US 5,685,671 A · Diamond or CBN fluted center cutting end mill

Abstract

A center cutting or plunging end mill or ball nose end mill has one or more spiral grooves and flutes in the walls of a mill body of cemented tungsten carbide. Each groove includes polycrystalline diamond or cubic boron nitride formed in situ along a leading edge of each flute. Such a groove extends across the cutting end of the mill so that the mill can be used for center cutting or plunging. The vein of diamond-like material may extend to the center of the mill body or may extend almost all of the way to the center, leaving an area of tungsten carbide exposed at the center of the mill body. A high temperature-high pressure press is used for forming the polycrystalline diamond-like veins in situ within the grooves in the mill.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A center cutting end mill comprising:

a first cutting end and a second base end and a body having a cylindrical side wall therebetween and a longitudinal central axis;
a groove across the first cutting end;
flutes on the side wall penetrating the body and extending from the cutting end toward the base end;
a groove adjacent to a leading edge of each flute extending sufficiently close to the center of the end mill for cutting adjacent to the center of the end mill, wherein at the intersection of the cutting end and the side walls, an end of the groove in the cutting end is not aligned with any end of any groove in the side wall;
and
polycrystalline diamond material sintered in situ within each groove, the diamond material being exposed to form a cutting edge along the leading edge of the diamond material.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Diamond or CBN fluted center cutting end mill

Life of this patent

Diamond or CBN fluted center cutting end mill

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14