H6 End Mill Shanks available with "Firm Hold" to prevent tools from slipping out of holders.10/11/2017  Precision Cutting Tools already holds one of the highest tolerances on shank diameter in the industry for their end mills. All PCT End Mills Shanks hold an h6 tolerance! That means that 1/8" - 1/4": -0.0001"/-0.0003" 1/4" - 1/2": -0.0001"/-0.0003" 1/2' - 1": -0.0001"/-0.0004" A tighter grind tolerance often times will mean a much shinier polished shank. A polished shank is more apt to have lower coefficient of friction which makes it more prone to slip particularly while being held in a collet type toolholder.
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We are very excited to announce that we are now able to offer on-site technical training to YOUR machinists at YOUR location! This is offered at no charge to customers who use any of the manufacturer's whom we represent in California and Nevada. However, just because you don't purchase things from us, don't feel left out! We also offer on-site topic specter training on any of the following topics for $150/hour. Each presentation lasts about 2 hours. The presentations last approximately 45-60 minutes with the remaining time for Q&A and discussion about unique applications in your facility.  Training Classes Available: Machining 101
Advanced Part Manufacturing:
Since the introduction of the XT Series 4 flute, 5 flute and the new 279 series 4 flute ball nose end mills they have proven to be a huge success in the machining of Titanium and stainless steels. These tools have already made their impact in the machining of many other areas such as all steels and super alloys. MA Ford's spotlight focus is on some other materials that are widely used in the market. 17-4 PH stainless many feel is somewhat difficult to machine and performance may vary depending on the material hardness. That is not the case with the new XT series end mills. These tools do not seem to care what hardness is presented to them! 28-42 RC is primary range for this series of stainless steel. Example: A customer had a very difficult 17-4 PH medical component with lots of contouring both roughing and finishing. A 1/2" 279 Series was used for roughing the profile at 600 SFM with a depth of .015 and .025 step over at 80 IPM. The customer had to double the speeds and feeds as well as increase the step over to get the desired finish required! The 277 Series 4 flute can full slot up to 1X dia. depth at speeds as high as 260 to 340 SFM. The chip loads will be lighter than profile milling dependent on the tool diameter and fixture set up. The slotting depth can be increased even beyond 1X depth (which generally requires a reduction in speeds and feeds). The 278 Series 5 flute can slot up to 1X depth effectively but slotting is more suited for the 4 flute 277 Series if a lot of slotting is to be done. The speeds and feeds are the same as the 277, but calculations must be made for the additional cutting edge. It is not recommended to slot over 1X the tool diameter with this 5 flute tools as it is best suited for profile milling both conventional and high speed machining. The new 279 Series 4 flute ball nose end mill is an excellent choice for both conventional and high speed machining of stainless steels. With the added radial relief and a thicker cross section in the center of the tools it can withstand extreme speeds and feeds both roughing and contouring.  NTK's industry leading line of ceramic cutting tools recently expanded with new solid CERAMIC end mills! You can see our product announcement here: NTK now offers SX9 Ceramic End Mills for Cutting Exotic Alloys which contains the various features. Below is the technical info on how to run the NTK Ceramic End mills and a troubleshooting guide. NTK's SX9 cermaic end mill grade can run at speeds of 2000 SFM. The line-up includes 4 and 6 flutes in inch and metric versions. Again, you can learn more about on our Blog Post. Solid ceramic end mills are made with SX9 SiAlON grade substrate which features a balance of toughness and wear resistance. It's suitable for even the most demanding applications.
Gernarel Recomendations for machining heat resistant alloys & PH stainless steel
 NTK Ceramic end mills Troubleshooting guide As with any other techncial questions please get in touch with us on our CONTACTS page and we can provide both over-the-phone troubleshooting or schedule at time for on-site techncial training.
An end mill is a type of milling cutter. It is distinguished from the drill in its application, geometry, and manufacture.
...and here's the segment from "How It's Made" that covers the more general principles of making a HSS end mill. You can see that OSG has a more advanced process for their carbide end mills. Collet Chuck Size We often get asked to spec out tooling packages for new CNC mills and one of the questions we encounter most, or should, is how do you select the right toolholder collet size for your companies applications? The real choice is in the size of the collet chuck itself. So several considerations should be reviewed... What size are your tools? Your first consideration should be the size of end mills or drills you will be using most often. If you are doing smaller work you would require smaller diameter range collets. Generally you may prefer the ER16 and ER32 sizes. If the bulk of your tool requirements are in the mid range you can also use the ER20. The following is a list of tool diameters that can be used with each size collet chuck. Essentially, the most popular, and again, readily available from a number of sources, are the ER 16, ER20, and ER32... in no particular order.
How far do you need to reach? A second consideration is the actual reach of the tool. Not projection reach, also know as “gage length” "l1" but projection diameter “D”. Obviously, stubbier is better for projection reach "L1". But, you also need to review the families of parts that you intend to run on the machine. If you intend to use the holder to "reach" into a tight fit then the OD of the projection "D" of the toolholder needs to be considered. Many shops don't always consider this and end up using much longer carbide shanked end mills to get into deep pockets when getting a smaller diameter ER collet and collet chuck would be much less expensive over the life of the job.
Sometimes there is just no getting around having a custom tool made. Give us a call at 916.765.4227 or email us if you just can't seem to reach into the part with your toolholder. 
We often run end mill "tests" to determine which one performs best. Obviously, our goal is to "win' the test and get more business for our manufacturer's. This is article is about one our "tricks" and it's also why represent both cutting tool manufacturers and rotary tool manufacturers. We want to insure that the products work together. As a general rule most cutting tool & tolholder manufacturers prefer to use single angle (ER/DR style) collet chucks for general purpose cutting tool applications under 1/2" (12mm). The rules are a bit different in High Speed Machining, as there are many more things to consider, but the problems of TIR at high speeds, where you can hear and feel the chatter, are still there in general end mill cutting operations at lower RPM. It's all about runout and uneven chip load. End Mill Holders are prone to runout problems for a couple of reasons:
Depending on the application, end mill holders can be used for holding larger insert style end mills, spade drills, etc. But somewhere between 1/2” and 3/4” there is a line that only you can determine when you need to move from a collet chuck to end mill holder. Generally we recommend using end mill holders only for very specific applications Using small diameter end mills (1/4" and below) in end mill holders with set screws will have a adverse affect of both surface finish and tool life. |
Technical Support BlogAt Next Generation Tool we often run into many of the same technical questions from different customers. This section should answer many of your most common questions.
We set up this special blog for the most commonly asked questions and machinist data tables for your easy reference. If you've got a question that's not answered here, then just send us a quick note via email or reach one of us on our CONTACTS page here on the website AuthorshipOur technical section is written by several different people. Sometimes, it's from our team here at Next Generation Tooling & at other times it's by one of the innovative manufacturer's we represent in California and Nevada. Archives
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