The CNC milling process is used for manufacturing components with versatile features. A fly cutter is used for manufacturing by milling the components that have large and flat surfaces. The guide below features everything about these fly cutters, so let's read.

Overview of Fly Cutter

Fly cutters are cutting tools that rotate in a sideways motion and create a highly finished surface. These tools are very handy and can be attached to different machines. They are mostly used in CNC milling machines.

How Does a Fly Cutter Work?

Fly cutters have single-point tools that are fixed in the cylindrical body of these cutters. They are then mounted on a holder that has a special angle. Hence, when the entire unit rotates, these cutters create cuts in the workpieces. They are suitable for hard as well as soft materials. They are used for drilling, cutting, carving, and grinding.

Pros and Cons of Fly Cutters

Milling fly cutters are economical and versatile and can help mill flat surfaces. They have a single-point cutting design that reduces the cost of cutters and hence creates a seamless acabamento da superfície. They can be maintained and set up very easily, which makes them suitable for leveling surfaces that are uneven.

Fly mill cutters, which have so many benefits, also have some downsides. They have limited productivity and are not suitable for very hard materials, as they cause quick wear and tear.

Types of Fly Cutters

There are different types of fly cutters, and some of these are as follows:

Point Cutter

Point cutters have needle-like points that help to cut the corals, which are heavily populated. Most of these point cutters consist of two cutting edges on each end, and they help create precise cuts. These cutters can also cut the areas that are hard to reach.

Rotary Cutting Tool

The rotary cutting tool can do grinding, cutting, and drilling of multiple types of fabrics without changing the cutting line in the pattern. These tools have the ability to cut more than eight layers of fabric in one go.

Rotary Carving Tool

Rotary carving tools help in carving hard materials. These help to create carvings of wooden materials.

Specialty Fly Cutters

Special fly cutters are meant to conduct specific tasks. These are composed of creating mirror-like surfaces for materials that are delicate, engraving and machining contours. These have cut edges for cutting and hence can create specialized features.

Fly Cutter Components and Specifications

The components and specifications of fly cutters are discussed in the section below.

Components of Fly Cutter

The fly cutter components are as follows:

• Holder
• Draw bolt
• Fixadores
• Cylindrical body
• Thrust washer
• Cutting tool made of carbide

Generally, there is a single tool bit in the body of the milling fly cutter. However, some of them may have two tool bits having each of which is at one of the ends.

Specifications and Size of Fly Cutter

The type of the project will determine the power of the máquina de fresar, and the fly cutter will function accordingly. The power of the cutting process may range from 0 to 3000 rpm.

The fly cutter has a specific length. The rotary cutting has a spindle that makes it either open or close a ⅛-inch collet to fit the rotary purpose. Some of the specifications and sizes of these fly cutters are as follows:

• The 3/16 inch tool bit is used by the ¾ fly cutter body.
• The ¼ inches tool bit uses a 1-⅛ inch fly cutter body
• The 5/16 inch tool bit uses a 1-⅜ inch fly cutter body.

How to Set Up a Fly Cutter?

The process of setting up a miller fly cutter is pretty simple and is discussed below:

• The first step is choosing the right fly cutter, and for this, you need to consider the size, material, and finish.
• Once you have chosen the right fly cutter, the process of installing it on the milling machine is important to be done safely. Make sure to secure the fly cutter properly on the milling machine so that it can balance the vibrations properly.
• Adjust the machining parameters like speed, feed rate, and depth of cut so that the required finish is achieved.

Fly Cutter vs. Face Mill

Face milling is the process of milling planes and flat surfaces, and it differs from fly cutters in various ways. Some of these differences are as follows:

Number of Inserts

Fly cutters are inserted at a slow cutting speed and remove the excess material from the workpiece at the time of milling. Face mills are composed of multiple inserts and have a high speed of cutting, which makes them suitable for removing material from heavy work pieces.

Finishing Quality

Face milling offers a high surface finish, whereas the fly cutters use less of that surface finish.

Cutting Requirements

If the cutting edge of the fly cutters is positioned appropriately, they can create large surfaces in a single fresagem session and create a flat surface. Whereas face milling consists of cutting edges with variable height and hence creates a ridged surface.

Custo

Face milling requires machines that have more power and larger compounds. Hence, these machines are highly expensive. At the same time, fly cutters are suitable for small-sized machines, which are affordable.

Considerations of Fly Cutter for Finishing Surfaces

When choosing fly cutters for finishing surfaces, some of the considerations to have in place beforehand are as follows:

Fly Cutter Maintenance

Opting for a single-tooth fly cutter is a suitable approach if you are using a light-duty milling machine. Multi-toothed fly cutters do not work properly with the smaller machines as they lack power. Hence, it is important to ensure that the bit of the fly cutter is sharp and can be chosen to drive cuts without the need for extra power.

Point Radius

The point radius is maintained by the professional machinist as it should be less than 1.5mm. It is important to achieve the designed surface finish, as a larger radius causes deflections.

Type of Workpiece

The selection of fly cutter bits depends on the grade of materials that are used. For instance, if you are choosing steel with 1018 grade, you can use carbide tips, whereas, for aluminum, 6061 high-speed fly cutter bits are used for grinding them at 60 degrees.

Moreover, the machinist also needs to adjust the diameter of the fly cutters to 51 mm so that deep cuts can be achieved.

Applications of Fly Cutters

Fly cutters are used in manufacturing processes. The process of CNC milling involves using these fly cutters to remove materials from workpieces of larger quality and then also uses them for leveling the surfaces. These fly cutters are compatible with a wide range of materials like glass, metal, and wood.

Conclusão

A fly mill cutter is a specific tool that has vertical uses; hence, understanding in detail its working mechanism is crucial to ensure its use in projects. If you are looking to have components manufactured and finished using fly cutters, we at DEK pode ajudá-lo. Por isso, entre em contacto connosco hoje mesmo.