Superfly cutter issues; mild steel

[The_Iron_Joe]

I am having problems getting my superfly cutter working with my 770 machine and some low carbon steel, and was hoping someone may have some insight.

I'm trying to face my stock before I begin work on what will eventually be a prototype; the first time I tried to face my steel, my settings were as follows, taken from the g-wizard program;

Spindle Speed: 479 RPM
Cutting Feedrate: 120 mm/min // 4.72 in/min
Depth of Cut: 0.75mm // 0.0295 in

The carbide insert bit down, and refused to cut any further before I hit the e-stop.

Second time around, I used specs from the Tormach Fly Cutting demonstration video, but I was more conservative with my depth of cut;

Spindle Speed: 1000 RPM
Cutting Feedrate: 254 mm/min // 10 in/min
Depth of Cut: 0.25mm // 0.0098 in

The insert bit down again, but moved no further than the first attempt. Can anyone give any suggestions as to why this might happen, and what I should be doing to fix it? Many thanks in advance.

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[tbev]

Spin it faster, I run mine at 3000-3500rpm in aluminum, don't know about steel, but in aluminum that rpm works well.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

[tmarks11]

Was the drive belt set with the low speed or the high speed pulleys?

At 480 rpm, set up for high speed, it isn't that hard to stall your spindle.

Are you using an insert designed for aluminum or for steel?

Now the stupid question: how do you have the tool holder mounted in the superbly body? With the insert vertical or horizontal? If the insert is horizontal, it doesn't work so well (DAMHIKT).

At 1000 rpm, your spindle should have easily been able to handle the 0.010" DOC for your second attempt.

[The_Iron_Joe]

Spin it faster, I run mine at 3000-3500rpm in aluminum, don't know about steel, but in aluminum that rpm works well.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

Thanks for the suggestion; speeding it up to 1750rpm seems to have done it! I just need to adjust my depth of cut to avoid another hangup (I'm doing something a little weird with my tool pathing, one time thing, I hope.)

[The_Iron_Joe]

Was the drive belt set with the low speed or the high speed pulleys?

At 480 rpm, set up for high speed, it isn't that hard to stall your spindle.

Are you using an insert designed for aluminum or for steel?

Now the stupid question: how do you have the tool holder mounted in the superbly body? With the insert vertical or horizontal? If the insert is horizontal, it doesn't work so well (DAMHIKT).

At 1000 rpm, your spindle should have easily been able to handle the 0.010" DOC for your second attempt.

I got it to work at 1750rpm, but let's see...

My belt is set at the low setting, my insert is the carbide version intended for steel, and I have the mount set vertically, as it shows in Tormach's image of it!

http://www.tormach.com/uploads/image...ry_MG_9320.jpg

I'm also surprised that 1000rpm wasn't enough to get it done. Could it be that the 770 doesn't have enough torque at 1000rpm to accomplish facing steel at that depth, where the 1100 machine is?

[pickled]

How wide of a cut are you trying to take? Is it hot rolled steel with mill scale or decarb issues? That stuff can be real nasty and the superficial layer can be quite heterogeneous in its physical attributes making the cut quality suffer. 770 and hot rolled low carbon alloy steel will typically be 2" or less WOC with an 0.0060" DOC at 1275 RPM here and leaves a very nice finish at 3 IPM. The coated insert lasts for quite a while.

[pickled]

Oh yeah and be sure that you always check the set screws before you take that thing out for a drive! Last year I had 2 of them loosen up and when it chucked the bar and insert at 3,400 RPM it was not a good sound! Thankfully I had a 1/4" thick PET-G sheet between it and me. It woke me up better than a cup of hot coffee that's for sure.

[popspipes]

heterogeneous?? Is that something you wouldnt want to spill on your good shirt ha!!

[pickled]

heterogeneous?? Is that something you wouldnt want to spill on your good shirt ha!!

Yeah very much unlike the wonderful mistic metal mover formula that I have been holding onto since 1995 with a wonderful homogeneous blend of 1,1,1 Trichloroethane. Now I do try to keep that stuff off my shirt :-). By the way if you ever see a can of it going to a house hold hazardous waste collection drive be sure to snag it!

[The_Iron_Joe]

Good advice on the set screws! For width of cut, I was using the full width of the fly cutter, with the bar set at its shortest length, 2.5". My stock had some mild scale of some kind but didn't give much issue when cutting.

[GLCarlson]

I am having problems getting my superfly cutter working with my 770 machine and some low carbon steel, and was hoping someone may have some insight.

.

Can you be a bit more specific about "low carbon steel"? A36 hotroll, cold roll 1018, 12L14? The last one machines like a dream while the other two- at least in my hands- are stinkers to get right. They both have similar "low" carbon content (0.15 or so- 1018 can be up to 0.3 I thnk). From your last comment about mild scale I suspect you're cutting A36 or hotroll 1018. If so, try a free machining steel. The difference is stunning- and sometimes the price difference won't kill you.

Further thought. If you don't need steel for a specific reason ( magnetic properties, case hardenable, etc) , there are aluminum alloys (Fortal for example) that have most of the other properties of steel (tensile strength, etc) but are much easier to machine.

[popspipes]

Yeah very much unlike the wonderful mistic metal mover formula that I have been holding onto since 1995 with a wonderful homogeneous blend of 1,1,1 Trichloroethane. Now I do try to keep that stuff off my shirt :-). By the way if you ever see a can of it going to a house hold hazardous waste collection drive be sure to snag it!

