Pull Out Protection: How to Increase Productivity During Roughing

These solid carbide end mills use a patented pull out protection system and are designed specifically to meet the demands of precision heavy-duty cutting in aerospace and energy applications.

The demand for heavy-duty cutting is standard in the aerospace and energy industries. Tool producers have historically reacted to these requirements with advancements on materials, coatings and geometries.

ATI Stellram (La Vergne, TN), one of the leading global cutting tool producers, has designed its XE, XER and RSM aerospace end mills specifically for these industries. The new geometry of these solid carbide tools provides improved stability and vibration dampening with a nano-composite PVD-coating for high performance machining.

To unlock the full potential of their high-performance solid carbide mills, the company has added another innovation: the patented Safe-λock™ pull out protection from Haimer GmbH (Munich, Germany). Through special design features in the tool and the tool holder, both a friction fit and positive lock is achieved.

This design helps prevent rotation, or even pull out, of the miller during heavy-duty cutting. The combination of pull out protection and high run out accuracy enables reduced vibrations and very efficient machining. Chip removal rate can be increased up to 100 percent through improved cutting depths and feed rates. Cutting tool wear can be reduced in a similar manner.

David J. Wills, the technical director of cutting tools at ATI Stellram, is convinced of the success of these tools in combination with the Safe-λock™-System: “The combination of our aerospace end mills and this Safe-λock™ system allows higher rpms and feed rates on even the most demanding materials. The new geometry, in combination with our toughest and most wear-resistant submicron substrate coated with a PVD Nano TiAlN, makes this possible.”

“This combination also allows unprecedented levels of metal removal while the Safe-λock™-System contributes to maximum safety and productivity,” noted Wills.

Steve Ortiz, the marketing director for cutting tools at ATI Stellram, agrees: “This end mill series has a much larger capacity than typical end mills, being able to slot and profile to higher radial and axial engagements. This feature, combined with the pull out protection, is going to push the metal removal rates to the next level.” www.haimer.com, www.atimetals.com