CNC Tooling

[scottandme]

Originally Posted by techhelpbb

Does this not depend on the speed of the spindle?

Usually you have to spin the TiAlN end mills at higher speeds to make the coating operate as intended (18k to 22k RPM).
You would not want to use a TiAlN end mill too slowly or it will be worse than an HSS end mill.

Anything with Al in the coating will not work to cut aluminum. Mainly for chromoly steels, stainless, titanium, nickel alloys, etc. They need high temperatures to "activate", which requires high SFPM numbers. From what I understand it actually creates a thin film of aluminum oxide when it hits that activation temperature. That's purely dependent on the size of the cutter and the material - but 18 to 22k is pretty extreme for a VMC - that's a specialized machine. Most are in the 8k to 12k range give or take. Generally with those cutters they don't use coolant (same with many carbide/ceramic insert cutters), just a heavy air blast to clear chips. The coolant can cause the insert to fracture from thermal shock.

For aluminum you either want uncoated, ZrN, or TiB2. TiCN can work well, but avoid TiN. Most major brands make geometry specifically for cutting aluminum (higher helix, polished flutes, etc, etc).