Ball-End Tool Contours, Chamfers and Finishes in One Pass for Most Materials

Pow•R•Arc A108 (¾" diameter, eight-flute ball end and 1" LOC) machines a 0.050" perimeter chamfer in 6AL-4V titanium. Compared with a four-flute tool, the Pow•R•Arc cutter leaves a bur-free finish at high speeds. Photo Credit: IMCO Carbide Tool

IMCO Carbide Tool launches the Pow•R•Arc ball-end cutter, the newest of IMCO’s high-performance cutting tools. The company says its product is all about speed; the Pow•R•Arc is designed for contouring and chamfering at the fastest possible speed and feed rates in most materials, even cutting smoothly in workpieces with dissimilar materials, with no digs or handwork needed. Available with six or eight flutes, it is said to feature advanced geometries and a next-generation coating for faster feed rates, greater lubricity, reliable chip ejection and what is reported to be double the tool life over competitors’ tools tested.

When asked the single most important benefit of this technology for a mold builder, IMCO points to the large reduction in cycle time that it would take to machine one’s mold, the result of an end mill that is said can be run and increase feed rates up to 5x those of a four-flute tool. This means reduced cycle times, and increased profits because a moldmaker would be able to build more molds in the same amount of time, the company notes.

In a recent test, a moldmaker was cutting both P20 steel and 4140 low alloy steel using a competitor’s tool running at 88 ipm. After eight hours’ roughing with the competitor’s tool, they threw it away. After 16 hours’ semi-roughing and finishing with the competitor’s tool, they discarded that tool, too. Using the Pow•R•Arc cutter, running at 450 ipm, the moldmaker is said to have completed roughing and finishing using the same tool with cycle time cut by half (24 hours to 12 hours) with more than double the tool life.

According to IMCO, the Pow•R•Arc cuts and finishes in one pass in hardened metals up to 62 HRC, aluminum, stainless steel, low carbon steel and super alloys such as high nickel alloys, cobalt chrome and titanium. It’s effective in both low-speed and high-speed machines, and it’s ideal for use in five-axis machines. The cutting tool can be ordered with long necks for working in deep pockets and easier maneuvering around mold guide pins.

Learn more about Pow•R•Arc IMTS booth #43-431522.