Troubleshooting

Tool Breakage

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Feed too high	Decrease your FPT
Speed to low	Increase your RPM’s
Excessive depth of cut	Decrease your RDOC
Tool overhang excessive	Use shortest length tool, shortest loc & reduce overhang from tool holder. Depths >4xDia. should move towards a reduced neck tool strategy.
Workpiece Rigidity	Workpiece must be 100% secure, the slightest movement (even unseen) will affect tool performance.
Excessive tool runout	Runout (TIR) should be measured at the corner of the tool once the tool is in the holder and in the machine spindle. Our tools require a maximum of .0005 TIR, for maximum tool life.
Hand ground shank flats	Hand ground shank flats or Weldon flats induce tool runout and cause premature failure.
Not enough shank contact	Imperative to have 1.5 -to- 2.0 x Dia. of shank inside tool holder for maximum holding strength.
Part Entry	Reduce feedrate by 50% at part entry and until tool is 100% engaged into material.
Milling Strategy	Review tool path and ensure there are no arbitrary moves, 90-degree corner movements, and any toolpaths that prevent constant radial engagement of the tool or climb milling situations.
Calculate Tool Change Intervals	Once you have determined tool life on a new tool, it’s good practice to calculate 80-90% of that time and incorporate it as a “safe” tool replacement window.

Excessive Flank Wear

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Speed to high	Reduce your cutting speed (RPM)
Feed to low	Very common to be too light here, rubbing the tool, so Increase your feed per tooth (FPT)
Depth of cut too light	Increase your depth of cut (RDOC), but of course this may require lowering your FPT per chip thinning theory.
Tool Coating	Ensure your utilizing the right tool coating for the material.
Workpiece Rigidity	Workpiece must be 100% secure, the slightest movement (even unseen) will affect tool performance
Wrong cutting parameters for hardness	Know the Rockwell hardness of your workpiece, Speeds n feeds are adjusted to the hardness the tool is cutting.
Excessive tool runout	Runout (TIR) should be measured at the corner of the tool once the tool is in the holder and in the machine spindle. Our tools require a maximum of .0005 TIR, for maximum tool life.
Recutting chips	Ensure coolant spray is directed with tool rotation and chip flight direction.
Low Flute count	Increase your flute count helping to broaden the wear/load on a larger number of flutes.
Incorrect primary relief for material	Tools have radial relief to lower friction, if its too high for a harder material flank wear will propegate swiftly. Ensure tool is recommended for your material.

Excessive Corner Wear

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
No tool radius used	Also utilize a corner radius when possible, this strengthens the corner of the tool and increases tool life.
Low depth of cut	Depth of cut is not meeting or exceeding size of the corner radius which puts pressure on only a select portion of the corner radius, causing stress points on tool corner.
Speed too high	Lower your cutting speed (RPM)
Wrong cutting parameters for hardness	Know the Rockwell hardness of your workpiece, Speeds n feeds are adjusted to the hardness the tool is cutting.
Excessive tool runout	Runout (TIR) should be measured at the corner of the tool once the tool is in the holder and in the machine spindle. Our tools require a maximum of .0005 TIR, for maximum tool life.
Not enough shank contact	Imperative to have 1.5 -to- 2.0 x Dia. of shank inside tool holder for maximum holding strength.
Workpiece Rigidity	Workpiece must be 100% secure, the slightest movement (even unseen) will affect tool performance.
Slower Helix	Reduce your helix angle if possible, as this will lower the rake/shear at the corner and provide a stronger corner.
Higher flute count	Increase the flute count helping to broaden the wear/load on a larger number of flutes.

Chatter/Vibration

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Speed to high	Reduce your cutting speed (RPM)
Variable pitch tooling	Utilize our variable pitch tooling when applicable, as this will help to reduce or eliminate the harmonic signature that chatter develops from.
Feed to low	Very common to be too light here(Hence: rubbing the tool), so increase your feed per tooth (FPT).
Tool not stabilized	Either increase your FPT and/or your RDOC to help stabilize the cutter in the cut.
Workpiece rigidity	Workpiece must be 100% secure, the slightest movement (even unseen) will affect tool performance.
Not enough shank contact	Imperative to have 1.5 -to- 2.0 x Dia. of shank inside tool holder for maximum holding strength.
Tool Holder rigidity	Critical to have a very accurate tool holder, that also utilizes full shank contact & maximum holding strength.
Excessive tool runout	Runout (TIR) should be measured at the corner of the tool once the tool is in the holder and in the machine spindle. Our tools require a maximum of .0005 TIR, for maximum tool life.
Too much tool contact engagement	This is the amount of contact the tool is experiencing while in the cut, reduce your RDOC and this measurement will decrease.

