Pipe flange groove facing

[Mgrenier]

Hello all,

 

We have to machine some big castings that have flanges with a 23° groove in the face of them (instead of a spiral pattern). these grooves seem to be used to put some sort of seal ring in it. Using a lathe for this is not an option (waaaay too much trouble for setup).

 

We were wondering if there was some form tools that existed on the market for that type of work.

 

If anyone has some info, please feel free to let me know

[Tom Szelag]

Do you have a solid model or print of this that we could see to better grasp what kind of feature youre referring to?

[Philcott]

Marc,

 

I looked in a few of our books and didn't find any 11.5 degree taper end mills but you could get a couple custom ground for you. Then you could rough the groove with a standard slot drill (end mill) and finish it with the custom ground taper mill.

 

look here

 

Phil

 

I heard there was a bad fire in Trois Riviere last week. Condolences to those who lost loved ones.

 

[ 01-17-2005, 02:35 PM: Message edited by: PhilCott ]

[JazzBass]

Martin,

 

Is this a dovetailed style groove? If so, I have to have those tools ground custom. I have not found a source thats stocks them.

[Mgrenier]

Hello again,

 

Seeing the answers I got, I must say that my question was not clear enough and I am sorry for that.

 

The groove has a 23° taper on each side with .03" radiuses in the bottom. These kind of grooves are standard when you purchase pipe flanges. But my problem is that, in this case, the pipe clange was casted with the part and I have to machine the raised face, the bolt holes and the 23° groove.

 

I also put a sample of the groove on the FTP site in the MC9folder, the file name is groove_marting.mc9

 

Hope this is clearer and that you giuys can help me...

[jack l]

Sounds like you are cutting RTJ groove. It is used to seal higher pressure application in the pipeline.

Best bet would be to do it on vertical lathe IMHO.

What is a pitch dia?

Filets on the bottom ant top of the groove are important. You need very good finish on the sides to seal properly.

[Mgrenier]

quote:

---

I heard there was a bad fire in Trois Riviere last week. Condolences to those who lost loved ones.

---

Actually, only 1 person died (I know 1 is too many) but considering that 1 restaurant, 1 bakery, 1 corner store and 10 family houses are all gone in smoke, this is a pretty good number. There were about 10 people that need to go to the hospital. Kind of amazing when you think about it.

[Mgrenier]

Jack,

 

A vertical Lathe is not an option as the setup time would be waaaaaaay too long. We are looking for a simple way of milling these grooves. And, yes they are RTJ grooves.

 

Thanks for the replies and keep them coming...

[chris m]

AB Tool makes some nice tools

 

AB Tool

 

Just send them the geometry and you'll get yourself a nice cutter in short order

 

C

[crazy^millman]

I have fullerton grind me some custom endmills almost like what you are talking about. As far as I know no-one keeps these types of tools on the shelf. I had them take a ball endmill and grind the .03 radius then the 60 included angle. If your included angle is 29 then might have to look at something like an engraving tool and have it custom ground. I know 100% what you are trying to do but if the flange is 10" in Dia then possible each groove coulbe like 26" to 28" liner in length so what ever you use I would get plenty of.

 

HTH

[Philcott]

Marting,

 

What part of town did the fire occur in?

 

I used to live near the bridge that went over to Cap-de-la-madeline, a block from the english school, Three Rivers High School. I had friends that lived up in Normandville too.

 

Phil

[Tom Dorgan from American Precision]

Marting I used to cut these grooves on gate valve bodies all day long. Just need an insert with tip smaller than bottom of groove by just a little. We used a Manchester holder and insert I believe with a special holder that had the curve ground on the bottom support. That way it did not dig into the face while you were grooving it. Plunge in the center then taper cut on both sides. I used seperate offsets for each side to make adjustment easier. I ran these on 4 axis Warner Swasey lathes. Haven't worked at that company in 8 years or I would get you some part numbers. Don't know anyone there now.

[Mgrenier]

Philcott,

 

That fire occured in Pointe-du-Lac near the church. Hope that gives you more info.

[David Czerw Triumph Gear Systems]

Marting,

Certainly there must be cutter grinders in your area. Just take the profile of the shape and extend the ends to a standard size. If you want a one shot cut extend it to a Ø 3/4 if you want to control it more use a Ø 5/8. and comp. I used to machine these all the time in cast ( nodular) iron it works like a champ.I will modify your file and call it groove_marting 2