If you regularly machine harder materials, such as steel, you know the horrible chatter that occurs when your cutting tool makes contact. Tools vibrate while in use, which results in chatter. The higher your speeds and feeds, the louder the chatter. One way to significantly decrease chatter is to make your cuts using Variable Flute End Mills. These end mills are specifically designed to prevent oscillation and, consequently, chatter.

Here at Online Carbide, we produce high-performance solid carbide cutting tools. We are proud to offer machinists and shops the highest quality end mills on the market. Each of our cutting tools if made to precise standards using our robot fed 5 axis CNC grinders. Unlike the big-name brands, we do not sell our cutting tools through any big box stores. This helps us cut out the middlemen and offer our products directly to users at manufacturer-direct prices.

When it comes to milling cutters, you need tools that can handle abuse and last. That’s what makes carbide such an ideal material. The ceramic carbide powder is cemented together with strong cobalt metal. The combination of these materials creates a substance with the strength of metal and the incredible hardness and edge retention of a ceramic. This makes these tools incredibly stable even at high speeds.

If you subject a tool to high-speed machining, the cutting edges begin striking the workpiece at regular intervals. This can create an internal resonance which makes the end mill start to vibrate slightly. Basically, because the flutes are evenly spaced, the tool is getting tapped at even internals, increasing the internal resonance. This slight shaking is what causes chatter.

Our variable flute end mills feature a unique design that helps them avoid oscillating at high speeds. The basic idea is that these mills are designed so that every cutting edge is irregularly spaced. In a normal 4 flute end mill, every cutting edge is 90 degrees apart. A variable end mill may feature will feature spacing like 92 degrees, 89 degrees, 91 degrees, and 88 degrees(actual variations will be smaller). These differences mean that every point of contact between a cutting edge and the workpiece will disrupt the natural oscillation within the tool. This can help cut chatter so drastically that many users are shocked at how quiet these tools are when they cut through steel.

Even though these variable mills are quiet, they can still get very hot. In order to keep our variable flute end mills cool while they operate, we treat each of them with a titanium aluminum nitride coating. This TiAlN layer helps protect your end mills by forming a hard layer of aluminum oxide on the surface of the mill once it reaches high temperatures. This aluminum oxide layer is extremely chemically stable while also having a low thermal conductivity. This means that more of the heat will be deflected with the chips instead of heating the end mill.

So if you are sick of loud chatter and worn down end mills, maybe it’s time to try something new. Here at Online Carbide, we have 4 flute degrees in sizes ranging from ?” to ¾”. These mills can help you get the job done without causing a major headache. If you would like to know more about these end mills, or any of our other quality cutting tools, you can reach a member of our team at [email protected] or by phone between 8 am and 5 pm CST at 630-238-1424.