I remember those days, our government looking out for our welfare! The guys at work were hoarding the stuff, I used it for years and there was nothing better in my opinion. I worked in a Dairy as a mechanic and we were always working on or making stainless steel parts, machining, drilling and tapping holes etc in it, the stuff was phenomenal compared to what it was replaced with!

[SCzEngrgGroup]

I remember those days, our government looking out for our welfare! The guys at work were hoarding the stuff, I used it for years and there was nothing better in my opinion. I worked in a Dairy as a mechanic and we were always working on or making stainless steel parts, machining, drilling and tapping holes etc in it, the stuff was phenomenal compared to what it was replaced with!

Of course, it is also highly toxic to your lungs, liver, mucous membranes, etc.. So, I guess if you don't care about your health....

Regards,
Ray L.

[popspipes]

Of course, it is also highly toxic to your lungs, liver, mucous membranes, etc.. So, I guess if you don't care about your health....

Regards,
Ray L.

We used small amounts of it keeping the hands out of it and not breathing the fumes, worked wonders if used as directed.

[pickled]

Of course, it is also highly toxic to your lungs, liver, mucous membranes, etc.. So, I guess if you don't care about your health....

Regards,
Ray L.

Or, if you are a sensible guy like me (who was fortunate enough to be formally educated in environmental toxicology before taking a different road later in life) you just use your head while working with this chemical and mitigate the risk to yourself and others. I fully understand the risks and assume them when working with such a compound. The problem is when guys would essentially bathe in one, one, one or inhale it for 10+ hours/day without knowing that it could result in severe health issues at that time, or that may manifest later in life. That's a tragic outcome for all involved.

From Pops standpoint I'm betting that those compounds made a night and day difference when working with the 304 and 316! Anymore the 3-A and EHEG standards for surface finish and weld quality are so high for food and beverage industry equipment! I can attest that they are quite difficult to meet or exceed. I mean just trying to nail a better than 0.8 µm Ra smoothness to achieve a #4 finish on a sensor bung welded in a 2" stainless thin wall pipe is no simple feat- even without a ratty starter hole! At any rate I don't want to de-rail this thread even farther. The Superfly cutter likes an airblast and soluble or straight oil when you are working with the hot rolled low carbon or low carbon alloy steels.

[popspipes]

Or, if you are a sensible guy like me (who was fortunate enough to be formally educated in environmental toxicology before taking a different road later in life) you just use your head while working with this chemical and mitigate the risk to yourself and others. I fully understand the risks and assume them when working with such a compound. The problem is when guys would essentially bathe in one, one, one or inhale it for 10+ hours/day without knowing that it could result in severe health issues at that time, or that may manifest later in life. That's a tragic outcome for all involved.

From Pops standpoint I'm betting that those compounds made a night and day difference when working with the 304 and 316! Anymore the 3-A and EHEG standards for surface finish and weld quality are so high for food and beverage industry equipment! I can attest that they are quite difficult to meet or exceed. I mean just trying to nail a better than 0.8 µm Ra smoothness to achieve a #4 finish on a sensor bung welded in a 2" stainless thin wall pipe is no simple feat- even without a ratty starter hole! At any rate I don't want to de-rail this thread even farther. The Superfly cutter likes an airblast and soluble or straight oil when you are working with the hot rolled low carbon or low carbon alloy steels.

I am much more concerned with the 42 years spent on the cancer causing end of cigarettes....

I made several fly cutters with an R8 taper shank on them during my Kroger years, they produced a nice finish but were slow as it only had one cutting edge, I much prefer a multi insert face mill and they are relatively cheap these days, just my personal preference.

I used homemade "hole pullers" to pull radiused holes in the side of a stainless tube or a tank, I made the pullers for the various fittings needed, that was the good old days when I had to work for a living.........

[MichaelHenry]

Oh yeah and be sure that you always check the set screws before you take that thing out for a drive! Last year I had 2 of them loosen up and when it chucked the bar and insert at 3,400 RPM it was not a good sound! Thankfully I had a 1/4" thick PET-G sheet between it and me. It woke me up better than a cup of hot coffee that's for sure.

And probably cleared out your intestines faster than that colonoscopy prep stuff does.

[MichaelHenry]

I remember those days, our government looking out for our welfare! The guys at work were hoarding the stuff, I used it for years and there was nothing better in my opinion. I worked in a Dairy as a mechanic and we were always working on or making stainless steel parts, machining, drilling and tapping holes etc in it, the stuff was phenomenal compared to what it was replaced with!

It was still available from the Tap-Magic folks a few years ago. I bought a quart of it for something like $50 from Scott Logan (of Logan lathes fame) at one of his open houses but a web search now for the product only turns up archived MSDS's..

[popspipes]

It was still available from the Tap-Magic folks a few years ago. I bought a quart of it for something like $50 from Scott Logan (of Logan lathes fame) at one of his open houses but a web search now for the product only turns up archived MSDS's..

It was some good stuff for stainless work, there were risks involved but there are risks with anything one does in life.......

[pickled]

And probably cleared out your intestines faster than that colonoscopy prep stuff does.

Yeah I incurred some skid marks and heart palpitations from that event! So far the only one that has topped that was when my 1100 puked out a Jacobs chuck when I was drilling stainless bar stock and my fixturing failed. The chuck put a decent sized hole in the T111 siding at my workshop. I was profusely thanking the man upstairs after that one!