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GC1040 from Sandvik
New Milling Grade from Sandvik: Extreme tough machining of austenitic stainless and duplex materials requires a grade you can rely on. To perform securely, with consistently sharp cutting edges, low forces and slow wear. When the odds are against you grade GC1040 is tough enough to stay sharp. Request a quote
Connecting Rod Slot Milling
The problem:
A major manufacturer of recreational vehicles used a three-quarter-inch roughing end mill and a finishing end mill to cut a slot in a connecting rod that joins a piston and the crankshaft in a vehicle engine. The manufacturer would machine approximately 86 conn rods per end mill and throw the tool away, consuming more than 2,300 end mills per year.
The solution:
In the course of surveying the company’s plant floors for potential cost savings, an Engman-Taylor Co. application engineer noticed he could boost the efficiency of a CNC machine and lower the tool cost by replacing the three-quarter-inch end mill with an eight-toothed, slotting-style, Walter indexable insert cutter. There are two usable edges per insert on the indexable cutter.
The results:
Using the new indexable cutter and the finishing end mill, cycle time went from 3.28 minutes to 2.2 minutes. Parts manufactured per tool increased from 86 to 136. Tool costs dropped from $.691 to $.218 per connecting rod, and the time lost to change tools was reduced. Plus, the indexable cutter body can be reused. Total savings on tooling and cutter change time: $93,982 per year.
Contact us for more information regarding this application or a potential application in your facility.
