The Speed / Feed menu selection is the second menu of the Machinist ToolBox
startup page. It includes seven choices:
Default units
Mill / Drill
Turning
Tapping
Reverse Look-up
Material Database
Surface Finish
Default units
This Speed / Feed menu selection lets you choose between Inches or
Millimeters (Imperial or Metric) for data entry. Once selected, Machinist
ToolBox will remember the selection you make.
Material Database
While this is not the second choice on
the Speed / Feed menu, the material database is at the heart of all speed and
feed calculations - which is why we want to show it first. This is the basic
data from which all speed and feed calculations are derived.
First of all, notice the most basic categories of materials (on the left
side, top), including Cast Iron, Copper Alloy, Plastic, Titanium, and so on.
Within each category are many specific material classifications. The current
list shows a few of the Stainless Steel choices. The total number of specific
materials (including all categories) is over five hundred! If you can't find
your material in this database, it probably doesn't exist! (Actually, there is
a category for User Defined materials if you want to enter a material on
your own.)
On the right-hand side of this page, Machinist ToolBox displays the various
speed settings for each cutting tool material (HSS, Carbide, Index able Insert,
HSS Tapping, and Carbide Tapping). While each value is set for you, you can
modify any value with which you don't agree. Finally, this page shows the chip
load (feedrate) per tooth, the Power Constant for the material, and the
material's coefficient of expansion.
Again, there is a tremendous amount of critical data in the material
database. For many machinists, this data alone will justify the purchase of
Machinist ToolBox!
Mill / Drill
You
will use this page for determining cutting conditions for milling and drilling
operations. After selecting the material (on the left side of the page), you'll
be shown the speed in sfm (inch selection) or mpm (metric selection), the chip
load, and the power constant. This data, of course, comes from the material
database.
You specify the tool material (indexable insert, carbide, or HSS), the tool
type (mill or drill), the tool diameter, and the number of flutes (or inserts).
For milling operations, you additionally select the milling type (roughing,
finishing, slotting, etc.) When you click the Calculate button, Machinist
ToolBox will respond with all pertinent cutting information, including RPM,
IPM, mmpm, Metal Removal Rate (based on recommended radial and axial depth of
cut), and Required Horse Power.
Now it is unlikely that you're going to remember all of this data - and you
probably don't want to write it all down, so Machinist ToolBox gives you the
ability to create a text file in which all cutting data on this page
will be automatically entered for each operation you enter. Under the material
selection (left side of page), click the Create New button to create a new text
file (delete data that is currently in the file). Once you've clicked the
Calculate button to see your data, click the Post Data button to have Machinist
ToolBox enter the current machining data into the file. Click the View Data
button to see the machining data. You can then print this file to have a
permanent record of your work.
Turning
This page is similar to the Mill /
Drill page, but of course, it is used for turning operations on a lathe. After
selecting the workpiece material and the cutting tool material, enter the
nominal stock diameter to be turned, and click the Calculate button. You'll be
shown all pertinent information about the turning operations. And as with the
Mill / Drill page, you can Post Data to a text file that can be viewed and
printed.
Tapping
After selecting workpiece material and cutting tool
material, enter the tap diameter and number of threads per inch (or pitch) and
click the Calculate button to be shown all cutting conditions for the tapping
operation. And again, you can post and view data just as you can for the Mill /
Drill operation.
Reverse Lookup
This helpful page gives you the ability
to convert actual machining data being used on the machine (or in a program)
into a more understandable format - the same format used to determine machining
data in the first place. Simply enter the cutting information you're using
(again, probably in a CNC program) and click the Calculate button. You'll be
shown speed in FPM or MPM and chip load (feedrate) in per-revolution.
Surface Finish
Also available in the Turning page,
this page gives you the ability to determine the machined surface finish based
upon a specified tool nose radius and feedrate.
