Amorphous diamond end mill coating?

[Terry Keeley]

Doing some milling on high (30%) Si aluminum, heard TiB2 was good but see Harvey Tool recommends "amorphous diamond" (pg 184):

HarveyTool_FullCatalog.pdf

When I search for "amorphous diamond" nothing comes up, does it go by some other name? Any experience cutting high silicone aluminum alloys?

 

[Milland]

Also known as DLC, "diamond like coating (or carbon)".

Frequently Asked Questions - Diamond Tool Coating and Services

I used early DLC tooling on G10 GRP, but was a little disappointed to see how quickly the coating wore off. I'd think newer processes of coating are more robust, but haven't done my own testing to confirm.

 

[crossthread]

My son brought me home a hand full of diamond coated mills to try. I thought they would be the hot ticket. I was not impressed. In my opinion, diamond should be left to abrasives where they excel.

 

[mhajicek]

Harvey calls their DLC / amorphous diamond coating "C4" in their part numbers. You can see some here:

Miniature End Mills - Square - Long Reach, Stub Flute

I just ordered a bunch for a project, I'll let you know how they work.

 

[camscan]

In my once upon a time life I used coated slitting saws to slot stainless screws. Worked like a charm.

 

[jim rozen]

You could also try "polycrystaline diamond" aka PCD. I've used insert endmills with those.

Do NOT use diamond tooling on any ferrous materials.

 

[dian]

yes, pcd is what we used or "ceramic" rotors, but that was 20 years ago and turning. perhaps the new stuff is better.

edit- i just saw: "they run twice as fast and last 30x longer". must be something to it.

 

[Terry Keeley]

Thanks guys, DLC came up (diamond like carbon) when I was googling around for amorphous diamond. I've had some small engine parts coated with DLC with great results, it does wear off though as mentioned .

Was recommended this PCD insert for turning SUMITOMO NF-TPMT21.51LD-DA1000 Triangle Turning Insert,TPMT,PCD | eBay.

Found some more info here: Conical Tool Coatings | Tapered End Mills, Cutting Tools, Metalworking