THIS GUIDE IS OFFERED AS AN AID TO MY CUTTING TOOL BUYERS IN CHOOSING WHICH MATERIAL IS BEST SUITED FOR THEIR MACHINING OPERATIONS.

PART ONE

GENERAL INFORMATION FOUND IN A CUTTING TOOLS CATALOG FOR AIRFRAME DETAIL PARTS (1990). SELECTING THE OPTIMUM TOOL MATERIAL IS A MAJOR FACTOR IN REALIZING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF ANY PARTICULAR MACHINE TOOL. THE FOLLOWING GUIDELINES ARE OFFERED AS AN APPROACH FOR THE LOGICAL SELECTION OF THE BEST TOOL MATERIALS FOR MACHINING A SPECIFIC WORK MATERIAL.

1. HIGH SPEED STEEL (HSS) TOOLS ARE GENERALLY USED FOR:

- HIGH VOLUME - LOW CUTTING SPEED OPERATIONS (E.G. IN SCREW MACHINES).

- LOW VOLUME OPERATIONS SUCH AS IN TOOL ROOMS

- MACHINE TOOLS OR SETUPS WHICH LACK RIGIDITY

- COMPLEX TOOLS FORMS SUCH AS FORM TOOLS, DRILLS, CUTOFF TOOLS, ET.

- SMALL DIAMETER END MILLS AND DRILLS

- LOW POWERED MACHINE TOOLS

- CERTAIN MACHINING OPERATIONS ON PROBLEM MATERIALS SUCH AS NICKEL BASE HIGH TEMPERATURE ALLOYS.

2. COBALT HIGH SPEED CUTTING TOOL MATERIALS ARE SELECTED AN INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN HIGH SPEED STEEL AND CARBIDE TOOL MATERIALS. COBALT AIDS IN HOLDING THE HOT HARDNESS OF THE TOOL DURING MACHINING AND ALSO INCREASES WEAR RESISTANCE.

3. CARBIDE TOOLS ARE GENERALLY APPLICABLE WHEN:

- THE RIGIDITY OF THE MACHINE TOOL, TOOLING, AND WORK PIECE IS HIGH

- CONFIGURATION OF WORKPIECE AND MACHINING OPERATION PERMIT HIGH CUTTING SPEEDS

- HIGH PRODUCTION RATES ARE REQUIRED.

4. CERAMIC TOOLS, HIGH STRENGTH CARBIDES, DIAMOND TOOLS, AND CAST ALLOY TOOLS HAVE RATHER SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS, IN CONTRAST WITH THE WIDE USAGE OF HIGH SPEED STEEL AND CARBIDE TOOLS.