Face Milling： Definition, Process, Differences, Practical Tips

Adaptive control enhances submerged cutting on the ”I” series of Fanuc wire EDMs.

The Fanuc RoboDrill high-speed drilling center gets a productivity boost when integrated with robotic parts handling.TNMG Insert

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Methods Machine Tools, Inc.“Smart” machine tools. Spindles reaching 60,000 rpm. Affordable robots for load/unload.

Not long ago, statements like these were used to characterize the next generation of machining technology. Today, in fact, these statements apply to machinery currently available, with many examples already in full operation on the floors of machine shops. These are machines “smart” enough to detect changing cutting conditions on a job and adapt accordingly. These are machines with spindle speeds reaching 60,000 rpm on a routine basis. These are machines equipped with economical and reliable robots able to load and unload huge production batches.

In November, machine tool supplier Methods Machine Tools (Sudbury, Massachusetts) took advantage of the transition to a new century by opening up its National Technical Center near Boston to shop managers from New England and across the country. At the week-long show, engineers from Methods and its partner companies displayed working demonstrations of the latest generation of machine tool technology that is making its way onto shop floors.

For example, integrated robotic systems to enhance drilling and milling applications attracted great interest, reports John Crean, product manager for the Fanuc RoboDrill line. He noted that fast spindle speeds aren’t much help to a machine shop if it doesn’t have the manpower to load parts for three shifts and over weekends. Shop managers are well aware that today’s limited workforce should not be a factor in production output, he says.
The solution is to be able to integrate any machine tool with a variety of load/unload options, and Methods showed several examples of this approach. Various demonstrations centered around Fanuc’s line of high-speed drilling centers, where an 8,000 or 15,000 rpm spindle can be combined with a variety of bed configurations and integrated pallet-shuttle and robotic systems designed specifically for use with the machine. With one-second tool changes and artificial intelligence built into the control, a machine shop is able to maintain unmanned operations and reach new levels of production speed and efficiency.

Milling keeps getting faster, too. Incredibly fast milling speeds are continually being obtained in the laboratory, but Matsuura Corp. has developed a 60,000 rpm machine tool that’s already at work on production floors. The newly introduced LX-1 was developed by the builder as a high acc/dec machining center that is specifically designed for small, precise parts cutting. With a 3,545 ipm rapid traverse rate and an 1,181 ipm actual cutting feed rate provided by linear motor technology, the LX-1 is well-suited for small die and mold work for plastic injections, EDM electrodes and forging parts. The acc/dec rate is 1.5G. The 18-pocket tool changer is expandable to 30 tools.

Comparable strides in technology were demonstrated by Methods EDM Division. Although EDM has enjoyed great gains over the years, there still are conditions that can bog down even the most advanced wire EDM machine, says Charlie Quillen, EDM Division product manager. Most common is wire breakage due to changes in workpiece thickness, which can cause the machine to supply an excess of cutting current, creating an unstable discharge.
Most current-generation EDM controls adjust the cutting current to match the thick part of the workpiece about to be cut, often resulting in wire breakage in thinner areas during the cutting operation. While automatic wire re-threading may keep the operation going, this condition makes it impossible to achieve the most efficient cutting speed for the project, Mr. Quillen explains.

The solution on display was an adaptive control function developed by Fanuc Ltd. for its line of submerged wire EDM machines. This feature allows for Carbide Aluminum Inserts great improvements in accuracy even when the workpiece thickness varies or an interrupted cut creates an unstable discharge. With the adaptive control, the thickness of the workpiece is monitored in real-time, and the discharge current density can be controlled at a constant level. The most suitable cutting current with the best efficiency is supplied in each thickness automatically. This allows for a higher cutting speed, energy savings, and constant kerf width that produces more accurate parts.

This feature is available on Fanuc’s recently introduced “I” series of submerged wire EDM machines.

How to Optimise Designs For Metal Fabrication Projects

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Posted on August 28th, 2020 | By WayKen Rapid Manufacturing

If you’ve ever ordered parts from CNC milling services, you may know that custom machining costs a considerable sum of money. Upon looking at the total quote, some of the clients gasp and have a lot of questions DCMT Insert regarding the pricing of the milling shops. Well, this article’s aim is to explain what a?CNC milling job price consists of.

What Is CNC Milling?

CNC milling ( computer numerical control milling ) is a machining process through controlling computers and rotating multipoint cutting tools that can quickly remove the material from the workpiece and create custom-designed parts or products.

Through the CNC milling process, we can machine various materials such as metal, plastic, glass, wood, and produce a variety of custom-designed parts and products.

The?Advantages?of?CNC?Milling

WayKen can offer cost-effective milling solutions whether you need a single part, small batch of prototypes, or full productions.

