The series offers the following features and benefits:
By Dustin Loschiavo, District Manager
Did you know there are twice as many people wearing braces today than there were 15 years ago? The need for the new and improved orthodontic products has grown rapidly. I recently visited American Orthodontics in Sheboygan, WI, one of the largest Orthodontics manufacturers in the world. They have just introduced the PowerScope, a wire to wire device that eliminates the need for headgear and special bands with more comfort and a better aesthetic appearance.
I spoke with Lee Vogel, Manufacturing Engineer at American Orthodontics, who expressed that they were having a problem with tool life on the right and left side tower mounts. They had recently changed materials per the customer’s request from a 316 stainless steel to a 17-4 stainless steel to extend the life of the device. The machining process involved milling a flat on two sides of round stock using a Citizen bar-feeder lathe. They were using a competitor’s 1/8 – 1/8 – 1/4, 1 ½ 4 fluted end mill. This end mill was taking 10 passes per side running at 4500 RPM and a feed rate of 8 IPM. I suggested that Lee should take less passes and test OSG’s Aero UVX end mill (3/16 – 7/16 - 0.015 CR 4 flute) for his new material application. We set up at 4 passes per side running at 5000 rpm and a feed rate of 16 IPM. This change alone saved 11 seconds per part and the tool life went from 1600 pieces to 6000 pieces per end mill.
As the number of people with braces is expected to increase more in the near future, manufacturers need to keep up with the trends and demands for the improved braces by coming up with new innovations. In order to do so, it is crucial to be flexible and ready to machine any new materials with efficiency. OSG’s Aero UVX end mills changed the game of machining 17-4 stainless steels with efficiency and extended tool life.
*This article originally appeared in the OSG Cutting News Magazine 2015 Medical Edition.
Ever dream of machining composites without delamination and tool life issues? Composites are constructed with layers of material that are prone to delamination. They are also known to be abrasive and could easily wear your tool down. If your tool loses its sharpness, the material gets pushed away instead of cut, producing uncut fibers. OSG’s EXOPRO® AERO-BNC router overcomes these problems and even provides high feed roughing and a superior finish.
Reduced Delamination and Cutting Forces
The AERO-BNC router features OSG’s patented nick design and a high helix that breaks up the cutting edges. By breaking up composites with many cutting edges, instead of one long cutting edge, the nicked router can significantly reduce cutting forces. The lower the cutting forces, the less chance there is for delaminations and uncut fibers.
Longer Tool Life
The AERO-BNC also features OSG’s patented diamond coating which has a maximum diamond grain size diameter of 2μm. This ensures our coating is super smooth. Unlike our competition, we manufacture all diamond products in-house using our grinding technique on our special carbide substrate. This patented diamond coating coupled with the AERO-BNC router’s thick core diameter and multiple flutes extends tool life significantly. Improved part finish and sharper cutting edges are also the end results of the diamond coating.
Versatility
The AERO-BNC is extremely versatile and can be applied in both thick and thin laminates. It is versatile enough to handle trimming, slotting and shoulder milling applications! It also can engage parts by plunging, ramping or helical entry and is available in various end cuts to enable you to find the right tool for your job.
Jacob Van Oost, District Manager
The die and mold industry is a very competitive sector. Shops are constantly ?striving to? outperform? competitors by ?quoting shorter ?delivery time, better finish, and lower cost per? unit. At OSG, we go beyond the quote to demonstrate our abilities in action. With our EXOCARB® WXS® High Feed Corner Radius End Mill, shops are able to achieve faster feed rates, superior surface finishes, and better overall cycle times.
Working with a shop specializing in automotive work in Muskegon, MI, the engineer there wanted a tool that could speed up a process for adding a groove in a P-20 with a 0.25” wide gasket track going around the whole part. The customer originally had it programmed with a 0.25” end mill, but it was taking 3.25 hours to put in the groove. After evaluating the application, we recommended OSG’s EXOCARB® WXS® High Feed Corner Radius End Mill to get the job done.
This corner radius cutter is extremely rigid with a long reach capability. The reverse taper on the cutting edge prevents chattering and eliminates dwell marks on sidewalls. With a new WXS® coating, this end mill oxidizes at around 1300° C, allowing it to withstand much greater heat than competitor tools that are treated with TiAlN.
Initially, we wanted to start the tool at 1,300 RPM and 715 IPM. However, after getting a more detailed look into the program, we realized that the machine for this job could not handle such an aggressive feed rate. To resolve this issue, we decided to cut everything in half, bringing it down to 650 RPM and 357 IPM. Using the EXOCARB® WXS® High Feed Corner Radius End Mill with a light depth of cut, this part of job was completed two hours faster than the original method, and the program time was reduced to merely 35 minutes. The customer was thrilled with the result, and they now use this corner radius end mill to reduce production time overall.
Beyond the automotive industry, this dynamic tool can be applied? to many applications in die/mold shops. For detailed, 3D contoured parts, it can be used in conjunction with the true 4-flute ball mill. It leaves smaller scallops and has faster metal removal rates than that of ball nosed end mills, making it ideal for roughing. Smaller scallops also makes finishing with the true 4-flute easier and faster, allowing customers to go from roughing straight to finishing, bypassing semi-roughing altogether.
To stay ahead of the competition with faster production, OSG’s EXOCARB® WXS® High Feed Corner Radius End Mill will bypass extra processes along the way.
When tapping, drilling, and milling heat resistant super alloys like Inconel 718, you need tools that can take the heat. OSG provides a total solution tooling trifecta for these tough machining applications. With the rigid substrates, tailored geometries, and advanced coatings on our EXOPRO® WHR-Ni Taps, EXOPRO® WHO-Ni Drills, and EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mills, you can tap, drill, and mill without the worry of rapid wear or extreme breakage.
