The Swiss tool manufacturer Mikron Tool has expanded its milling cutter program and launches a version of the already well-known plunge-mill CrazyMill Cool P&S, which is now suitable for even deeper machining operations.
Like its already successful "short" predecessor, it is characterized by the ability to plunge (drill) vertically into the material, mill slots or pockets into solid material in smallest spaces and concluding the milling with a finishing operation. While the milling depth in the short version (2.5 x d) was based on the machining of keyways (as found, for example, on the drive shafts of engines), the aim is now to be able to mill the deepest possible slots and pockets with a single tool and to reach more distant machining areas within a workpiece.
The new version of the solid carbide plunge mill is based on the same technology as the short version, transferred directly to the new one. Now it is possible to plunge perpendicularly into the material and reach the maximum milling depth of 5 x d in a few steps. Despite its length, the milling cutter is extremely stable and at the same time impresses with its cutting speeds, chip removal rates as well as a long tool life and surface quality, all this from a milling diameter of one millimeter (.039”).
The cutting-edge geometry enables process stable and vibration-free "drilling" (vertical plunging) even at a depth of 5 x d. This not only prevents the cutting edges from breaking out, one of the central difficulties when "drilling" with a milling cutter, but also ensures excellent surface quality and longer tool life.
Even more than with the short version, good chip removal plays an important role at this depth. There is a higher risk that chips remain in the milling zone, are broken up several times and thus damage both the milling cutter and the milled surface. The special cutting-edge geometry with extended chip area provides a remedy, on the one hand, ensuring perfect lateral chip removal during plunging and the stability of the milling cutter even during deep milling. On the other hand, the integrated coolant ducts in the shank with the massive coolant flow, ensure an efficient chip evacuation even from tight or angled spaces of deep pockets or slots.
Mr. Gotti, Head of the Technology & Customer Project Center at Mikron Tool confirms: "We work with this tool at high speeds and feeds and an axial infeed (ap) of 0.5 x d, achieving an extremely high chip removal rate. For the user, this means up to 5 times shorter machining processes and a significantly longer tool life compared to other milling cutters on the market".
CrazyMill Cool P&S is available in diameters from 1 to 8 mm and for a maximum milling depth of up to 5 x d.
