FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates to tools used in the machining of materials by machine tools. More particularly, the invention provides a rotary end mill for the rough and fine machining of metals, a drill particularly suited to the drilling of deep holes, and a reamer also for machine use.

[002] End mills are widely used in milling operations due to their versatile range of application and due to the moderate first cost of the tool. Integral end mills are often of cylindrical shape, and are available up to about 80 mm diameter, Many end mills have flat ends; although other shapes such as conical and rounded ends are also used. An end-mill typically has 2 to 10 teeth, depending on diameter, size and whether intended for rough cutting or finishing. Teeth are usually of spiral shape, but can be straight parallel to the axis. Teeth are also provided at the end face. End mills have a shank portion and a cutting portion, although some end mills have a cutting portion at each side of the shank portion. Material of construction is high speed steel, solid carbide, Wolfram carbide, Cubic boron nitride, Poly-crystal diamond, cermets, ceramic, and combinations thereof. Coatings are often applied to the cutter to extend the working life thereof.

[003] The design of an end mill is a function of the balance between contradictory requirements - rigidity to prevent tool chatter and strength to avoid breakage, versus generous spacing between the teeth to allow the clearance of chips and access for a liquid coolant. With regard to drills similar considerations apply, when the depth of the hole being drilled is several times as large as the diameter of the drill.

[004] In conventional end mills the shape and thickness of the tooth, determined with reference to the expected use of the cutter, remains constant along the length of the cutting tool. An improvement on the constant cross-sectional shape and size of a milling cutter was disclosed in a previous patent, US 6,742,968 dated June 1, 2004. The cutter tool disclosed was an end mill wherein the total cross-sectional area of the cutter material and particularly the core portion, taken at right angles to the cutter axis, increases gradually from the cutting end towards the cutter shank. This design provided a cutter which combined adequate chip clearance with improved rigidity.

[005] With regard to drills intended for the drilling of deep holes, the difficulty of chip clearance and application of a coolant to the cutting tip of the drill is more severe than with end mills, and often there is little choice but to withdraw the drill at least once during the drilling of a single hole. Failure to do so may result in the spaces between the spirals being jammed with chips and the drill being broken or damaged by overheating due to coolant being unable to reach the drill tip.

[006] Similar conditions apply to machine reamers, although the small quantity of removed metal causes little difficulty.

[007] The machining of features such as slots, flats, outer profile, gear teeth and the like is often executed in three stages - rough machining with maximum possible metal removal rates, machining to near dimensions and finish machining to produce a smooth surface. Often different cutting tools are needed for each stage of machining, the changeover causing lost time and resetting. This could be avoided if a multi-purpose tool were available to carry out the whole machining process. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[008] It is therefore one of the objects of the present invention to obviate the limitations of prior-art end mills and drills and to provide a design which can be used for slotting, roughing and finishing, and for drills and reamers which operate better while working in deep holes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention achieves the above objects by providing a rotary cutting tool consisting of a shank and at least one cutting section comprising a plurality of cutting teeth, said cutting section being divided into several sub-sections along the tool axis ("zones" for brevity), wherein each zone has its own core form and its own cutting edges, its own teeth land form and its own zone cutting length, these being selected according to the perceived task for which each zone of said tool is to be optimized.

REFERENCED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[009] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a cutting tool which is an end mill.

[0010] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a rotary cutting tool wherein in a first zone starting from the outer face of the end mill the cutter is optimized for slotting, the second zone is optimized for side milling roughing, the third zone is optimized for finishing side milling, in the fourth zone the grooves forming the cutter teeth blend into said shank.

[0011] In another preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a rotary cutting tool wherein [0012] * the length of said first zone designed for slotting is in the range of 0.3 D to 2.0 D, D being the outer diameter of said cutting section, said length being at a maximum for stub end mills and being at a minimum for extra long end mills;

[0013] * said cutting section of said second zone designed for rouging side milling, combined with said first zone, has a length of 0.0 D to 2.0 D, said length being at a minimum for stub end mills and being at a maximum for regular length end mills;

[0014] the length of said third zone designed for finish side milling combined with said first zone or with said second zone is in the range of 0.0 D to 8.0 D, said length being at a minimum for stub end mills and being at a maximum for extra long end mills;

[0015] * Said fourth zone being a transfer zone from said cutting zones to said shank has a length in the range of 0.3 D to 1.5 D, said length being set according to the length of the cutting section and the number of teeth of the cutter.

