Advancing endmill machining with ISCAR

The rise of five-axis machining in metal cutting brings advantages like machining complex parts in a single setup, improved accuracy and reduced cycle time. Advanced workpiece fabrication and additive manufacturing complexity demand high-performance cutting tools. Here are the various configurations of segment endmills and ISCAR's trailblazing innovations in this field.

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It is apparent that five-axis machining is becoming increasingly popular in modern metal cutting. Five-axis machining provides significant advantages such as machining complex-shaped parts by use of one set-up without changing the location of the workpiece, high machining accuracy and reduced cycle time.

Machining revolutionised

Advanced technology of workpiece fabrication has led to increased capabilities of precise forging, casting and mainstreaming Additive Manufacturing (AM). This has resulted in the increased complexity of workpiece geometry and decreased machining allowance and material by cutting operations. Furthermore, this helps us achieve end results that reflect the final shape of the workpiece. The requests for high-performance cutting tools intended for finishing and semi-finishing geometrically complex surfaces are now vitally important.

Ball-nose milling cutters, particularly, are considered traditional tools for machining 3D surfaces. They are the most common tools for semi-finishing and finishing profiles in milling operations. Machine tools and their cutting geometry, referred to as segment or barrel-shape endmills, have evolved due to the significant progress in the field of five-axis machining centres and modern Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) systems. However, although these tools are well known to machinists, they remain ignored. Five-axis machining, combined with CNC software and computer modelling of complex tool configurations, has re-surfaced the use of circular segment endmill applications.