Presented here is a video of a SideLok long-edge milling cutter from Valenite LLC, Madison Heights, Mich., machining Ti6Al4V at a cutting speed of 150 sfm, a feed rate of 4.5 ipm, a WOC of 0.375" and a DOC of 1.5" on a 30-hp Haas V65 CNC mill.

The key technology of the SideLok system is the co-location of the fastening system in the normally unused chip gullet space.  This provides the advantage of increased insert density in a tool. In many cases, this can increase the overall feed rate by as much as 100 percent, according to Valenite.

When machining wind turbine components, as well as aerospace and other applications requiring a narrow width and large axial DOC, there is a substantial productivity gain because of the increased feed rate. The time and costs associated with machining large components, such as those for the wind energy industry, are therefore significantly reduced, Valenite reports.

—A. Richter