Chip Congestion

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Chip Size Unmanageable	Utilize our chip breaker tools. Look in our catalog (pgs. 6-9) to see our selections. These will usually break chips to 1/2 the length your experiencing now.
Too high flute count	Lower the flute count on your tool to open up chip evacuation room.
Feed too high	Decrease your FPT
Too heavy RDOC	Lower your RDOC but remember you may need to increase your FPT to accommodate proper chip thinning theory.
Proper coolant flush	Not too much and not too little. Theres a fine line here to ensure your providing enough coolant flush but not overdoing it (as it can create a vortex effect around the tool). Also ensure the lines are in the direction of the chip flight direction, and not spraying into it.

Tool Deflection

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Tool overhang excessive	Use shortest length tool, shortest loc & reduce overhang from tool holder. Depths >4xD should move towards a reduced neck tool strategy.
Increase flute count	Increasing your flute count, increases the core diameter of the tool lessening tool deflection. Caution, as this also creates more tool contact with wall.
Tool heavy of a depth of cut	Lighten up the RDOC, but never reach lower than 3% of tool diameter as this will induce tool rubbing.
Too thin of a chip	Increase your FPT, per chip thinning theory and overcome possible tool rubbing conditions.
Custom Geometry	As a custom tool manufacturer we can look at the exact material your cutting and design a custom tool that will be freer cutting to lessen deflection.
Tool runout excessive	Runout (TIR) should be measured at the corner of the tool once the tool is in the holder and in the machine spindle. Our tools require a maximum of .0005 TIR, for maximum tool life.
Wall/floor contact	Dual contact can institute tool deflection, when finishing walls good practice to raise tool .010 above floor then come back to blend transition.

Poor Surface Finish (wall)

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Speed to low	Increase your RPM’s
Feed too high	Decrease your FPT, but always maintain chip thinning procedures to avoid tool rubbing.
RDOC too low	In some cases too light of a RDOC can affect surface finish, might be an option to increase your RDOC. 3-5% of diameter is a good starting point.
Too high surface contact	Lessen the flute count as this will lower your tool-to-part contact increasing your finish. In steels 5-flutes is a great middle ground for a good finisher. High walls might require higher number of flutes due to the increase of core strength in tool.
Too low coolant %	Increase the proportion of mixture, going to a 12-13% concentration will contribute to a better surface finish.
Built up edge	As seen on the cutting edges, increase your FPT, utilize proper coatings and check your coolant strategy in order to lower the BUE the tool is experiencing.

Poor Surface Finish (floor)

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
No corner radius	Utilize tools with a corner radius size that is 6-10% of diameter
Speed to low	Increase your RPM’s
Feed too high	Decrease your FPT, but always maintain chip thinning procedures to avoid tool rubbing.
RDOC too low	In some cases too light of a RDOC can affect surface finish, might be an option to increase your RDOC, with 5% of diameter as a good starting point.
No dish on end of tool	Good floor finishing requires dish (or end concavity) at the end of the tool. This allows for freer cutting and proper end geometry chip evacuation.
Too low coolant %	Increase the proportion of mixture, going to a 12-13% concentration will contribute to a better surface finish.
Wiper flats	Wiper flats on Non-ferrous tooling can help with more of a burnishing effect and increased part finish on floors. Corner radius tools have this effect as well.

Built-Up Edge (BUE)

New or reground tool	Non-Factory Reground tools create unknown variable(s)
Chip welding to OD of tool/cutting edge	Utilize proper tool coating for material your cutting
Feed to low	Increase your FPT
Speed to low	Increase your RPM’s
Proper coolant flush	Not too much and not too little. There’s a fine line here to ensure your providing enough coolant flush but not overdoing it (as it can create a vortex effect around the tool). Also ensure the lines are in the direction of the chip flight direction, and not spraying into it.
Too low coolant %	Increase the proportion of mixture, going to a 12-13% concentration will contribute to a better surface finish.
Milling strategy	Ensure your climb milling

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