[0016] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a rotary cutting tool wherein each zone includes at least one sub-zone with geometrical elementary core forms of each sub-zone core form.

[0017] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a rotary cutting tool being a drill.

[0018] In yet a further preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided a rotary cutting tool being a reamer.

[0019] Yet further embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter.

[0020] It has now been found that advantages can be obtained by design of the cutting section having a profile and core diameter specifically configured to a pre-defined method of use. While this configuration may appear to cause difficulties in producing such a cutting tool the use of modern computer-controlled machine tools enables production of such metal cutting tools at a cost only a little higher than the cost of manufacturing conventional tools. It will thus be realized that the novel machining tool of the present invention optimizes each operation separately and thus serves to reduce machining time and saves further time by eliminating frequent tool change. [0021] Tests have been carried out on a prototype cutter to determine the performance of an end mill manufactured according to the present invention. The following is an extract from machining tests carried out recently (2010) in the lab. [0022] Cutter: 12mm diameter end mill. Number of teeth: 4

Material being machined: Stainless Steel 316

Slotting: Slot depth 3.6 mm Feed per tooth: 0.09 mm

Slot depth 6 mm Feed per tooth: 0.055 mm

Slot depth 12 mm Feed per tooth: 0.05 mm

Slot depth 18 mm Feed per tooth: 0.045 mm

It should be noted that textbook recommendations for a standard end mill where slot depth is 3.6 mm are about half these values, with some variation depending on the material of construction of the cutter, the rigidity of the milling machine, whether the cutter is coated and whether the material being cut has been fully annealed. In all cases an adequate supply of coolant is provided.

[0023] With regard to previous patent, US 6,742,968 the cross-sectional area of the core increased at a steady rate which could be considered as fitting into a single zone, as will be seen in FIGS, l and la.

[0024] In contradistinction to the '968 patent the present application features cutting tools which have at least two, and usually four. The form of the tool zones is decided individually at the time of the manufacturing order to optimize each zone for a defined purpose. Specific features which may change from one zone to the next may include changes in the core diameter, in the width of the land adjacent the cutting edge and changes in tooth thickness. [0025] The aim of these form variations is different for various types of tool. For end mills it is most important to prevent tool chatter resulting from bending of the tool, while for a drill allowing coolant to reach the cutting area and preventing clogging of the tool spirals is the primary goal. With regard to reamers it is important to prevent tooth blunting and in small diameters to prevent tool breakage,

SHORT DESCRIBTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] The invention will now be described further with reference to the accompanying drawings, which represent by example preferred embodiments of the invention. Structural details are shown only as far as necessary for a fundamental understanding thereof. The described examples, together with the drawings, will make apparent to those skilled in the art how further forms of the invention may be realized. [0027] In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a partly sectioned elevational view of a prior art end mill;

FIG. la is an elevational view of the same;

FIG. 2 is a partially sectioned view of a preferred embodiment of the end mill according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of a further embodiment of the end mill;

FIG. 4a is a partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of the end mill;

FIG. 4b is an elevational view of the same embodiment of the end mill;

FIG. 5a is a is a partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of the end mill;

FIG. 5b is an elevational view of the same embodiment of the end mill;

FIG. 6a is a partially sectioned view of a ball-nose end mill;

FIG. 6b is a partially sectioned view of the same;

FIG. 7a is a partially sectioned view of a drill according to the invention;

FIG. 7b is an elevational view of the same;

FIG. 8a is a partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of the drill;

FIG. 7b is an elevational view of the same;

FIG. 9a is a partially sectioned view of a further embodiment of the drill; FIG. 9b is an elevational view of the same;

FIG. 10a is a partially sectioned view of a reamer according to the invention,

and

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] There is seen in FIG. 1 and la a prior art end mill 10 with a cutter section 12 and an adjacent shank section 14. The central feature of this design was the tapered core section 16, which provided good chip clearance and room for coolant access near the end face 18 of the cutter section 12 in combination with good strength and rigidity near the shank section 14 where the increased diameter of the core 16 helped to resist the high bending stresses which occur when the end mill is in use.

[0029] Referring now to FIG. 2, the rotary cutting tool is an end mill 20 consisting of a shank section 14 and a cutting section 24. The cutting section 24 comprises a plurality of cutting teeth 26 which will be seen in FIG.3.

[0030] The cutting section 24 is conceptionaly and functionally divided into 4 sub-sections 28, 30, 32, 34 along the tool axis ("zones" for brevity).

