Hi, Weighing my options for some ball endmills with tapered necks. These seem hard to find since manufacturers use different terms. I have to machine some deep free form pockets in aluminum. The pockets all have 1/8" corner rads so I am looking for tools smaller than 1/4" diameter. I am metric friendly as well but part is in inch. I found something I like the look of from Harvey but wanted to see what else is out there. Hopefully the Harvey link works, otherwise the part # is 775312. I also attached a sample of one of the pockets I have to machine to help get a clearer picture SampleOfPocketGeo.mcam

Could you switch to an endmill with a corner radius and surface it with either a Swept 2D path or a 3D toolpath?

So it is true that setting step up same as step down will ensure it machines all flats but it does not make it machine only the flats. Since you are machining with a "low" step down you are likely machining your angled walls during the step down. The toolpath satisfied it's function since it met the .350 step down and machined as close as it could to your model geometry. Another way to tackle it to avoid the wall would be to make a 2D wireframe at the root of the angle wall and doing an a 2D dynamic based off that and just machine it with stepdowns?

So if I have a tool prestaged(which you should and if you don't then start here and fix your post so it does) and all I do is toolchange it takes maybe 5-10 seconds depending on rapid distance. If I do just a basic tool break detect where all I do is laser for length to verify within +/-.005" it usually adds 45 seconds since the setters are mounted on the side of the trunnion. It also goes through all of the basic power checks and cycles the laser on and off to confirm its ready. If you add an air blow or air blow with axis movement (the laser has an air nozzle by it and blows the tip of the tool off) that adds around another 30 seconds just for air blow. Then if you do what you said where you scan for corner radius or tool diameter its probably around another 10-20 seconds. I program with wear comp so I don't bother with the diameter and corner rad stuff. I touch all my tools off as if they are centric tools and go from there. So a toolchange can balloon up to around 75 seconds which is unfortunate but kind of just the fact of the matter. If you need faster tool break than you will need to play with your accuracy tolerances and switch to the G650 rapid tool break. That brings it down to a true 10 second tool break, but I found it be too unreliable for my needs

I am in the middle of setting up a Yasda H40i. The basic Yasda toolchange programs leave a lot to be desired as far as speed is concerned. One thing that stands out is that it always does a power check on the probe which adds some time. I also modified my toolchange cycle to add a dwell for my thru spindle coolant tools so that they have a longer air purge prior to toolchange. The Yasda tool break cycles also have a lot of ways for speeding them up. In the manual there are actually 2 different tool break cycles and within those 2 are a bunch of variables you can set to fine tailor to each one. G600 is the "normal" accuracy focused one where it does it all in feed moves. G650 is done at rapid. I played with the G650 but I found it to be too inaccurate and would alarm out saying a tool was broken more often than not. I switched back to G600 and there is a Y variable that controls if the machine does an air blow or not and I switched that off since the air blow adds around 20-30 seconds. My machine is set up with a laser as well as contact plunger style setter and my break cycles can pick which one I use. I prefer laser since that is what I set my tools on but theoretically it should not matter. Yasda is very picky about letting people make modifications to their subprograms. In my mind they should be a lot leaner which would help them cycle faster but they have their reasons for doing them and they don't want anyone other than Yasda Japan modifying them in my experience. One last thing is that Yasda is really not a high speed machine tool. I look at them more as marathon machines than sprinters.

If the Hermle is and HSK63 it will likely have something like a 42 pocket internal magazine and the option to add on 1 or 2 more external magazines. Max capacity is 325 pockets on a C62 which is similar to the C650. The question that I don't know the answer to is if the additional magazines are an option on their "performance" line of machines. If this is just for job shop work and not going to be automated in anyway, I would seriously look at Hermle. I found them very comfortable to run. They also have one of the best footprints to machine capacity ratios on the market. They take up very little floorspace compared to the size of parts they can handle. Also make sure you figure out who will be able to service your machines. I would look at GF Mikron mills in the same vein as Hermle, but their US service is run thin. We have problems getting techs out to service our GF edm machines from time to time in the midwest.

