How to Avoid Common Part Finish Problems
Part Finish Reference Guide
Finishing cuts are used to complete a part, achieving its final dimensions within tolerance and its required surface finish. Most often an aesthetic demand and frequently a print specification, surface finish can lead to a scrapped part if requirements are not met. Meeting finish requirements in-machine has become a major point of improvement in manufacturing, as avoiding hand-finishing can significantly reduce costs and cycle times.
Common Finishing Problems
- Burrs
- Scallop marks
- Chatter Marks
Factors That Influence Part Finish
- Specific material and hardness
- Cutting tool speeds & feeds
- Tool design and deployment
- Tool projection and deflection
- Tool-to-workpiece orientation
- Rigidity of workholding
- Coolant and lubricity
- Final-pass depth of cut
Finishing Problem Solutions
- Tools with high helix angles and flute counts work best for finishing operations. Softer materials show great results with higher helices, while harder materials can benefit greatly from increased flute counts.
- Increase your RPM and lower your IPT (Figure 2).
- Ensure that tool runout is extremely minimal.
- Use precision tool holders that are in good condition, are undamaged, and run true.
- Opt for a climb milling machining method.
- Use tooling with Variable Pitch geometry to help reduce chatter.
- A proper radial depth of cut (RDOC) should be used. For finishing operations, the RDOC should be between 2 and 5 percent of the tool’s Cutter Diameter.
- For long reach walls, use reduced neck tooling which help to minimize deflection (Figure 3).
- Extreme contact finishing (3x cutter diameter), may require a 50% feed rate reduction.
Common Surface Finish Nomenclature
Ra = Roughness average
Rq = RMS (Root Mean Square) = Ra x 1.1
Rz = Ra x 3.1
Harvey Performance Company’s team of engineers works together to ensure that your every machining challenge – from tool selection and application support to designing the perfect custom tool for your next job – is rectified with a thoughtful, comprehensive solution.
What is IPT?
Hi Juan! IPT = Inches Per Tooth. Chip load per tooth is the appropriate amount of material that one cutting edge of the tool should remove in a single revolution. This is measured in IPT.
I’m going have to disagree with you — Increase your RPM and lower your IPT (Figure 2). ??? did a machinist write this – i think not – he would know better
Uhm, yes? Increasing your finishing usually gives a better finishing. Decrasing your IPT reduces the “steps” in your final finish (You can also choose using a bigger diameter tool, when posible)
Why don’t you make some high flute count alu finishers? This would really speed up alu finishing passes. I could really use a 1/4”, .75loc, 6 or so flute alu finisher.
Hello Pete,
Thank you for your suggestion, we will pass this along to our New Product Development team so they can look into this further.
I have been machining for several decades.
That’s how I would get a better (Ra) surface finish, slower feed per tooth and/or a higher RPM.