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Showerthought: I just ran my 500th part on a single tool without a single crash
I was running a long job on a VF-2 last week, a bunch of aluminum brackets with a lot of pocketing. I had a 3/8" end mill in there and just kept an eye on it, cleaning chips and checking the finish. I didn't think much of it until the cycle finished and I saw the run count on the machine. Five hundred and twelve parts, all with the same tool. No regrind, no weird noises, just consistent cuts. It mattered because I used to baby tools and change them way too early, scared of a crash. This run proved that with good speeds and feeds and keeping things cool, you can push way further than the book says. Has anyone else had a tool last way longer than they expected on a specific material?
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cameronp471mo ago
That's awesome, had a drill do the same thing on some steel plate lol.
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emery2901mo ago
We had this old 1/4 inch ball nose at my last shop that ran over a thousand parts in some nasty glass-filled plastic. It just kept going, like @cameronp47 said about his drill. I mean the boss wanted to change it every 200, but the finish never changed so we just let it ride. It finally died on a Friday afternoon, just a quiet little snap.
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