Tech Tip: Successful Slotting

Today's tech tip is about problems to look out for when using an indexable mill and a slotting application. At first, everything looks normal with good chip evacuation, but watch what happens next. One of the key features to look out for in indexable milling is chip evacuation. This slotting application failed because the chip started packing into the flutes. And what happened? Catastrophic failure! This problem could have been avoided in a few ways. If the slot was cut in two passes or at a shorter depth of cut or if a coarser pitch milling cutter was used. Just remember, if you stop seeing chips, you should probably stop cutting.