Metalmite has made the jump to high-speed milling recently. Metalmite was the first machine shop in Michigan to purchase the new Mori Seiki NV1500 DCG Milling machine. People from all over have inquired as to how it performs as there are not many to see in the USA. Metalmite was told that there were only 8 machines in the USA. The machine has an amazing accuracy rate and the 27,000 RPM spindle makes cutting hardened stainless seem like nothing. High-Speed and Hard Milling are now being employed extensively, and those shops not effectively implementing this technology will eventually fall by the wayside in this highly competitive worldwide marketplace.
An overall reduction in production time of greater than 35 percent is regularly achieved — Less Time “in-process” means less cost!
Also, the very fine and smooth finish right off the machine may make it possible to virtually eliminate very costly and time consuming manual polishing and bench work.
High speed machining involves taking milling passes with smaller-diameter end mills at very light depths of cuts, but taking these passes at high feed rates
Hard Milling allows them to skip several time-consuming, labor-intensive steps in the machining process.
Hard milling is a much more reliable, predictable and productive process,
Hard milling is an offshoot of high speed machining techniques.
The essence of high speed machining is taking many light cuts at closely spaced step-overs, thus leaving minimal cusps between passes. The goal is to create an as-machined surface that drastically reduces the need for subsequent processing.
Routinely achieving surfaces finishes, as good as 8 to 10 Micro-inches, “Ra” (Roughness No. N4) with hard milling when needed. Because the steel is already hardened, subsequent heat treating, stress relieving, finish machining and grinding steps become unnecessary. More importantly, the process also replaces many costly steps that would otherwise require final processing.