Shoutout to the guy who taught me you can spot a bad setup just by the way the chips fall

Ive been running a Haas VF-2 for about 5 years now and I see so many guys getting wrapped up in feed rates and spindle speeds but ignoring how the chips actually look. If your chips are coming off as dust or long stringy ribbons youve got a problem. Dust means youre rubbing instead of cutting and those long ribbons can wrap around your tool holder and wreck your cycle. I had a job for a local shop in Cleveland last month where the previous operator was running a 3/4 end mill at like 80 SFM and getting terrible finish. I bumped it up to 250 SFM and started getting nice little 6s and 9s chips and the part came out clean. The guy who showed me this was an old hand at a shop in Lorain and he said watch the chips not the numbers. Has anyone else found that paying more attention to chip formation helped them dial in a tricky material like 304 stainless?

2 comments

2 Comments

emma725d ago

Learned that same lesson running a Mori in 304. Chips tell you everything.

ryan9525d ago

You ever watch the chips go from happy to screaming in like 30 minutes? I started checking mine every 10 minutes on the first part and it saved me a bunch of scrap. Pays to catch it early before the insert just goes nuclear on you.