Found out carbide end mills aren't always better for aluminum

I've been running production parts on our Haas VF-2 for 3 years now and always reached for carbide tools. Last week a rep from MSC stopped by and showed me test data proving HSS actually cuts aluminum faster in certain situations because it can handle higher chip loads. He showed me a speed/feed chart from their lab in Ohio that really surprised me. The tool life was shorter but the cycle time dropped by almost 15 seconds per part. Has anyone else experimented with HSS over carbide on softer materials?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan_rodriguez8d ago

Wait, are you telling me I’ve been over here breaking my back over carbide like a dummy? I feel SO called out right now. I tried a HSS end mill on some 6061 last month and the chatter was so bad I thought the machine was going to launch the part into orbit. But maybe I just had my feeds WAY too low. Might have to actually look at that speed/feed chart you mentioned instead of just guessing like I usually do.

tessa_hill868d ago

I spent way too long treating HSS like it was made of glass and running it at butter speeds. Took a tool salesman grabbing my shoulder and being like "buddy, you know that thing can actually cut, right?