Heck, if we have a fast enough milling spindle, there’s even room to run HSS faster and get lower temperatures (you’ll note various cutter materials critical temperatures are also marked off–stay below the line for your cutter!). In fact, it’s temperature is more equivalent to less than 300 SFM on the other side of the aluminum curve–that’s nothing for aluminum. For aluminum, we have a pretty good dip by the time we’re hitting 1000 SFM, for example. This chart is in meters/minute, so multiply the values by about 3 to get to SFM. Somehow, high speed machining causes temperatures decrease beyond a certain spindle rpm! Note that all of the materials go steadily up and then eventually start dipping back down again as surface speed increases. Want to understand Surface Speed, SFM, and how do we get from SFM to RPM on the spindle? If you’re not familiar, it’s simple stuff and the link will explain. The dotted lines represent temperatures at various surface speeds measured in m/min. This amazing chart is from Dr Herbert Schulz’s, “History of High Speed Machining.” One of the things that got people thinking about HSM was the discovery that after a certain point, increasing spindle speed actually reduces the heat in the cut: Others argue that HSM is all about high material removal rates and leaving a surface finish good enough to call finished in one pass. You’d think that the “High Speed” part of HSM would emphasize faster spindle speeds ( Sandvik says HSM begins at 18000 rpm), but that interpretation is not universal as various shops discovered HSM techniques can work well even on slower milling spindles. Another very high tech definition of HSM is “ Machining at the Resonant Frequency of the Machine,” which goes to HSM techniques for selecting spindle speeds that minimize chatter. MMSOnline uses the tagline “Achieving high metal removal rates with quick milling passes” for the HSM zone on their site.

There are many definitions for High Speed Machining (HSM). Click here to learn more about the Master Class. Note: This High Speed Machining article is Lesson 11 of our Free Email Feeds & Speeds Master Class. This video from my CNC Chef series for Cutting Tool Engineering Magazine gives a quick What is High Speed Machining (HSM) intro:įor a quick into to High Speed Machining (HSM), try my CNC Chef video… High speed machining (HSM)–also called trochoidal milling, adaptive clearing, volumill, and more–is a milling technique that can increase material removal rates, reduce cycle time, and increase tool life. High Speed Machining (HSM) What is High Speed Machining (HSM)?

Mastercam x4 clean out corner tool