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Machining inconel

 
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franke
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Joined: 26 Jun 2004
Posts: 161
Location: Indiana, USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:31 pm    Post subject: Machining inconel Reply with quote

The owner of our shop may be getting me in hot water here. He is bidding on a job for a aircraft fuel body cut in inconel. Lot's of close tolerance areas, multiple sides.

I've got no experience cutting inconel but hear it's not pretty. Can anyone give any good starting points for tooling, depth of cuts, stepovers, feed/speeds, etc?
What about tool life cutting this stuff? Any feedback on high speed cutting without coolant?

We have horizontal machine, up to 30,000RPM spindle.

Any info would be appreciated!
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BillyB
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Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 60
Location: Lexington, KY, USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's been years since I machined Inconel, but here is what I remember:
We used thread-rolling taps.
Very hard to take skim cuts.
Thin areas (such as a flange <.2) are hard to keep flat - we ground those areas.
We used coolant - it had animal fat in it. Don't know if it was the best or if it is still available, but it worked.

Of course, different grades will have different machining characteristics.

Your best bet is to contact your tool supplier for recommendations.
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JoeM
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Joined: 09 Jul 2004
Posts: 122
Location: Jackson Hole, Wyoming USA

PostPosted: Sat Dec 03, 2005 6:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Downhole oil tool industry, here. Lots and lots of Inconel 718, sometimes aged to make it a particular pleasure to machine.

If you do any turning, use a small positive lead angle and start around 150 sfm.

For milling, the problem is tensile strength. Use very sharp tools and keep lots of them in stock. We keep a lot of general purpose TiN coated endmills in stock and the best performance I've seen in inconel is when we use reground tools. Even though the grind removes the coating, it creates a very keen edge. It cuts quite well and gives us an opportunity to use up these tools.

Also:

If you use carbide end mill for the milling, here is one of the best solution

http://www.mitsubishicarbide.com/mmc/en/product/pdf/b/b011g_vc-mhdrb_200305.pdf

PS: I don't work for Kobelco

There is cutting parameters in the end of the pdf documentation

It's important to use low cutting speed and an important lubrication (Solube oil). For finishing, you can use ceramics insert.
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