Tried a 3/8 endmill with a higher chip load and watched it snap in 20 seconds

I had a part in 6061 aluminum, pocketing a 2 inch wide slot. Been running the same Speeds and feeds for a year, 0.002 IPT chip load, never had issues. Figured I'd try bumping it to 0.004 to save cycle time and the endmill didn't last 20 seconds before it snapped. Learned that jump was too aggressive for my machine's rigidity. Has anyone else had luck shrinking cycle time without snapping tools?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver_ward1423d ago

Man that's the worst, I snapped a brand new 1/4 yesterday doing the same thing.

ruby56123d ago

Dude "snapped a brand new 1/4" is exactly the kind of pain I know too well. I did that once with a brand new 3/8 snap-on and the socket literally exploded into three pieces the first time I put any torque on it. I spent a good ten minutes just staring at the pieces on my garage floor wondering what I did to deserve it. At this point I think my tools sense fear and just give up on me. Maybe I should start apologizing to them before I turn the wrench.