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To boost the first-stage roughing operation on newly cast aluminum parts for the automotive industry, cutting tool and tooling systems specialist Sandvik Coromant is introducing its M5Q90 tangential milling cutter. Designed to complete "cubing" (first machining of faces after casting) in a single operation without creating burrs, the new tool is fitted with PCD tangential inserts that provide a smooth and stable cutting action to lower power consumption and eliminate vibration. This concept ensures reliable performance, improved tool life, exceptional surface finish, high metal-removal rate and an increased number of parts per insert.
“To enhance efficiency, our new M5Q90 tangential milling cutter features fully engineered cutter bodies matched with dedicated PCD insert geometries that feature a positive cutting angle to reduce cutting force and load on the machined component,” explains Emmanuel David, global automotive product manager at Sandvik Coromant.
“The inserts, which are easy to handle and adjust, offer reduced cost per part along with high accuracy and repeatability,” adds Jacques Gasthuys, global automotive application engineer.
M5Q90 cutter bodies are designed according to customer specifications, and therefore meet the requirements of high-productivity machining – the tool can operate in high-speed conditions in excess of 20,000 rpm. However, all cutter bodies offer the same design of tip seat, coolant channel, lead angle and rake angle. Inserts are always kept in stock.
If desired, the cutter body tool life can be further extended in engineered solutions with PCD inserts protected by rows of carbide inserts, a configuration that also serves to increase the depth of cut capability. While the basic tool with PCD inserts offers 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 inch) depth of cut in full engagement, this can be boosted to in excess of 4 mm (0.157 inch) using the engineered solution with protective rows of carbide inserts.
Aluminum cylinder heads and engine blocks will be among the principal components to benefit, typically in automotive foundries or Tier 1/Tier 2 suppliers. By way of example, the cubing operation on a cast cylinder head would involve machining the camshaft face, inlet/outlet face and combustion face. Typical cutting data using M5Q90 might include a speed of 2,500 m/min. (8,202 sfm) and feed per teeth of 0.20 mm (0.008 inch). Users also benefit from high-precision coolant channels that provide the option for either emulsion or MQL application.
The M5Q90 completes the Sandvik Coromant offer for machining aluminum automotive parts, complementing the M5B90, M5C90, M5F90, CoroMill Century/590 and M5R90 tooling solutions.
Capable of both face and shoulder milling, the M5Q90 is also suitable for many applications in the general engineering and aerospace sectors.
Related Glossary Terms
- coolant
coolant
Fluid that reduces temperature buildup at the tool/workpiece interface during machining. Normally takes the form of a liquid such as soluble or chemical mixtures (semisynthetic, synthetic) but can be pressurized air or other gas. Because of water’s ability to absorb great quantities of heat, it is widely used as a coolant and vehicle for various cutting compounds, with the water-to-compound ratio varying with the machining task. See cutting fluid; semisynthetic cutting fluid; soluble-oil cutting fluid; synthetic cutting fluid.
- cutting force
cutting force
Engagement of a tool’s cutting edge with a workpiece generates a cutting force. Such a cutting force combines tangential, feed and radial forces, which can be measured by a dynamometer. Of the three cutting force components, tangential force is the greatest. Tangential force generates torque and accounts for more than 95 percent of the machining power. See dynamometer.
- depth of cut
depth of cut
Distance between the bottom of the cut and the uncut surface of the workpiece, measured in a direction at right angles to the machined surface of the workpiece.
- emulsion
emulsion
Suspension of one liquid in another, such as oil in water.
- feed
feed
Rate of change of position of the tool as a whole, relative to the workpiece while cutting.
- gang cutting ( milling)
gang cutting ( milling)
Machining with several cutters mounted on a single arbor, generally for simultaneous cutting.
- lead angle
lead angle
Angle between the side-cutting edge and the projected side of the tool shank or holder, which leads the cutting tool into the workpiece.
- metal-removal rate
metal-removal rate
Rate at which metal is removed from an unfinished part, measured in cubic inches or cubic centimeters per minute.
- milling
milling
Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.
- milling cutter
milling cutter
Loosely, any milling tool. Horizontal cutters take the form of plain milling cutters, plain spiral-tooth cutters, helical cutters, side-milling cutters, staggered-tooth side-milling cutters, facemilling cutters, angular cutters, double-angle cutters, convex and concave form-milling cutters, straddle-sprocket cutters, spur-gear cutters, corner-rounding cutters and slitting saws. Vertical cutters use shank-mounted cutting tools, including endmills, T-slot cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters and dovetail cutters; these may also be used on horizontal mills. See milling.
- polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)
polycrystalline diamond ( PCD)
Cutting tool material consisting of natural or synthetic diamond crystals bonded together under high pressure at elevated temperatures. PCD is available as a tip brazed to a carbide insert carrier. Used for machining nonferrous alloys and nonmetallic materials at high cutting speeds.
- rake
rake
Angle of inclination between the face of the cutting tool and the workpiece. If the face of the tool lies in a plane through the axis of the workpiece, the tool is said to have a neutral, or zero, rake. If the inclination of the tool face makes the cutting edge more acute than when the rake angle is zero, the rake is positive. If the inclination of the tool face makes the cutting edge less acute or more blunt than when the rake angle is zero, the rake is negative.
