It seems a very common question these days is: How Fast do I run these tools? Well the simple answer is as fast as possible. The facts do however get slightly more complicated.
When we are discussing compression spirals or any other types of spirals for that matter, one of the most common problems we see in our market these days is a lot of customers are not using spirals correctly. Traditionally we find a lot of customers are running these types of tools at too low a feed rate or too high an RPM for the feed rates they are using. As a result the tools dull out prematurely, or leave a poor cut quality. How can you improve your edge life? In a lot of cases it can be as simple as an RPM reduction of 15 to 20 %
For Example : 3/4″ Particle board with Melamine (2 sides) using a standard 1/2″ Compression Spiral.
I can easily run this tool in excess of 600 inches per min in this material, and of course a lot of operators or programmers would say 18,000 rpm – because that is what most machines have as a default. However, when using these parameters the tool is only taking a minimal bite out of the material while the rotation of the tool is very high. When this rotation ( RPM ) is too high we do not allow enough time for the chips or dust to escape from the cutting zone and thus these chips come into contact with the tool again and again. The increased amount of contact from the chips results in a reduction of chip size and increases the tool wear.
In this case if we reduce the RPM by 15 to 20 % or to around 15,000 we allow slightly more time for the chips to escape the cutting zone. This increase in time will increase the chip size. With an increased chip size we reduce the amount contact with the tool. The reduced contact with the tool will increase tool edge life.
Questions? Submit them below for discussion.
