35 in.) or greater are achievable, an important consideration\u00a0where casting variation is a concern. Due to the cutter\u2019s low cutting forces, up to 100% radial cutter engagement is possible. All cutters have internal coolant supply capability.<\/p>\n

– \u00a0<\/strong>The carbide is new as well. Kennametal\u2019s grade KCK20 is a PVD AlTiN\/AlTiCrN\u00a0multilayer coating bonded to a wear resistant substrate which provides an average tool life of 30% greater than comparable TiAlN-coated grades.<\/p>\n

–<\/strong>\u00a0 A wide assortment of insert edge preps, geometries, corner radii, as well as a number of\u00a0complementary grades assure the Mill 16 is a top performer in a variety of machining conditions, from heavy roughing to semi-finishing and, because of the insert\u2019s integrated\u00a0wiper facet, fine finishing to Ra 3.2 \u03bcm or better.<\/p>\n

Customer field tests have shown consistent and positive results. During a dry machining\u00a0operation on a ductile cast iron plate using Mill 16, feed rates were increased by 41% and tool life doubled tool. A gray iron transmission case was machined at a feed rate of 0.39\u00a0mm per tooth (0.015 in.) and cutting speed of 208 m\/min (682 ft\/min), leading to reduced\u00a0spindle loads compared to the legacy tool and slightly improved tool life. Metal removal\u00a0rate and tool life on a water pump housing was more than doubled by switching to Mill 16.\u00a0There are more examples. Campos says he\u2019s worked extensively with automakers and\u00a0their suppliers, and in all cases the Mill 16 outperformed his competitor\u2019s cutting tools.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have cutting force dynamometers. We take videos. We run head to head tool life\u00a0tests. For us to stand up and say we get 20% better tool life or 50% more metal removal than our next competitor, you can be certain it\u2019s true. We at Kennametal are very excited\u00a0about the Mill 16, and what it can do for our customers machining CGI and other types of\u00a0cast iron.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kennametal\u2019s Mill 16 has a wedge-style clamping system, numbered pockets and\u00a0inserts, and an open pocket design to increase chip flow in heavy roughing\u00a0Iron is the most abundant element on earth by mass. For over twenty-five centuries it\u2019s\u00a0been used to plow fields, build bridges, cook food, and wage war. Without iron, the\u00a0Industrial Revolution would have gone […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[120,1],"tags":[842],"class_list":["post-10044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tool","category-uncategorized","tag-kennametal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}