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CNC carbide inserts life.
- Thread starter mwshakoor
- Start date
- Replies 51
- Views 17,026
ewlsey
Diamond
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2009
- Location
- Peoria, IL
No one can tell you that. Not even the manufacturers.
I run some production plastic parts. Carbide insert life is measured in years.
In some awful material like inconel, a few minutes.
I run some production plastic parts. Carbide insert life is measured in years.
In some awful material like inconel, a few minutes.
Gobo
Titanium
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2013
- Location
- Oregon, USA
Understanding that this is your first post, you need to include more info. What kind of material? What is the condition of you machine tool? What kind of insert are you using? What kind of tolerance and finish are you working toward?
michiganbuck
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
- Location
- Mt Clemens, Michigan 48035
Fair ballpark figure is a half hour in the cut..Yes this is very ballpark but is based on a long study at Carboloy.. one if the top carbide outfits ever,, now gone.
Likely for Iron and steel but I don't know.. Yes even iron and steel can vary so much as can the fixture and the machine so with a ball park of a half hour one job may run 5 minuets and another 50 hours.
Think clean mild steel on a good solid lathe the half hour may stand.. Run the job and test number, then come back and tell us.
Carboloy had a powerful heavy lathe (at the 8 mile Rd shop)that could make that one pass. I kept a chip off it in my tool box for years and most toolmakers did not believe it could be made by a lathe..(No I never ran that lathe and did not work at Carboloy)
Buck
Likely for Iron and steel but I don't know.. Yes even iron and steel can vary so much as can the fixture and the machine so with a ball park of a half hour one job may run 5 minuets and another 50 hours.
Think clean mild steel on a good solid lathe the half hour may stand.. Run the job and test number, then come back and tell us.
Carboloy had a powerful heavy lathe (at the 8 mile Rd shop)that could make that one pass. I kept a chip off it in my tool box for years and most toolmakers did not believe it could be made by a lathe..(No I never ran that lathe and did not work at Carboloy)
Buck
deadlykitten
Banned
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
hy 
if you are about to machine many parts, than you will have your numbers
each provider sells many variations for the same insert ; thus for same shape you have :
... scale ( bigger / smaller )
... base material
... corner radius
... coating layer
... chip breaker
is hard to find from 1st the best insert, or something close to it
for steel i try to use stainlessteel inserts
7/8 ... 22.5
5/8 ... 14
7 ... 177
177/14 ... 12.5D
inserts may be subject to vibrations at the middle
do you heavy a steady rest ?
if you are about to machine many parts, than you will have your numberseach provider sells many variations for the same insert ; thus for same shape you have :
... scale ( bigger / smaller )
... base material
... corner radius
... coating layer
... chip breaker
is hard to find from 1st the best insert, or something close to it
for steel i try to use stainlessteel inserts
7/8 ... 22.5
5/8 ... 14
7 ... 177
177/14 ... 12.5D
inserts may be subject to vibrations at the middle
do you heavy a steady rest ?
DMF_TomB
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2008
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
.
.
most cnc measure time a tool is used and give a message when time is used up. 30 to 120 minutes is probably normal time. some prefer shorter time using higher speeds. others prefer long tool life going slower.
michiganbuck
Diamond
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2012
- Location
- Mt Clemens, Michigan 48035
Pakistan .. 5/8 dia x 7" .. what are they for?
Last edited:
deadlykitten
Banned
- Joined
- Aug 5, 2016
The answer is 42
Bonus points if you get that reference
I'll see your Hitch hiker reference for'
toolsteel
Titanium
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2012
- Location
- NW Wisconsin (BFE)
Nerdlinger
Stainless
- Joined
- Aug 10, 2013
- Location
- Chicago, IL
mark it zero!
E.F. Thumann
Cast Iron
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- Sep 8, 2011
- Location
- Princeton, NJ
Over the line!!
hanermo
Titanium
- Joined
- Sep 28, 2009
- Location
- barcelona, spain
The typical answer is 1 hour, 60 minutes, in use.
BUT..
A high-end insert on a horizontal production machine might make 400 parts.. 1 hr..
a typical insert might make 100 parts on a typical VMC.. 1 hr..
and 20-40 parts over 4-8 hours on a Bridgeport.
All the same, small, steel part.
BUT..
A high-end insert on a horizontal production machine might make 400 parts.. 1 hr..
a typical insert might make 100 parts on a typical VMC.. 1 hr..
and 20-40 parts over 4-8 hours on a Bridgeport.
All the same, small, steel part.
What happens when you use one tool for multiple operations, running different feeds and speeds? Or when one machine uses Oil and the other Coolant or just Air? What if one guy programs the same slot, one trochoidal and the other straight? What if the corner radius is not identical from one insert to the next? What if a big blue chip lands on the surface you are about to face off and get caught under the insert? What if you face with one tool and z axis plunge with another?
You cannot put those numbers next to what is "typical", because everyone has a different idea of what that means. IMHO
R
CarbideBob
Diamond
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2007
- Location
- Flushing/Flint, Michigan
First off it is time in the cut not time running so trochoidal is different than others as you are cutting air a lot.
Milling is different than turning as one must account for the number of impacts.
Then there is your labor and machine cost per hour, cost to change tools, and material.
A very, very general rule is 40-60 minutes of actual chip formation time for a normal insert in normal conditions.
One can adjust this by moving feeds and speeds to fit tool changes to break times or shift changes where the productivity loss is lower.
Bob
Milling is different than turning as one must account for the number of impacts.
Then there is your labor and machine cost per hour, cost to change tools, and material.
A very, very general rule is 40-60 minutes of actual chip formation time for a normal insert in normal conditions.
One can adjust this by moving feeds and speeds to fit tool changes to break times or shift changes where the productivity loss is lower.
Bob
DMF_TomB
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2008
- Location
- Rochester, NY, USA
.
.
i have seen tools with only 20 minute tool life with no particular reason other than thats what it only lasted usually. i just found change the problem programs with extreme feeds and speeds with more moderate settings and tool life easily went up to 60 minutes. usually on bigger parts it is more convenient for a tool to last enough to finish a part.
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picture shows after 6 hours milling and about 3 hours or 180 minutes on same inserts. roughly 1000 lbs of chips and coolant on and in the part when done. usually inserts dont last more than 180 minutes and need changing to finish the rough milling.
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