You have some wildly different machines on this list. For instance the C650 can swing a part that is 43" Collision circle where as the C250 can only swing a part that is 27". You should first focus on your part sizes you intend to machine and start to shrink your list from there. In my opinion though, the Hermles, Matsuuras, and Makino are pretty much the cream of the crop and in that order. Hermle makes a slick machine and I personally love the Heidenhain control. They are probably one of the more accurate machines on your list but our C400 had some weird roundness issues while machining simultaneous 5 axis. But it seemed to be something going on with the program but no one really gave me a clear answer as to what or why so jury still out on that. I find there spindles to be lacking in power. I also don't like the grease system that lubricates the rails. The Y-axis rails sit on top of the U gantry and are exposed. Has not been issue as far as life is concerned, but the wipers push the grease and it mixes into the coolant over time and is impossible to filter. I also am not a huge fan of their automation purely from an operation standpoint as most of their automation goes through the main cabin doors which means operators can not watch while under full auto mode. Probably not a huge deal in the grand scheme but just my opinion. The Matsuuras have some of the best automation options as far as usability and sustainability are concerned. They make good, accurate machines but I don't have any hands on experience with them yet. I really prefer the looks of the MAM series myself. Makino is just hard to go wrong with. Consistently reliable manufacturer, but I only have personal experience with their horizontals. Worth a closer look. I am a fan of Okuma's verticals. The control is pretty slick. Don't know much about their 5axis machines though.

Thanks for the suggestions! I was leaning towards the Mitsubishi WSX actually, but a higher up ordered a Seco Quattromill for me since we already stock inserts in our toolcrib. It just arrived this morning and I did a test cut in a scrap piece of 4140. On a part that is 6"x6"x2" held in a raptor dovetail fixture and running the cutter at 600SFM and .003FPT with air blast I was able to achieve a flatness of .0002" or better when checked on the plate and 3 points. The finish is a little smeary probably due to the shallow DOC but it checks as a 15microInchRA so I think I am relatively satisfied. I will be finishing the big 15"x15" plates later this week and we will see if the flatness error gets magnified at those distances. I assume they will

Hi! Looking for some recommendations for a facemill to finish face some subplates I am working on. The process will be facing them in the final use case (plate bolted to pallet). Constrained flatness is the main goal so I think tool pressure will be the biggest issue for me. The plate is about 15"x15"(380mmx380mm). Cutter size I am looking for is in the 2"-2.75"(50mm-70mm). Machine is a Big Plus BT40. Material removal will be about .01" (.2mm) DOC over the whole face with some minor interrupted cuts at the bolt holes . I prefer brands that are easier to get in the USA and I think a tool with a lead angle instead of a 90° shouldering insert might work better. Machine also has high psi thru spindle coolant but not thru spindle air if that factors in. Thanks!

Dynamic milling gets a lot of praise and it deserves it, but I feel like playing devils advocate here and offer some words of caution. Some people I work with have fallen into the trap that dynamic is the be all end all of roughing. They program their toolpaths to be too "dynamic". By that I mean that they think that they can just put the stepover really light and the feedrate really high and get the same or faster cycle time. But in reality the main downfall for dynamic milling are the linking moves and the capability of the machine to accel/decel. A decreasing your stepover percentage means you are increasing your linking moves by the same percentage which to me is wasted machine motion. And this becomes worse if the feature you are cutting is a closed pocket. There is a very high chance that your machine won't even hit your programmed feed rate, let alone maintain it. This can have an exponential effect on your actual cycle time. Sometimes it is better to just slow down and increase your stepover. Just my observations based on my current place of work and something I am trying to get people away from. As someone else said, programming is a series of trade offs. Sometimes it can be more efficient to throw a quick optirough on a one off part and let the machine work. If a part is going to be a repeat one, then it is time to sit down and work through some cycle time analysis and explore options other than dynamic.

SwiftCarb has a lot of thru spindle options. They have almost exactly the same cutter dimensions as you listed BUT it has a .75" DOC instead of 1" and a 2.25" shoulder length. Part # from their catalogue is XT05007BUG69TCCM. They also have one with 2.625" shoulder length. Part # XT05007BUH2ERTCCM I believe they will also do customs if needed but if you decide custom I would probably look at Fraisa.

we also see that alarm come from our Marposs tool setters on our Okumas. if you push on it by hand it will flash up that alarm. we have had the machines overtravel a couple times when doing a tool touch off and it will alarm out. i would imagine if you get a heavy enough pile of chips on it to depress it, that could cause it.