Finally gave in and tried HSM toolpaths after years of standard roughing

I was dead set against high speed machining for the longest time. Thought it was a gimmick that would just chatter my parts to death. Then I watched a guy at IMTS 2023 run a 3/4" tool through 4140 at 15,000 RPM and a 30% radial engagement. The chips were coming off as powder and the finish was like glass. I tried it on a mold base last week and cut my cycle time from 4 hours to 2 hours 10 minutes. My only regret is being stubborn for 2 years. Has anyone else had success switching to HSM on older machines without rigid tapping?

3 comments

3 Comments

amy9741mo ago

I see you quoting "chips coming off as powder" like that's a good thing... powder means you're burning through tool life to save time. Have you checked your end mill edge after that mold base run? I bet it's toast. I tried HSM on my 2003 Fadal, and while the cycle times dropped, I was burning through 3 tools per job instead of 1. The constant rapid tiny engagement paths just hammered my spindle bearings too. I'll take a longer cycle with predictable tool wear over that any day, especially on older machines that can't keep up with the toolpath calculations.

val_williams1mo ago

I ran into the same issue with my 2003 Haas, @amy974, so I switched to a rougher with a larger stepover and it cut tool use in half while still keeping cycle times reasonable. Sometimes you gotta find that middle ground between HSM and old school feeds.

smith.anna1mo ago

Ngl, that stepover trick saved me on a '94 Mazak too.