Check out these tools at work:
For milling pre-hardened and hardened steels, you need an end mill that won’t wear down. OSG’s premium high performance carbide end mills, the EXOCARB® WXL® and the EXOCARB® WXS®, are specially designed for rigidity and performance in even the toughest materials and milling applications.
The WXL® is specifically tailored for nonferrous materials and mild steels up to 55HRC, and can withstand up to 1100 degrees Celsius. The WXS®, on the other hand, is made for hardened steels like D2, A2, S7, H13 and CPM, milling up to 65HRC and able to withstand up to 1300 degrees Celsius.
For added strength, our WXS® and WXL® have thicker core diameters and are made of the hardest carbide possible for incredible wear resistance. The higher coating oxidation temperature and hardness keep these end mills performing long after the competition wears out.
Ideal for the Mold & Die industry, the WXS® and WXL® utilize high precision geometry with a +/- 5um radius tolerances for both corner radius and ball end mills, eliminating the need for benching and reworking.
With hard carbide materials combined with high precision, the EXOCARB® WXS® and WXL® are the top hard milling solutions.
This is a common customer reaction when dealing with Inconel. It is a difficult material, but should it make shops run for the hills? Absolutely not! Common in the aerospace industry, Inconel is one of the toughest high temperature resistant materials. However, with the correct tool, it too can be easier to machine.
One of my customers working with Inconel was in need of a 5/8” end mill for a new project involving an aerospace engine part that they were quoting. After examining the job, we realized that removing all the material would be the biggest challenge.
For their slotting operation, I recommended OSG’s EXOCARB® Aero Rougher. Many people in the industry are familiar with older end mill designs such as the Corncob Rougher and Knuckle End Mill. Our Aero Rougher, however, is not just a typical Corncob Rougher. It is specially designed for maximum metal removal in exotic high temperature materials. The uniquely configured serrations on the cutting edge reduce friction, thereby generating less heat and requiring less horsepower than standard or variable helix carbide end mills. In addition, the combination of the shallow profile serration and the 45° helix provides a much smoother surface finish.
With it being a new project, my customer needed to make profit but also keep costs down in order to win the bid. To determine if the Aero Rougher was their best choice, we tested it against two other competitors that had a variable design.
To begin the test, we used the OSG recommended speeds and feeds for the application, 520 RPM at 2.7 IPM. With the majority of the cuts being a slot, we recommended 0.156” on the depth of cut (DOC). In the end, the operator was delightfully surprised when he saw the results of the OSG tool performance. After several trials, the customer was able to push the Aero Rougher to 0.200” DOC. OSG scored lower in cost and provided the customer a completed part. The competitors, on the other hand, were not even able to finish the job.
In today’s competitive market, OSG’s EXOCARB® Aero Rougher is able to provide users the ability to run tools with higher feed rates and deeper depths of cuts for reduced cutting time. It not only handles the tough and the nasty, but it helps eliminate stress when working with Inconel.
Heat resistant super alloys like Inconel 718 have low thermal conductivity, causing rapid and extreme wear of the cutting tool due to concentrated heat on the cutting zone. To combat against this issue, OSG developed the EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mill. This high performance end mill has a five-flute variable helix design to facilitate excellent chip shape and evacuation, while the tapered core and special edge prep rigidity protects against wear. These features allow for consistent, stable machining in side milling, pocketing and slotting operations.
Check it out in action to see the difference!
Jerry Von Bokel, District Manager
To stay competitive, companies need to keep overhead under control to reduce unnecessary cost. To do this, customers often want to eliminate sub-contracting and choose the most efficient tool for in-house production. This is where OSG’s HY-PRO® CARB VGx variable geometry end mill series comes into play.
One customer located in St. Louis, MO came to us when they were just starting to cut their own parts for the power generation industry. Previously they were sub-contracting this work to other vendors, but the customer knew that it would be less expensive to produce the parts in-house. They already had a couple machining centers in the facility to do emergency work. All they needed was to find the right tooling to perform the production of their own parts. The lead machinist found success with a competitor’s end mill, but he was open to trying? something new if ?it would benefit? the company. I? suggested OSG’s HY-PRO® CARB VGx end mills.
The VGx series features chatter-free machining of a wide range of materials and milling applications. The VGx’s variable index and eccentric relief design helps eliminate chatter by breaking up harmonics that are produced during normal milling operations. For further stability and minimal wear, the VGx’s raised land configuration and OSG’s TiAIN coating keeps the VGx end mill cutting consistently at accelerated speeds.
With its sophisticated design, the VGx excels in difficult-to-machine materials, such as carbon, alloy steels, cast irons, stainless steels, titanium and nickel alloys, while maintaining high metal removal rates. This keeps inventory cost low due to the reduced need to stock multiple cutters.
We decided to run a test with the VGx versus the competitor’s end mill. The customer was cutting 410 Stainless Steel using a 1/4” and a 3/16” with .03 corner radius. We first ran the competitor’s end mill at 75 SFM, 4,800 RPM, and 38 IPM. To compare, we then ran the 3/16” VGx end mill at 290 SFM, 5,900 RPM, and 23 IPM. By using the VGx, we reduced the cycle time by two minutes on the 3/16” and by three minutes on the 1/4” cutter. Not only did we save the customer time, but the VGx produced twice as many parts for increased overall productivity.
After all the tests had been completed, the operator was still trying to wear out the OSG cutter with no success. The VGx End Mill far surpassed his expectation and was able to run with any materials that they cut, which finally sold the customer on the VGx series. They now stock over? 40 different styles of the HY-PRO® VGx End Mills and are ready to tackle any materials that come their way, proving that the “V” in VGx not only stands for “variable” – but “versatile” as well.
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