Grinding machines are responsible for creating many different types of cutting tools. WALTER grinding machines from UNITED GRINDING North America excel at making cutting tools to exact specifications every time. The following videos depict five cutting tools that are commonly ground, as well as the WALTER grinders that machine them and the TOOL STUDIO programming software that controls the process.

Porting Tools

Porting tools are specifically designed for machining ports, such as cavities or openings on workpieces usually found in automotive, aerospace and oil and gas industries, as well as on hydraulic management systems. Common applications for these tools include creating ports in cylinder heads for engines, pressure containment or flow control ports in oil and gas equipment, bolt hole machining and more.

Porting and polishing tools, often made of tungsten carbide that maintains a sharp cutting edge even after extended use, contain features such as chamfers, counterbores and threads. The large flutes on this tool are excellent for chip evacuation.

Customers that grind porting tools on their WALTER grinding machines especially like the following machine characteristics:

• The ability to easily change the form or shape of any given program within the Form STUDIO software.
•  The ability to make any tool into a step tool, whether it is an end cutting face, a drill or a reamer.
•  The WYSIWYG programming, or “What You Simulate Is What You Get” in TOOL STUDIO.
•  The ability to grind an entire step tool in a single clamping.

Fir Tree Cutter

The slot milling cutter, typically called a fir tree cutter because of its profile’s resemblance to a fir tree, is often used in aerospace or power generator applications. The cutter is designed to cut the fir tree profile into the workpiece material. Therefore, the accuracy of the form and the surface finish of the cutting edge are critically important.

Fir tree cutters are made from hard material such as tungsten carbide or high-speed steel. Some manufacturers of these tools put super hard coatings on them for even longer tool life. It’s common to see three or more flutes on these cutting tools, which improve chip evacuation and optimize coolant delivery.

Tool makers appreciate these characteristics of WALTER grinding machines when creating fir tree cutters:

• Accuracy and repeatability that enable holding very tight tolerances across the entire form
• The strength and rigidity of the WALTER grinder that delivers the highest quality surface finishes demanded by such a high performing tool
• TOOL STUDIO software that enables toolmakers to import their own files into the machine or write one on the fly

PCD-Tipped Drill

Drills made with super hard polycrystalline diamond (PCD) tips not only provide long tool life and high-quality surface finishes but also perform well in applications that require high precision. PCD-tipped drills are exceptional at cutting difficult-to-machine materials such as composite, ceramics, aluminum and titanium.

Common applications for these drills include drilling holes in medical implants and in airplane fuselages as well as completing various work in automotive engines and transmission applications where high surface finishes are required.

WALTER DIAMOND machines excel at creating tools such as the PCD-tipped drill using grinding and eroding capabilities in one machine. Features of these grinding machines that tool makers appreciate include:

• Programming capability in TOOL STUDIO for grinding carbide and eroding PCD in the same machine in a single clamping
•  Automation options that give the ability to visually detect the PCD segment for grinding and eroding using a camera during the loading process
• Using FINE PULSE TECHNOLOGY that achieves reflective finishes

Ball-Nose End Mill

In milling machines, ball-nose end mills are used in applications where small amounts of materials are removed and surface finish requirements are higher. Common applications include mold and die making and refinishing, 3D contouring, slot grinding for interaction with other parts such as guides, and other components.

The radius found on the end of the ball-nose end mill makes it unique compared to conventional end mills. The cutting edge follows this radius around the face of the tool, enabling freeform machining. The rounding of the tool enables even distribution of cutting forces and is especially useful for cutting delicate or intricate features on a workpiece.

The one-pass option on the TOOL STUDIO software on WALTER grinders is a popular feature among tool makers who create the ball-nose end mill. The feature enables a single wheel to grind the face, the radius and the O.D. of the tool in a single pass.

Tool makers also prefer WALTER grinder’s five-axis gantry-style kinematics, which deliver a smooth transition in the multi-axis movement of the grinding wheel.

Corner Radius End Mill

The corner radius end mill in this video has a 1.25-inch-diameter radius with six flutes and a thick shaft, which indicates the tool was designed for higher material removal rates and likely is used to machine engine blocks or large engine cases. This high-speed steel end mill is especially useful for applications that require high material removal rates on softer material such as aluminum, brass, bronze and plastics.

The corner radius at the end of each flute cuts that shape into its workpieces. The center cutting feature enables the tool to plunge directly into the material and begin its toolpath. Gashing at the end of the tool helps with chip evacuation.

UNITED GRINDING North America’s TOOL STUDIO software on WALTER grinders offers several features that are particularly useful for the creation of a corner radius end mill:

• The choice of several different gashing methods
• The popular one-pass option that enables a single wheel to grind the face, the radius and the O.D. of the tool in a single pass
• The trigger scaling option that enables tool grinders to match geometric ratios across a family of tools with multiple diameters 

Start Making Elite Cutting Tools Now

WALTER tool grinding and measuring machines excel at manufacturing some of the most complex cutting tools in the world. Design your new process or optimize your existing process with the assistance of UNITED GRINDING North America’s equipment and expertise. Ready to learn more? Get in touch!