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16 MoldMaking Technology April 2015 Case Study / Cutting Tools High-Feed Face Mills Offer Speed, Versatility Sometimes, it's best to saddle up a new horse with a new rider sooner rather than later. It may help you win the race. This contrarian wisdom paid off when Reko Manufacturing Group, part of Reko International Group, acquired its first five-axis machining center last year to enhance moldmaking operations. Throughput improved, but Reko wasn't done yet. Switching to a new high-feed cutter, Ingersoll's Power-Feed+ Mini face mill, doubled throughput and enabled the machine to run completely unattended. Following that success, the company retooled two more machines, this time with the Hi-QuadF, another variety of high-feed face mill from the same supplier. This change led to not only faster machining, but also the realization that some high-feed tooling can handle heavier, deeper cuts as well. New Machine, Old Tooling Located in Lakeshore, Ontario, Reko designs and manufac- tures molds ranging to 4,000 tons, largely for automotive suppliers. Just as expected, the addition of a DMU 210P five- axis machining center from DMG MORI delivered substan- tial throughput gains in cavity semi-finishing and finishing operations on these tools. However, it soon became apparent that the company wasn't realizing the full potential of its new machine. Further investigation revealed that moving to five-axis brought out the inherent shortcomings of the company's stan- dard button cutters, says Tom Hunt, manufacturing supervi- Replacing a standard button cutter on this fve-axis machining center with Ingersoll's Power-Feed+Mini signifcantly reduced semifnishing cycle time. Two new cutters not only improved machining speed at this mold manufacturer, but also showcased the potential of some high-feed tooling for heavier, deeper cuts. Ingersoll's Hi-QuadF face mill doubled the material removal rate on both hardened P20 and A36 material on the in-house-designed gantry machines Reko employs for roughing. Retooling also made the operation secure enough to run unattended. VIDEO Access video at end of article. Images courtesy of Ingersoll Cutting Tools.