Take the plunge 

Swiss tool manufacturer Mikron Tool has expanded its milling cutter program – launching another version of its plunge-mill CrazyMill Cool P&S, which is now suitable for even deeper machining operations.

Like its already successful ‘short’ predecessor, it is characterised by the ability to plunge (drill) vertically into the material, mill slots or pockets into solid material in small spaces and mill a finishing operation.

While the milling depth in the short version (2.5 x D) was based on the machining of keyways (as found, for example, on the drive shafts of engines), the aim now is to be able to mill the deepest possible slots and pockets with a single tool and reach more distant machining areas within a workpiece.

The new version of the solid carbide plunge mill is based on the same technology as the short version. Now it is possible to plunge perpendicularly into the material and reach the maximum milling depth of 5 x D in just a few steps. Despite its length, the milling cutter is said to be extremely stable, impressing with its cutting speeds, chip removal rates as well as its long tool life and surface quality. All this from a milling diameter of 1mm.

The cutting-edge geometry enables process stable and vibration-free ‘drilling’ (vertical plunging) even at a depth of 5 x D. This not only prevents the cutting edges from breaking out – one of the main difficulties when drilling with a milling cutter – but also ensures excellent surface finishes and longer tool life.

Even more than with the short version, good chip removal plays an important role at this depth. There is a higher risk that chips remain in the milling zone, are broken up several times and thus damage both the milling cutter and the milled surface.

The special cutting-edge geometry with extended chip area provides a solution, on the one hand ensuring perfect lateral chip removal during plunging and the stability of the milling cutter even during deep milling; and on the other, the integrated coolant ducts in the shank with copious coolant flow ensure an efficient chip evacuation even from tight or angled spaces of deep pockets or slots.

Alberto Gotti, head of the technology and customer project centre at Mikron Tool confirms: "We work with this tool at high speeds and feeds and an axial infeed (ap) of 0.5 x D, achieving an extremely high chip removal rate. For the user, this means up to five times shorter machining processes and a significantly longer tool life compared to other milling cutters on the market."

CrazyMill Cool P&S is available in diameters from 1 to 8mm and for a maximum milling depth of up to 5 x D.

Mikron Tool www.mikrontool.com