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Serious question, are we overusing roughing end mills?
I keep seeing guys on job sites grab a rougher for almost every pass on steel, even when the finish matters. I run a Haas VF-2 at a shop in Dayton, Ohio, and I've tested both approaches. Roughing end mills are great for hogging off material fast, but they leave that scalloped surface that means extra cleanup. On the other hand, a standard 4-flute can give you a decent finish in one go if you dial in your feeds right. I had a job last week where a finisher cut my cycle time by 15% just by skipping the rougher on a mild steel part. So who's right here - are we wasting time with two tools when one will do, or am I missing something about tool life?
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caleb_sanchez9d ago
Man, oh man, this is like that time my buddy and I got into it over using a roughing end mill on some aluminum plate. He swore by it, saying it saved his tools. I told him he was just making more work for himself. I get what you're saying about cycle time, that 15% sounds nice. But here's the thing, I've seen guys snap their 4-flutes because they tried to push them too hard in steel, and then they're stuck changing out tools anyway. It all comes down to what you're doing and how much you trust your machine not to vibrate your part into a mess.
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