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Got a half inch end mill stuck in a block of aluminum yesterday
I was roughing out a part for a customer and decided to push the feed rate just a little more than usual. About 30 seconds in I heard that sound you never want to hear, that high pitched screech. The end mill snapped clean off and wedged itself sideways in the pocket. Took me almost 2 hours with a carbide burr to dig the broken piece out and salvage the block. The material was 6061 and I was running at 12k RPM with a 0.05 depth of cut, but I think I was climbing too aggressive. Has anyone else had a tool snap and leave a chunk stuck like that? How do you get it out without trashing the whole part?
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davis.dakota5d ago
Wait, were you really only taking 0.05 depth with a half inch end mill at 12k in 6061? That sounds like you were basically rubbing, not cutting. If you pushed the feed too hard with that light of a cut, the tool probably deflected and grabbed instead of actually shearing the material clean.
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