Why is the circular blade milling cutter the first choice for die rough machining?

If the square shoulder milling cutter is used for rough milling of the cavity, a large amount of stepped cutting allowance will be removed in the semi-finishing process. This will change the cutting force and bend the tool. As a result, uneven machining allowance is left for finishing, which affects the geometric accuracy of the die. If the square shoulder milling cutter (with triangular edge) with weak tip strength is used, unpredictable cutting effect will be produced. Triangular or rhombic blades can also produce large radial cutting force, and because of the small number of cutting edges, they are not economical rough machining tools.

On the other hand, circular blades can be used for milling various materials and all directions. If used, the transition between adjacent passes is smooth, and a smaller and more uniform machining margin can be left for semi-finishing. One of the characteristics of circular blades is that the chip thickness they produce is variable. This allows them to use a higher feed speed than most other blades. The main deflection angle of the circular blade is changed from almost zero (very shallow cutting) to 90 degrees, and the cutting effect is very stable. At the maximum cutting depth, the main deflection angle is 45 degrees, and when copying cutting along a straight wall with an excircle, the main deflection angle is 90 degrees. This also explains why the strength of circular blade cutter is great-the cutting load is increasing gradually. Circular blade milling cutter, such as CoroMill 200 (see mould manufacturing sample C- 1 102: 1), should always be the first choice for rough machining and semi-rough machining. In 5-axis cutting, the circular blade is very suitable, especially it has no restrictions.

Through good programming, circular blade milling cutter can replace ball-end milling cutter to a great extent. Small jumping circular blade combined with fine grinding, positive rake angle and light groove shape can also be used for semi-finishing and some finishing processes.