[0031] Each zone has its own core form and own zone length. As will be seen in FIG.3, each zone also has its own cutting edges and its own tooth land form, all these being selected according to the perceived task for which each zone of the tool is to be optimized. [0032] In the present embodiment the end mill 20 has a constant outer diameter D along the length of the cutting section 24.

[0033] The zones 28 and 34 are divided into sub-zones 28a, 28b and 34a, 34b and 34c, each with its own geometrical elementary core form.

[0034] With reference to the rest of the figures, similar reference numerals have been used to identify similar parts. [0035] FIG. 3 again illustrates the end mill 20 provided with a plurality of cutting teeth 26. It will be seen that each zone has its own tooth land width 36.

[0036] Seen in FIG. 4a and 4b is an end mill wherein in the first zone 28 the core diameter 38 and the width of the tooth land 36 both increase.

[0037] In the second zone 30 the core diameter 38 and the width of the tooth land 36 both remain constant.

[0038] In the third zone 32 the core diameter 38 and the width of the tooth land 36 both increase further.

[0039] In the fourth zone 34 the core diameter 38 increases in concave form towards the shank 14.

[0040] Referring now to FIGS. 5a and 5b, there is depicted an end mill 40 wherein in the first zone 28 the core diameter 38 and the width of the tooth land 36 both remain constant.

[0041] However in the second zone 30 the core diameter 38 increases while the width of the tooth land 36 remains constant or increases.

[0042] In the third zone 32 the core diameter 38 again increases and the width of the tooth land 36 increases or remain constant.

[0043] Finally in the fourth zone 34 the core diameter 38 increases in concave form towards the shank section 14.

[0044] FIGS. 6a and 6b show a ball nose end mill 42 wherein in the first zone 28 the core diameter 38 has a convex taper form and the width of the tooth land 36 increases or remains constant.

[0045] FIG. 7a and 7b illustrate a rotary cutting tool being a drill 44 having an outer diameter of D, and provided with a cutting section 46 comprising 2 cutting teeth 48 and a shank section 50. [0046] The cutting section 46 is conceptionaly and functionally divided into four zones along the drill axis.

[0047] A first zone 52 contains the drill point 54.

[0048] A second zone 56 combined with the first zone has a length of 0.2 D to 3.0 D.

[0049] A third zone 58 combined with the second zone 56 is in the range 0.0 D to 40 D

[0050] A fourth zone 60 is a transfer zone from the cutting section 46 to the shank 50, and has a length in the range 0.3 D to 1 D

[0051] It is seen that in the second zone 56 the core diameter 62 decreases and the tooth land width 64 also decreases.

[0052] In the third zone 58 the core diameter 62 remains constant and the tooth land width 64 is also constant.

[0053] Seen in FIGS. 8a and 8b is second embodiment of a drill 66.

[0054] The first zone 52 contains the drill point 54.

[0055] In the second zone 56 the core diameter 62 remains constant and the tooth land width 64 decreases.

[0056] In the third zone 58 the core diameter 62 decreases and the tooth land width 64 further decreases.

[0057] In the fourth zone 60 the core diameter 62 increases to form a concave curve 68 merging into the shank section 50.

[0058] Turning now to FIGS. 9a and 9b, there is depicted a drill 70 wherein

[0059] The first zone 52 contains the drill point 54.

[0060] In the second zone 56 the core diameter 62 increases while the tooth land width 64 decreases, In the third zone 58 the core diameter 62 remains constant and the tooth land width 64 is constant. [0061] In the fourth zone 60 the core diameter 62 increases to form a concave curve 68 merging into the shank section 50.

[0062] FIG. 10 shows a reamer 72 wherein the cutting teeth 74 are straight parallel to the tool axis 19.

[0063] In the first zone 76 the outer diameter D increases as does the core diameter 78 and the land width 80.

[0064] In the second zone 82 the outer diameter D remains constant while both the core diameter 78 and the land width 80 increase further.

[0065] In the third zone 84 all items remain constant.

[0066] In the fourth zone 86 the core diameter 78 increases to form a shallow concave curve 88 merging into the shank section 50.

[0067] The scope of the described invention is intended to include all embodiments coming within the meaning of the following claims. The foregoing examples illustrate useful forms of the invention, but are not to be considered as limiting its scope, as those skilled in the art will be aware that additional variants and modifications of the invention can readily be formulated without departing from the meaning of the following claims.