Can produce complex partsCost-effective for prototypingShort-run CCMT Insert productionHigh dimensional tolerancesSmooth finishes CNC machining servicesVarious materials availableLow cost100% qualityFast deliveryExcellent After-sales Get a quote

The Importance of Cost Calculation for Milling Services

First of all, it is important to speak about why an accurate estimate of the machining cost is important. After all, there are a lot of different elements that contribute to the overall cost of a CNC milled part. The importance of consistent quoting by the CNC milling services ensures trust between the client and the manufacturer, makes it possible to understand where the minimum price is (when you don’t get any profit margin but are able to work and pay your employees salary), allows the manufacturer to control the profits and estimate the necessary resources for each job.

Stock Material

Stock material is the most basic cost. You need something to mill from, right? With CNC milling, choosing the right stock is usually easy. You look at the geometry of the final part (mostly, the form and the maximum dimensions), choose a standard stock type (most often a block or a plate for milling operations), and add a couple of centimeters in thickness to the maximum dimensions of the final part. Some milling services make it possible to upload your model of the final part and a milling cost estimation program will find a suitable stock for you.

Tooling

The tooling consists of all the jigs and fixtures, loading mechanisms, tool holders, and of their similar elements that are required to fix the base elements of the milling manufacturing system. These costs are highly individual and cannot be estimated automatically. The good news is that the majority of tooling in CNC milling shops is flexible and will fit 80% of the parts that come through this shop but there are always 20%. Since the cost of tooling is high, it is recommended to change the design of the part a little bit so it can be manufactured without the extra purchases.

Cutting Tools

Cutting tools, as well as cooling liquids, are consumables. Cooling liquid is recycled by the modern milling centers so its cost is negligible. But the percentage of cutting tools in the total of the milling price can be quite costly. Why is that? The answer is simple. This depends on the material. For example, tools for CNC milling acrylic or other soft plastics will be usable for a lot of operations because those materials are soft and do not damage the tool insert. However, harder materials, titanium alloys being on the top of that list, will wear the tools faster.

Apart from that, some CNC operations require specialized tools. For example, diamond machining inserts are much more expensive than carbide ones. CNC milling services usually have a set of recommended tool inserts for each material and will include those in the total.

Machinist Salary

This part of the machining costs is the most understandable. The work is carried out by an employee who has a per hour rate to his CNC services. If your part is large, additional loading and unloading rates may be added to the quote. It should be noted that the machinist is paid for preparation time as well since he sets up the fixtures, tunes up the cutting tools, and so on.

Machine Costs

Machine tools, especially 5-axis CNC milling centers use quite a lot of power and some are mounted with pneumatic systems additionally, which further enhances the use of electricity. Apart from that, companies have to take depreciation costs into account. All of that comprises the rate of a machine tool per hour. Naturally, if the part has to be processed on multiple machine tools (milling and turning both, for instance) then all the rates are added and multiplied by the processing time.

Quality Costs

Different parts have various quality demands. The better the precision and surface finish of the part, the more complex features it has, the more it will cost. So, some CNC shops add a tolerance coefficient when online quoting the jobs. That makes clients more careful when choosing the quality of their parts, saves time, and increases overall business efficiency. In addition, when a batch of parts is ordered, you can insert a percentage of faulty parts. The lower the percentage, the more often the machinist will have to check each corresponding part and the more expensive the whole job will be.

Shipping

We are living in a global world and it is often that a client from Europe orders CNC milling china services. Despite having a lot of different transport companies, shipping still costs money. Usually, machine shop managers let you choose from multiple methods of shipping with different price ranges, you have to include the weight and dimensions of the final part, of course, because shipping a small 0,5 kg shaft is different from shipping a whole set of injection molding dyes. If the shipping is free, then its price is just hidden into the profit margin of the total but the majority of CNC milling shops specify how much you’ll pay for shipping. Some companies can even offer to send your order to a side shipping company that you trust.

Profit Margin

Profit margin is never shown to the client but its coefficients are included in each part of the whole price. If the profit margin is zero (for shops where the business is hard), it means that all the money from the milling goes to cover the expenses and pay the salary. Basically, the business has worked, pays its people, and gets just enough to make ends meet but it doesn’t grow or develop. On the other hand, with a large profit margin, the milling shop gets a lot of extra money for each order but the demand is definitely lower since fewer people are ready to pay more money.

How WayKen Can Help You

CNC mills is a kind of flexible machining method that can manufacture parts in various shapes from soft metals like aluminum, harder metals like steel, and plastics such as acetal.

At Wayken, we can offer fast and cost-effective milling solutions no matter what you need a single part, a small batch of prototypes, or full production order. If you are interested in our CNC milling services, please don’t hesitate to contact us: [e-mail].